Pilates at 100: What’s in a Name?
October 16, 2026
Why ask this now?
This April marked 100 years since Joseph Pilates arrived in New York. He and Clara opened their studio at 939 Eighth Avenue, in a building full of dancers, and taught there for the rest of their lives.
This month marks another anniversary. In October 2000, a federal judge in Manhattan ruled that "Pilates" was a generic term, like yoga or karate, and anyone could use the word. My teacher, Romana Kryzanowska, sat on the witness stand during that trial.
Twenty-six years later, you can see the result on just about every corner. Franchise chains have come to dominate the scene, and many of them now train their own teachers in-house. If you're new to all of this, it's confusing. Two studios can both call what they do Pilates and hand you completely different experiences.
I've been teaching for 30 years. I trained under Romana, who began studying with Joe in 1941 and later ran his New York studio. Every year I re-read his book, Return to Life Through Contrology, and every year I come back grateful for what this method has given me.
If you love the class you're taking, and it's working for you, wonderful. Keep going. If you've ever felt confused about what you're actually paying for, I want to start with what happened in that courtroom, because it explains a lot about where we are today.
"I teach Pilates"
The trial ran 11 days. Three of Joe's own students took the stand: Ron Fletcher, Kathy Grant and Romana.
Romana was called by the side trying to keep the trademark. The man who held it claimed his rights came through her. And when the attorney asked her what she did for a living, she answered the only way she could: "I teach Pilates."
Those three words helped sink the trademark. Trademark law protects brand names, and Romana had just described what she does for a living, the way a piano teacher would.
Over the course of her testimony, Romana named more than two dozen teachers who used the word to describe what they taught. She even mentioned that dancers called their warm-up "the Pilates," the way table tennis gets called ping pong. Then she told the judge that Joe "wanted all colleges mainly to have this exercise program because he thoroughly believed in it and thought it would be good for the human race and even children in schools."
That last line is the one I keep coming back to. Joe wanted his work in every school and every home he could reach. Romana's loyalty in that courtroom was to the work itself, and I've tried to carry that into my own teaching ever since.
The flip side is what we live with now. Once the name belonged to everyone, it could be attached to anything.
So what is Pilates?
In 1945, Joe put his method into a slim book called Return to Life Through Contrology. He tells you right up front what it is: "Contrology is complete coordination of body, mind, and spirit."
Then he lays out how you get there, in two stages. First you consciously take control of your own body. Then, through the right kind of repetition, that control sinks below the surface until it runs on its own, with the same natural rhythm as your breathing or your walk.
He was specific about the payoff. He promised the work would even out your body and correct your posture, and that your mind would come along for the ride. He even prescribed a dose: four sessions a week for three months.
Joe believed the brain benefits as much as the body. As you learn to wake up muscles that have been asleep for years, he wrote, you wake up the parts of the brain that run them. I see it every week in my studio, when a client finally feels a muscle she didn't know she had and her whole face changes.
When new students ask, I tell them this. Pilates is the science of learning to move your body with intelligent control, until that control becomes attention-free. You give the work your full attention in the session so that out in your life, your body moves well on its own.
Two things called Pilates
In 2026 we're well past the old debates about classical, contemporary, traditional and authentic. The real line runs between a movement system with its own philosophy and a fitness-style Reformer class. Both can be good for you. They're different things, and you deserve to know which one you're buying.
Reps. The Pilates method puts quality first, usually 3 to 5 reps. A fitness-style Reformer class goes for volume, with reps until you burn.
Exercises. The Pilates method follows Joe's repertoire, with specific exercises done in a specific order so each one prepares your body for the next. A fitness-style class often mixes in moves borrowed from the gym, barre or HIIT, and the lineup changes from class to class.
Equipment. The Pilates method uses the full system: Mat, Reformer, Cadillac, Wunda Chair, Barrels, and more. A fitness-style class primarily uses the Reformer.
Session size. Pilates sessions are private or small group, so the teacher can see you. Fitness-style classes tend to be large.
Focus. Pilates is mindful movement you carry into your day. A fitness-style class is a high-energy workout set to music.
An exception worth naming: a Mat class is the heart of the method, and Joe intended it to be done on its own, at home, every day.
In the '80s, when the fitness industry was in its infancy, we beat our bodies up with mega reps until we felt the burn. A lot of people got hurt, and I thought we'd learned our lesson. Then barre classes came along with the same basic model, and now it's showing up on Reformers.
I don't get it, except that the people in those classes tend to have young, resilient bodies that can absorb it for a while. Your body at 50 or 80 needs a way of moving that respects it, and Pilates was designed to serve you through every decade of your life.
Room at the table for everyone
I'm thrilled that more people are exercising, and there's plenty of room for every kind of studio. A franchise class that gets someone off the couch three times a week is a good thing.
I also believe an educated public is good for all of us. When people understand what they're paying for, they make better choices, and the whole profession earns more trust. That's an invitation for studio owners and teachers of every background to talk honestly with clients about what their classes offer.
This is a big reason I serve on the board of the National Pilates Certification Program. The NPCP is the only NCCA-accredited Pilates credential in the United States and internationally (at this time), and it gives the profession one shared minimum standard of education, regardless of lineage or studio model. When teacher training happens in-house, a common credential lets the public compare. If you're choosing a teacher, asking whether they're NPCP certified is a simple place to start.
Sources
The History of Pilates, National Pilates Certification Program
The Pilates Lawsuit, Balanced Body
Gordon Troy and the Trademark Lawsuit, Pilates Anytime
Pilates, Inc. v. Current Concepts, Inc., court opinion, CourtListener
Filed under: Business Matters