The resilience story behind Pilates

I have never done a Pilates class. In fact, until I started researching this piece, I wouldn’t have even been able to confidently describe what Pilates is.

But then I discovered the story about how Pilates actually started, and it was a perfect fit into our world of resilience. Pilates is a mindful movement practice built around strength, stability, flexibility, breath, and control.

And, before it was a popular physical movement in the 90s and 2000s, Pilates was an actual person.

His name was Joseph Pilates, and his story is worth sharing because it’s a reminder that some of the most useful ideas are born from the most challenging times.

Joseph Pilates was born in Germany in the late 1800s and was not a healthy child. He dealt with asthma and rheumatic fever; a brutal start for anyone. But instead of accepting weakness as his permanent identity, he became focused on what could provide him strength. He studied all kinds of movement via a variety of sports like gymnastics, boxing and skiing, always observing the ways his body could be strengthened through training. He became obsessed with physical possibility, because he was lacking it.

And then World War I happened.

Pilates was living in England when the war broke out. As a German, he was considered an “enemy alien” and spent time in a British camp. Most of us might see that as a moment to focus on survival and keep our heads down, but Pilates used the time to continue to develop his system of movement. He originally called it Contrology, based on the idea that the mind and body were not separate things and that the body could be strengthened through attention, breath, precision, and control. It was exercise designed to train the nervous system to move mindfully.

And this idea feels incredibly relevant right now.

So many of us are moving through life at full speed. We react to emails, notifications, deadlines, family responsibilities, financial pressure, health concerns, world events, and the endless expectation to keep improving ourselves. Modern life rewards momentum, but inside, many of us are carrying tension we’ve stopped noticing.

Pilates was created as a system that encourages us to slow down, pay attention and control our movement.

Work with what we have.

There is a great part of the Pilates origin story when he was at the British camp during the war. He worked with injured and bedridden people to reclaim their health and rebuild their strength, and he did it by using bed springs to create resistance exercises. These ideas eventually influenced the equipment now associated with Pilates, including the reformer machine in the images above and below.

I love this stuff! To think of this young man, dealing with this unlucky path in life, to somehow find a way to continue to help others in such a practical and innovative way. He was blessed with limited resources and forced to use whatever he had around him, but it was no problem! That is resilience in action. It’s asking ourselves: what can I do with what I have?

And that is a question that can change everything.

Because most of us spend a huge amount of energy wishing the conditions were different. We wish we had more time or more money (or energy, which is something I’ve been wishing for recently). And often those wishes are completely valid for certain situations…. but what I really try and think about is that we can’t keep waiting for perfect conditions, and should start doing whatever we can with what we’ve got.

Finding our core

We all go through seasons where we feel knocked off balance. We lose jobs. We lose people. We lose confidence. We get rejected, injured, or even embarrassed.

When that happens, it’s our mission to find our core (centre) again. Here are a few ideas to take from the Pilates story and think about this coming week.

1. Start with control.

   When everything feels too big, we can narrow our focus to what is still within our control. Even if things are disastrous, this means we refuse to donate all of our energy to things we can’t influence. Control the breath. Control the next action. Control how we speak to ourselves. We often regain confidence by making one small promise to ourselves and keeping it.

2. Build from the core.

   So much of Pilates is a focus on the core of our body. The centre supports everything else and the same is true in life. When we’re under pressure, we often chase the edges first. We answer everything, fix everything, explain everything, and please everyone. But resilience asks us to pause and strengthen the centre. Sleep. Breath. Movement. Connection. Values. The basics might feel boring, but they help us bear the load.

3. Use resistance well.

   A big part of Pilates is resistance. Resistance to build capacity, and that’s the exact metaphor for regular life as well. Resistance can feel awful at times, especially when we just want something to go our way. But it’s also the thing that builds capacity. A hard conversation can strengthen courage. A rejection can sharpen direction. We can learn to use resistance instead of only resenting it.

4. Don’t forget to breathe.

   Before the big breakthrough or the grand comeback, there is usually a breath. A moment of peace that signals to the body that we are here and we’re not done yet. Sometimes resilience is a moment of pause before taking the next step and often all we need is to stop, settle, close the eyes, and take a few deep breaths.

We could be forgiven for thinking resilience means pushing harder, grinding longer, or becoming emotionally bulletproof. But Pilates’ story shows us that it can mean something more subtle: that real strength comes first with awareness, and then focusing on whatever is within our control. Ultimately, it’s about learning how to direct the power we already have.

Until next time friends, keep moving forward and keep moving intentionally.

Carré at Resilient Minds

I help organizations, individuals, and young people build practical resilience skills to better handle life’s challenges. If you’re interested in 1:1 coaching, a team workshop, or having me speak with students or athletes at a school or sports club, hit reply and let’s chat.