Does Pilates Feel Gatekeep-y? It dates back as far as it's origins.

Pilates Always Had Gatekeepers

So many Pilates practitioners preach today that the Pilates method is for everybody. And so did Joseph Pilates of the method under the original name of Contrology. Yet, why does it feel like there is gatekeeping and elitism in Pilates if the method is for everyone? That culture actually dates all the way back to when Joseph Pilates was alive. If you are curious to make your own judgments before reading my interpretation of the history, I encourage you to read Caged Lion by John Howard Steel–specifically Chapters 5 and 6 if you are solely invested in this specific topic.

Joseph Pilates Himself was a Gatekeeper

Joseph Pilates, despite efforts of his clients to document and preserve the method (then called Contrology,) was stubborn and believed that everyone was out to steal his method, and so he kept it mostly to himself. He trained his wife, Clara, and a few assistants and elders to teach others the method during his lifetime, but refused to make formal documentation of the method, even as his health declined and a committee was put together to help preserve his knowledge. His actions went against his words–he claimed he wanted every person to do Contrology and it would solve the world’s problems, yet he wouldn’t share the method with anyone to allow it to grow past his own small, struggling gym in New York City.

When another man opened a gym across town and began teaching the method to some of the clients that formally frequented Joe’s gym, Joseph showed up to the gym, with an illegal gun, put it in the man’s face and threatened him so as not to worry about his clients moving gyms. This is hardly the action of a man secure enough in his teachings and skills to retain his clients on his own. Also, hardly an action of someone who actually cared about spreading the method to everybody. It is an action that showed Joseph's ego and insecurities. Sure, we can believe that it was a man that was asserting that he would do anything to protect his business, or we can look at it deeper and state that even if it was unethical to poach another man’s clients, the act of threatening life through physical violence was a poorly evolved response and an indicator that Joseph Pilates didn’t actually believe that Contrology was for everybody.

Ramona Wasn’t the First Choice and Was Also a Gatekeeper

Romana Kryzanowska is marked as one of today’s most famous Pilates elders–the one who took Joe’s method forward after death. But Romana was not even the first choice to carry on the legacy of Joe’s gym after his death. She was contacted as Clara and John Howard Steel became desperate to find someone to lead the business and maintain the legacy after Joseph's death. Ramona had been an eager and attentive client of Joe’s but was never an assistant or trained by him to teach the method like some of the others who declined the opportunity to take over.

But, Romana didn’t have any interest in running a Pilates studio when she was first approached. She had an elitist attitude about her already–which was a culture from the ballet world. Steel describes that she viewed everyday people as outsiders. In order for her to agree to this role, Steel had to ask her twice and in the second meeting play to her ego–making– he promised that she would be the focus and that the new Pilates would be “hers.” She would be the queen of Pilates and the hero who saved the method. And Romana bit at the bait to be the Savior of the method who had full control over the method moving forward while Steel helped with the business side of things.

Once the studio was in place, there were issues with hierarchy within the studio that Steel explained was never an issue when Joesph was alive. That Romana chose favorites and highly favored celebrities. It was palpable that one could be treated very well right next to another that was ignored, based on status.

Sean Gallagher is a Gatekeeper and Lost A Battle

A physical therapist by the name of Sean Gallagher secured a trademark for the name Pilates and convinced Romana to take a position on his side to fight for "authentic" Pilates--but he didn't own a Pilates studio at the time, and he didn't teach Pilates at the time. He began to send out cease and desist letters to anyone using the name Pilates without his permission–a more modern way to scare people from teaching the method vs Joe’s way of scaring another at gunpoint.

His actions came to a head in a lawsuit against Ken Edelman and Balanced Body, Inc. After a 4 year battle, the courts ultimately rejected Gallagher’s claim that only his teachers were qualified to teach the Pilates method, and that his trademark and assertions were invalid. Pilates was deemed a generic term by the courts, and Gallagher lost his case.

It is alleged by other Pilates teachers and educators that Gallagher has also asserted legal action against those that try to share the legacy of Joseph Pilates by asserting ownership of archival documents and photographs from when Joseph was still alive.

Pilates is Legally a Generic Term–but is it for Everybody?

For better or worse, practitioners can now teach Pilates without worrying about being sued; however, that opens the door for new interpretations and adaptations of the method. Practitioners continue to argue and fight over what “real” or “authentic” Pilates is. In an effort to protect what they view is “real” Pilates, many studios continue to control the method so tightly that they come off as elitist and unwelcoming of those who are not indoctrinated yet. Training to become certified in the method is expensive and takes months to years to complete–making it impossible to keep up with the demand for qualified teachers during times of intense interest in Pilates in the market.

If you were to ask me “Is Pilates for everybody?” As a Contemporary teacher, I would tell you that it is a method that can be adapted for anyone, but the Pilates culture (as a whole) today has not adapted enough from its gatekeeper roots to be welcoming for everybody and that is also one reason there is so much disparity in styles of teaching from one studio to another.

Interested in a personal story of when I was pushed out of a Pilates Community? Learn about the day I decided to quit Reddit.