As previously mentioned, pilates is a 100-year-old practice that originates from 1920s New York. Joseph Pilates and his wife, Clara, developed the concept by focusing on body conditioning and strengthening while helping people recover from injury. The pair based the exercises on three principles: breath, whole-body health and whole-body commitment through the mind, body, and spirit. Today, that’s been split into the six pillars of pilates:

Breath
Concentration
Centring
Control
Precision
Flow

Fast forward 70-odd years from its humble origins, and pilates really started to explode in the 1990s when it became the mainstream low-impact, full-body workout that we know and love today. Over a century later, everyone from Jennifer Aniston to Serena Williams swears by planking and toe-tapping for a stronger, more flexible body.

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