The Method has its origins in the work of the late Joseph Pilates. Born in 1880 in Dusseldorf, Germany, he was a frail child and turned to physical fitness programmes to improve his body image. He became a keen sportsman, developing talents in sports as varied as diving, gymnastics and boxing.

Interned in England during the First World War because of his nationality, Pilates developed the fitness programme which was to become the Pilates Method in order to help his fellow internees whilst being held in confinement.

On returning to Germany, he began working with professional dancers, most notably Rudolph von Laban, creater of 'Labanotation', still the most widely used form of dance notation, and Hanya Holm, who used many of his excercises in her 'Holm Technique'. Pilates also taught self-defense to the Hamburg police force.

In 1925 he emigrated to New York, where, with his new wife Clara, he set up his famous fitness studio, adjacent to the New York City Ballet.

In addition to the dancers next door, his clients increasingly included the rich and famous - actors and actresses like Gregory Peck and Katherine Hepburn, and serious sportsmen and women of all kinds - attracted to the workout that built strength without bulk, and taught balance, flexibility and superb poise.

Today, the Pilates Method continues to be practiced by celebrities and sports professionals, dancers and fitness aficionados. Madonna, Jessica Lange, Joan Collins, Michael Crawford, Sigourney Weaver, Wayne Sleep, Pat Cash...just a few of the household names comitted to using the Pilates workout.