What’s the story with our name?

If you’re new to Pilates, you might not know that it’s creator, Joseph Pilates didn’t call it Pilates at all.

Joe called his method Contrology.

In Joe’s own words, “Contrology is complete coordination of body, mind and spirit” (Return to Life by J.H. Pilates).

While Contrology (the study of control) evokes what Pilates does so well, it appears that everyone simply wanted to be like Joe. So instead of saying, “I’m on my way to Contrology,” people said, “I’m on my way to Pilates.”

Take one look at Joe at 57 years old and again at 82, and you’ll see why! He embodied his philosophy throughout his entire life.

We wanted to honor Joe’s original name and that’s how we came up with ours.

Pilates + Contrology = Pilatesology