When is Pilates not Pilates anymore?
- Nadea Knodel
- Apr 16
- 11 min read
A discussion of Prongles, legacy, litigation, zwetschgenküchen, and supersonic ab tornadoes
When is Pilates not Pilates anymore?
This is a question that comes up in our industry a lot, and it can be a touchy subject.
Does it matter?
Well, generally speaking, I stand by the principle that all movement is good movement (as long as it’s done safely) and I never want to stand in the way of people moving their bodies in a way that they enjoy and find beneficial. That’s hugely important and positive.
But when there’s dissonance or vagueness about what Pilates actually is, it makes it hard to tell what you’re getting when you go to a class or a studio. That can especially matter when people are coming to Pilates specifically for its reputation of being a mindful, precise, high-quality exercise method that is safe and effective for specific conditions and for reaching specific goals (even more important if you’ve been sent to Pilates by a doctor or physiotherapist).
As a society in general, we tend to agree that having quality-control standards and marketing standards is important.
For example:
If you send your husband to the store for a can of Pringles and he brings you back a can of "Prongles" that he found at a gas station corner store, you might be exasperated and disappointed (or maybe they're extra delicious... who knows?)
If you buy a shirt that says it’s high-quality organic linen (and it’s priced as such) and you look at the fabrication ingredients and it says it’s 50% linen and 50% cotton, you might feel ripped off.
If you spend money on a mango smoothie and you find out that it actually only has “mango flavouring” and not any actual fruit, you might not feel very impressed — especially if you were specifically trying to add mango to your diet for specific nutritional goals.
If you buy a MacBook Pro online and receive a spray-painted plastic knockoff with a sticker logo that looks vaguely like an apple, you’d probably be pretty choked — even if it’s still a functional computer.
If you go see a massage therapist and you find out that they got their massage certification for $5 online from some unknown sketchy website and they’re practicing out of a damp, cold basement with flickering lights and questionably dirty sheets, I really doubt you’d be inclined to pay them the same rate as someone who has gone through extensive training with a top-notch reputation and who is practicing out of a sunny, clean, accredited clinic.
In a more severe example, if you have a severe allergy — say you’re celiac — and you buy something that’s marked “gluten free” and it does in fact contain gluten, you have been placed at serious risk and it’s possible you could even lose your life.
So labels matter. We know that branding should mean something (just ask someone who loves Coke if ‘Pepsi is okay instead’ or give someone a sugar-free or decaf or "lite" version of their favourite drink — or better yet, don’t tell them it’s different and just try to pass it off as the same thing and see how that goes). We care about quality, especially where our health and money is involved. Clear communication when it comes to standards and expectations matters. We don’t like feeling ripped off or mislead or placed at risk.
I think the same principles should apply to the Pilates method of exercise. That name or “brand” should actually mean something, whether you’re an instructor training organization, a studio or gym, a teacher, or a client.
So why is there so much confusion over what Pilates actually is?
One huge reason why it can be so confusing to navigate the world of Pilates is that there are a LOT of different programs, studios, and teachers out there, all claiming to be "the best" or the "most awesome" or "pure" or "real" or whatever, but with very different offerings. Why is that?
There are a few reasons why that’s the case, and it’s helpful to start off by learning a little bit about the history of Pilates.
A very brief history of the Pilates method
The Pilates method (originally known as “Contrology”) was created and developed by Joseph Pilates many decades ago. He was very, very passionate, specific, and strict about his method and what he considered to be "correct" way to do Contrology and published books on the subject. Over the course of his life, he personally trained a few of his students to also become Contrology/Pilates instructors themselves, and they carried on variations of his method, each with their own unique flavours. Some of these teachers (such as Kathy Grant, Carola Trier, and Ron Fletcher), had their own Pilates studios even while Joe was alive.
Joe never formally named a "successor" to pick up his mantle as the face of his Contrology method, and upon Joe’s death, his wife and co-teacher Clara did her best to continue to keep his small New York Contrology studio alive (with the help of the studio's longtime clients) until her own passing. During this hazy period of Clara's studio oversight, Romana Kryzanowska, a ballet dancer and one of Joe’s former star pupils, was given creative control and direction of Joe’s physical studio and clientele. Romana went on to have an enormous influence on the classical Pilates method as we know it today and she certified a large number of instructors before she passed in 2013. ("Romana's Pilates" as a certification avenue exists to this day and she is quite beloved by her pupils.)*
In the year 2000, a spicy conflict in the international Pilates community resulted in an industry-shaking trademark lawsuit regarding who had the right to call what they were practicing and teaching “Pilates”, as well as who had the right to manufacture and use Pilates equipment and teach the "classical" or traditional Pilates exercises.** Ultimately, the judge in that case ruled that the name or title “Pilates” was now in the public domain (kind of like how the brand name “Kleenex” is just synonymous with “tissue” these days), and that nobody “owned” the Pilates method anymore.***
The Aftermath
While that ruling was a massive relief to the majority of Pilates teachers everywhere because it meant that studios and teachers could keep teaching the method they know and love without legal reprisal from litigious individuals asserting ownership of a trademark, the decisions made in that lawsuit have undoubtedly had some far-reaching consequences.
Nowadays, the concept of “Pilates” does not necessarily have a common, solid, black-and-white definition, and that means that “Pilates” doesn’t mean the same thing to everyone. At the outset of this widening scope of definition, this lead to a schism in the Pilates industry with teachers labeling themselves as either “classical” (as in sticking to the original Pilates method as Joe taught it — or at least how Romana taught it) or “contemporary” (Pilates with some creative variation and additions). However, as time went on, that original crack has started splintering into more and more chaos and complexity.
These days, anybody, anywhere can put together any kind of movement course and claim to be a “certified Pilates trainer”… and they do!# This has lead to a lot of confusion and, needless to say, some sketchy (and sometimes downright dangerous) situations as unknowing clients find themselves doing classes marketed as Pilates, using cheap reformers being taught by instructors who have had rushed, low-quality “certification” training.
See: Article: Pilates injuries are on the rise, body says, amid calls for regulation Article: Woman left with horrific injuries after Pilates machine malfunctions Article: Pilates is meant to be gentle -- How did it become such a hazard? Article: The Perils of the Unregulated Pilates Boom: From Healing Practice to Potential Hazard
This vagueness as to the meaning of “Pilates” can make things complicated when it comes to communication, expectations, marketing, the actual exercises themselves, exercise results and experiences, and more -- both for clients and for instructors.
So… What is Pilates? When is “Pilates” not “Pilates” anymore?
(Pondering the lessons of zwetschgenküchen)
Full disclosure: Root + Reach Pilates is not by definition a strictly classical studio (though a number of our contemporary/fitness-leaning colleagues do classify us that way). We know a lot and teach a lot of the classical Pilates exercises, but we use classical and contemporary/modern equipment and we sprinkle in new ways of doing things, other movement modalities, and put our own spin on stuff at times. But at the end of the day, we have huge respect for Joe’s method and we care about offering “real Pilates” within the scope that we can and want to offer it.
Here’s how I determine within my own mind whether something is “Pilates” or not -- I'm going to use a metaphor/parable, and it's going to be about küchen.
Bear with me.
I have a wonderful, lovely German Omi (grandmother). She is an excellent baker, and she is renowned for her German desserts.
Suppose my Omi teaches me her recipe for zwetschgenküchen (Bavarian plum cake). She tells me it's a family recipe and writes down all the ingredients and the steps for her familiar and beloved recipe that has never failed her and delights everyone.
What if I decide to play with the recipe? What if I replace the regular flour with gluten-free flour? Sure, okay, that's fine. What if I replace the plums with apricots? That could be okay too. There's a lot of room for variety and creativity while still respecting the family recipe and keeping the result recognizable.
But what if I get even more creative? What if I use every ingredient from the original recipe but instead of cake form, I use parfait form or trifle form? Is it still the family küchen then? What if I use the cake pan but I replace all the ingredients, so now it's made with whole chickpeas instead of flour, olive oil instead of butter, and kale with some sliced plums on top? Is it still Omi's zwetschgenküchen? Or is it actually a salad with plums in it?
I think it's fair to say that different people will have different ideas of where exactly they'd personally draw the line in that example, and that's okay. But in my mind, I feel like it's important that if I'm calling the recipe I've just made "Omi's zwetschgenküchen", it needs to be at least recognizable to my Omi if I presented it to her. If it's not really close enough, there's no harm in instead saying "this recipe was inspired by my Omi's zwetschgenküchen" ... or perhaps my Omi would in fact prefer that I leave her name off of whatever godforsaken creation (culinary crime?) I've just produced in my kitchen.
You with me?
So let's take the principles of the zwetschgenküchen example and apply them to Pilates.
Would Joe Pilates at least recognize what's being taught in the "Pilates" class if he was there? Does it align with his goals, values, and methodology? Does it fit into his system of exercises? If not, is it appropriate or reasonable or proper to call it Pilates?
Consider:
If the movement is done a reformer, is that enough to make it "Pilates"?
If it's a mat-based core workout, is it "Pilates"?
If it is not known to have been documented in Joe's studio, is it "Pilates"?
If it's done on a new hybrid piece of equipment that Joe never used, is it "Pilates"?
If it's performed to a musical beat without individualized instruction and correction, is it "Pilates"?
If it's an exercise that Joe is not known to have taught, but it's done with mindfulness, control, two-way stretch, and meaningful breathing, is it "Pilates"?
I'm not saying yes or no to any of those above questions -- I'm just encouraging us to actually think about it.
Let me say it again for the record: I am most certainly NOT saying that classical Pilates is the only beneficial type of movement and that it's a crime to incorporate other types of movements and exercises into a workout or class. I'm just saying that not everything needs to be labelled "Pilates". Stuff can be cool and useful without assigning it a label it doesn't actually need. Something can also be "Pilates inspired" and be super helpful and awesome without fully labelling it "Pilates". Joe has been dead for a long time now, and exercise science has come a long way -- growth and creativity is natural. But where do we draw the line when it comes to labels?
Zwetschgenküchen and salad are two different things, and that is actually perfectly great. It should not be controversial or picky or mean-spirited to say that when someone says they're giving you zwetschgenküchen, it is bizarre and confusing to be given a salad. When people intentionally seek out a Pilates class or studio, I think that should mean that they're going to practice some recognizable, logical version of the method that Joseph Pilates created that bears his personal name... otherwise, can't we just call it something else?
I'll leave you with this quotation from Jay Grimes, who recently passed away and was considered to be one of the Pilates "elders" in that he personally learned Pilates in Joe's studio:
"Shakespeare once famously asked, 'What's in a name?' If that name happens to be Pilates, what's in it is passion, confusion, arguments, betrayals, and a lot of other things.
"In truth, Pilates is a very old family name, made famous by one Joseph Hubertus Pilates (1883-1967), who created an exercise method that now bears his name. He actually called it Contrology, but even in his lifetime that name never caught on. People simply went to Pilates. They did Pilates.
"But in a strange twist of fate, the name pilates is now in the public domaine as a generic term. You can stand on a rock twirling a hula-hoop and call it pilates, And some do. There are so many versions of pilates that not only the general public, but the medical profession as well, as confused. There are so many Pilates based and Pilates inspired variations that bear no resemblance to one another, yet they all claim the name. This does not mean that they are all bad. Quite the contrary, some of them are extremely good and much needed. But they are not the exercise method created by Joseph Pilates."
(Excerpt from Mr. Grimes' forward to "The Red Thread of Pilates" by Kathy Ross-Nash)
Note: I think it's very interesting how Jay chooses to capitalize Pilates in reference to Mr. Pilates and his method but then lowercase it as a general term and not a personal name.
Ideas for how to feel out the vibes as to whether a studio or class is offering Pilates or rather Pilates-inspired movement (or maybe something else entirely):
Do they talk about Joseph Pilates or foundational teachers (like Romana, Kathy Grant, Carola Trier, Ron Fletcher, etc) or at least acknowledge Pilates history?
If the class is mat-based, are the majority of the exercises ones that have a recognizable name and can be found in some variation in Mr. Pilates' book Return to Life Through Contrology, or are they called "supersonic ab tornado" or something like that?
Does the teacher guide you through breathing, pacing, and form? Do they offer you corrections or tips or personalized instruction?
Does the studio only offer reformers as a Pilates tool/apparatus, or does the studio use the full Pilates library of apparatus, including barrels, springs, magic circles, Wunda chairs, etc?
If you attend classes regularly, are the workouts relatively recognizable and consistent so that you're making meaningful progress in developing your movement skills, or are you doing something new and wacky every week?
Can your teacher tell you the purpose of a given exercise or how it fits into the Pilates system or why it's useful for your individual body?
Do your classes fit together and build off each other? Are you able to see how your movement skills and patterns transfer over to new contexts?
Do you feel like you're actually learning about your body and movement, or are you just copying choreography?
What's the focus of the class? Is the cueing all about having a snatched waist and sculpting your body while doing as many reps as possible? Or are you being encouraged to focus on breath, alignment, and posture while your personal needs are being supported?
* For an interesting personal recounting of Joe's studio, what it was like learning Contrology from Joe Pilates himself, his research regarding the history of Joe Pilates, and what happened to the studio and the method when Joe died, you may enjoy reading John Steele's recently published book "Caged Lion".
** You can read more about that lawsuit here.
*** By the way, there is yet ANOTHER Pilates trademark lawsuit currently happening as we speak, the consequences of which will have huge bearing on what teachers and studios are allowed to publish online and whether certain exercises or images of exercises are allowed to be shared or replicated online or in print. You can read more about this recent lawsuit in this New York Times article.
# This also is why Pilates is not usually covered by health insurance (as discussed in this previous blog post)
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