Every time we talk about a conflict, the images of death and undoing they can become common to those who are willing to reflect on the subject. Undoubtedly, the destructive capacity of our military technology is responsible for the execution of terrible genocides that shame the trajectory of various nations. However, we cannot forget that the History it always presents us with an irony that makes it so interesting.
During the First World War (1914 - 1918) a series of armaments and combat techniques it was employed in the service of disputes involving the great imperialist nations. automatic weapons, tanks and planes they demonstrated to the world how “progress” and “civilization” would be able to study ways of decimating man himself. In addition, several epidemics, such as Spanish flu, spread among hundreds of people devastated by the horror of the conflicts.
Surprisingly, it was in this bleak context that a series of exercises was invented and, today, it is an interesting alternative for living a healthier life. All this happened at the beginning of
20th century, in the German city of Dusseldorf, place where a thin and malnourished young man called Joseph Pilates he began to be interested in improving his physical condition.As a young man, Joseph worked as an assistant to a doctor in his town. During this time, he had the opportunity to get in touch with a wide range of medical literature and learn a little more about the culture of ancient civilizations, such as the greek and Hindu. Fascinated by the balance between mind and body praised in classical culture, Joseph Pilates went on to develop a series of exercises that offered him a athlete's physical disposition.
Around 1912, taking advantage of his skills, he decided to travel with a circus company bound for the England. Unfortunately, his artwork didn't last long due to the outbreak of the First World War. having been born in a enemy nation of Great Britain, ended up being imprisoned by the local authorities. Through the impasse, it seemed that healthy Joseph Pilates would have to sour the monotonous life of a cell.
However, it was precisely in this adverse condition that he had the idea of developing a series of exercises that could maintain his enviable physical shape. To do so, he used what he had: bunk beds, bed springs, platforms and bars to put him and all his fellow prisoners to exercise. In the midst of the Spanish flu epidemic, the exercise routine created by the ingenious German ended up leaving all the detainees immune to that dreaded disease.
Once the discomforts of war had passed, Pilates decided to transform improvisation and willpower into a refined technique that could be performed by anyone. Not by chance, in 1926, headed for the U.S and there he mounted the Pilates Studio, an academy that has spread to the four corners of the world. Nowadays, the technique is practiced in several gyms and several of its adherents attest to the noticeable improvement in the quality of life.
By Rainer Sousa
Graduated in History
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/guerras/o-exercicio-primeira-guerra.htm