Joseph Pilates Quotations

Americans! They want to go 600 miles an hour, and they don't know how to walk! Look at them in the street. Bent over. Coughing! Young men with gray faces! Why can't they look at the animals? Look at a cat. Look at any animal. The only animal that doesn't hold its stomach in is the pig.

A man is as old as his spine is flexible!

Lazy breathing converts the lungs, literally and figuratively speaking, into a cemetery for the deposition of diseased, dying and dead germs as well as supplying an ideal haven for the multiplication of other harmful germs.

I'm fifty years ahead of my time,

Were man to devote as much time and energy to himself as he has devoted to that which man has produced, what astounding and unbelievable progress would be made; a progress eclipsing all he has so far successfully accomplished...

The science of Contrology disproves that prevalent and all-too-trite saying; 'You're only as old as you feel.' The art of Contrology proves that the only real guide to your true age lies not in years or how you THINK you feel but as you ACTUALLY are as infallibly indicated by the degree of natural and normalflexibility enjoyed by your spine throughout life.

Man should develop his physical condition simultaneously with that of his mind.

Above all, learn how to breathe correctly.

Daily, from sunrise to sunset, the radio, newspapers and magazines broadcast to the world how to maintain health, how to regain health... the conflicting information, expressive of the different opinions of these various health authorities, has proved to be nothing less than confusion...

Civilization impairs physical fitness.

You must squeeze every atom of impure air from lungs until they are almost as free of air as a vacuum.

Time and progress are synonymous terms--nothing can stop either. Truth will prevail and that is why I know that my teachings will reach the masses and finally be adopted as universal.

The lungs cannot be completely deflated at first without considerable effort. With perseverance, however, the desired results can be accomplished and with increasing power, gradually and progressively develop the lungs to their maximum capacity.

As a heavy rainstorm freshens the water of a sluggish or stagnant stream and whips it into immediate action, so does the Pilates Methods purify the bloodstream.

You're only as old as your spine.

Ideally, our muscles should obey our will. Reasonably, our will should not be dominated by the reflex actions of our muscles.

Breathing is the first act of life, and the last.

Normal muscles should function naturally in much the same manner as do the muscles of animals.

With body, mind, and spirit functioning perfectly as a coordinated whole, what else could reasonably be expected other than an active, alert, disciplined person?

The Pilates Method of Body Conditioning is gaining the mastery of your mind over the complete control of your body.

Because of poor posture, practically 95% of our population suffers from varying degrees of spinal curvature, not to mention more serious ailments. Good posture can be successfully acquired only when the entire mechanism of the body is under perfect control.

Man should bear in mind and ponder over the Greek admonition - Not Too Much, Not Too Little.

We retire too early and we die too young, our prime of life should be in the 70's and old age should not come until we are almost 100.

I learned...every part of the body; I would move each part as I memorized it. As a child, I would lie in the woods for hours, hiding and watching the animals move, how the mother taught the young.

A man is as young as his spinal column.

Moreover, such a body freed from nervous tension and over-fatigue is the ideal shelter provided by nature for housing a well-balanced mind that is always fully capable of successfully meeting all of the complex problems of modern living.

It is the mind itself which builds the body.

Before any real benefit can be derived from physical exercises, one must first learn how to breath properly. Our very life depends on it.

It is the mind that shapes the body

Contrology develops the body uniformly, corrects wrong postures, restores physical vitality, invigorates the mind, and elevates the spirit.

It is better to be tired from physical exertion than to be fatigued by the 'poisons' generated by nervousness while lying awake.

Contrology is not a system of haphazard exercises designed to produce only bulging muscles. ... Nor does Contrology err either by over-developed a few muscles at the expense of all others with resulting loss of grace and suppleness, or a sacrifice of the heart or lungs. Rather, it was conceived to limber and stretch muscles and ligaments so that your body will be as supple as that of a cat and not muscular like that of the body of a brewery-truck horse, or the muscle-bound body of the professional weight lifter you so much admire at the circus.

By exercising your stomach muscles, you wring out the body, you don't catch colds, you don't get cancer, you don't get hernias. Do animals get hernias? Do animals go on diets?

Through the Pilates Method of Body Conditioning this unique trinity of a balanced body, mind and spirit can ever be attained. Self-confidence follows.

Self-confidenc e, poise, consciousness of possessing the power to accomplish our desires, with renewed lively interest in life are the natural results of the practice of Contrology [Pilates].

The man who uses intelligence with respect to his diet, his sleeping habits and who exercises properly, is beyond any question of doubt taking the very best preventive medicines provided so freely and abundantly by nature

Contrology is not a fatiguing system of dull, boring, abhorred exercises repeated daily "ad-nauseam." Neither does it demand you joining a gymnasium nor the purchasing of expensive apparatus. You may derive all the benefits of Contrology in your own home.

Concentrate on the correct movement each time you exercise, lest you do them improperly and thus lose all the vital benefits. Correctly executed and mastered to the point of subconscious reaction, these exercises will reflect grace and balance in your routine activities.

This is the equivalent of an “internal shower”. As the spring freshness born of the heavy rains and vast masses of melting snows on mountains in the hinterlands cause rivers to swell and rush turbulently onward to the sea, so too will your blood flow with renewed vigor as the direct result of your faithfully performing the Contrology exercises.

The acquirement and enjoyment of physical well-being, mental calm and spiritual peace are priceless to their possessors...

When all your muscles are properly developed, you will, as a matter of course, perform your work with minimum effort and maximum pleasure.

By all means never fail to get all the sunshine and fresh air you can.

Physical fitness is the first requisite of happiness.

Contrology is complete coordination of body, mind, and spirit.

True flexibility can be achieved only when all muscles are uniformly developed

I must be right. Never an aspirin. Never injured a day in my life. The whole country, the whole world, should be doing my exercises. They'd be happier.

Above all, learn to breathe correctly.

Concentrate on the correct movements each time you exercise, lest you do them improperly and thus lose all the vital benefits of their value.

Good posture can be successfully acquired only when the entire mechanism of the body is under perfect control.

To achieve the highest accomplishments within the scope of our capabilities in all walks of life we must constantly strive to acquire strong, healthy bodies and develop our minds to the limits of our ability.

Contrology (Pilates) is complete coordination of body, mind, and spirit. Through Contrology you first purposefully acquire complete control of your own body and then through proper repetition of its exercises you gradually and progressively acquire that natural rhythm and coordination associated with all your subconscious activities.

Not only is health a normal condition, but it is our duty not only to attain it but to maintain it.

Physical fitness is the first requisite of happiness. In order to achieve happiness, it is imperative to gain mastery of your body. If at the age of 30 you are stiff and out of shape, you are old. If at 60 you are supple and strong then you are young.

Breathing is the first act of life and the last. Our very life depends on it. Since we cannot live without breathing it is tragically deplorable to contemplate the millions and millions who have never mastered the art of correct breathing.

Never slouch as doing so compresses the lungs, overcrowds other vital organs, rounds the back, and throws you off balance.

It’s the mind itself which shapes the body.

Physical fitness can neither be achieved by wishful thinking nor outright purchase.

You are only as young as your spine is flexible.

You will feel better in ten sessions, look better in twenty sessions, and have a completely new body in thirty sessions.

A few well-designed movements, properly performed in a balanced sequence, are worth hours of doing sloppy calisthenics or forced contortion.

Everyone is the architect of their own happiness

Pilates is gaining the mastery of your mind over the complete control over your body.

Physical fitness is the first requisite of happiness. Our interpretation of physical fitness is the attainment and maintenance of a uniformly developed body with a sound mind fully capable of naturally, easily, and satisfactorily performing our many and varied daily tasks with spontaneous zest and pleasure.

Contrology is designed to give you suppleness, natural grace, and skill that will be unmistakably reflected in the way you walk, in the way you play, and in the way you work.

Patience and persistence are vital qualities in the ultimate successful accomplishment of any worthwhile endeavor.

The Pilates Method teaches you to be in control of your body and not at its mercy.

Every moment of our life can be the beginning of great things.

If your spine is inflexibly stiff at 30, you are old. IF it is completely flexible at 60, you are young.

Change happens through movement and movement heals.

The mind, when housed within a healthful body, possesses a glorious sense of power.

In 10 sessions you'll feel the difference, in 20 you'll see the difference, and in 30 you'll have a new body