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Joseph Pilates: The Man behind the Movement

by: Pilates Insight

Joseph Pilates : The Man behind the Movement

Joseph Pilates was born in Düsseldorf, Germany in 1880. He was a frail young boy, who suffered from asthma, rickets, and rheumatic fever. In order to overcome his weakened state, he studied body building, skiing, diving, and gymnastics. In time, he developed his own series of exercises.

He moved to England in 1912, and spent much of his time working as a circus performer and a boxer. Eventually, he started teaching self defense methods to a group of police detectives from Scotland Yard. In 1914, at the outset of World War I, he was interned at a camp in Lancaster as an “enemy alien”. While in the camp, he spent a great deal of his time developing his exercise techniques.

After his release, Joseph returned to Germany and began teaching his method to dancers. He decided to leave Germany when he was asked to teach his exercise methods to the German Army. In 1926, he emigrated to America and took up residence in New York. He met his wife, Clara, on the voyage. Joseph and Clara opened a fitness studio in New York City, and shared an address with the New York City Ballet.

Joseph spent the remaining years of his life operating his studio. The nature of his work in those years was more akin to a physiotherapist for dancers than an exercise instructor for the masses. He also spent a considerable amount of time designing and constructing exercise equipment for use in his programs.

Joseph Pilates was one of the first fitness instructors to advocate the mind-body connection, which consisted of both physical and mental training to achieve the desired results. His method consists of slow, deliberate movements combined with breathing and a focus on the abdomen, lower back, and buttocks.

As quoted from his 1945 book, Return to Life with Contrology, he states that “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.”

Joseph Pilates passed away in 1967. The studio is still in operation today.

Harriet Spinzer is a history student and Pilates enthusiast. When she is not consumed with her studies, she likes to stretch and stuff. When she is not tangled up in her “Reformer”, she like to write freelance articles for websites such as http://www.pilatesinsight.com – a site that offers information about http://www.pilatesinsight.com/>pilates, http://www.pilatesinsight.com/pilates-equipment/pilates-equipment.aspx>pilates equipment and http://www.pilatesinsight.com/pilates-equipment/pilates-chairs.aspx>pilates chairs.

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Floral Arranging as a Hobby

Flower arranging has become increasingly popular as a hobby, for people of all ages and backgrounds.

Have you ever put flowers in a vase and they just don't sit right? By learning a few basic principles you will be able to create attractive floral designs for your own home.

Flowers add the finishing touch. Imagine the pleasure you will get by being able to make a lovely flower arrangement for your entrance hall or a floral centrepiece for the dining room table.

Flower arrangements make the perfect gift for so many different occasions, such as birthdays, anniversaries, get well wishes, or to simply say "I care".

Unlike many other hobbies, you don't need a lot of expensive equipment. You can often use flowers and foliage from your own garden or you can buy some inexpensive flowers. Once you learn how to position flowers and foliage correctly, you can quickly make eye catching floral designs. You can also create floral designs using silk flowers. There are some very natural looking silk flowers available, and you will be able to make lasting floral designs. Imagine the thrill of being able to say "I made it myself".

The benefits of learning flower arranging are many -

Flower arranging is creative and fun

Relaxing. It's a great stress reducer

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You will have a sense of achievement by learning a new skill

You will save money by making your own floral designs

Discover the exciting world of flower arranging. We teach you set-by-step how to make professional looking flower arrangements. It's easy when we have shown you how. Flower arranging is very interesting.There are so many different varieties of flowers available. In our flower arranging classes you will learn how to use them to their best advantage to create many different types of arrangements.

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Floral Art School of Australia
and
International Floral Design School
22 Riddell Parade, Elsternwick, Victoria 3185 Australia.
Australia Phone: (03) 9523 5052 Fax: (03) 9523 6925
International Phone: +61 3 9523 5052 Fax: +61 3 9523 6925
e-mail info@floral-art-school.com.au

This information is brought to you by Floral Art School of Australia and International Floral Design School. For details of our home study floral design and flower arranging courses please visit http://www.floral-art-school.com.au

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This Static Spot is open for sponsor

Floral Arranging as a Hobby