Musing about a Book: Return to Life Through Contrology by Joseph H. Pilates No. 5

Return to Life through Contrology was Joseph Pilates’ second published book, written by Joseph H. Pilates with the help of co-writer William John Miller.  Original copyright 1945. It is broken down into two sections. The first written section is Pilates' worldview and philosophy of his method which he named “Contrology.”  Part two of the book has each of thirty-four mat exercises described with four accompanying photos and step by step instructions on how to execute the particular exercise. Return to Life through Contrology is considered to be the original Pilates exercise book. 

I think the most striking characteristic of Return to Life through Contrology are the photographs - taken of Joseph Pilates at the age of 62! The photographer was a famous fashion photographer named George Hoyningen-Huene.  Huene’s career as a photographer took off in Paris where he worked with famous artists and haute couture fashion houses. In no time, Hoyningrn-Huene became the Chief Photographer at Condé Nast’s French Vogue.   One of my favorite photographs of Hoyningen-Huene’s is titled: Divers, Horst and Lee Miller, Paris 1930. Here is a screenshot of it from the https://www.georgehoyningenhuene.org/ website.

Gorgeous.  

I could not find any information on how Joseph Pilates knew George Hoyningen-Huene but this be said, the photos of Pilates are elegant, simple, and most importantly - so literally describe Pilates’s exercise method.  One can easily see that Contrology was and still is a whole body method that requires breath, focus, spinal length, tension and release.  Like Hoyningen-Huene’s photography, the movement is pared-down and elegant in its simplicity. 

I have read the first half of Return to Life through Contrology a handful of times.  It is dense and unlike the photographs the writing style feels somewhat dated.  Anyone who does Pilates exercise often enough will start to recognize quotes taken from this first half of the book on their studio walls, on t-shirts and on Instagram.  Here are a few examples: 

“Breathing is the first act of life, and the last.” Page 23

“Contrology is designed to give you suppleness, natural grace, and skill that will be unmistakably reflected in the way you walk, in the way you play, and in the way you work.” (page 19)

“One of the major results of Contrology is gaining mastery of your mind over complete control of your body.”  (Page 19) 

I found myself copying down these well versed quotes for this review and then thought - I am not the only one who seems to be only able to remember this body of text as a list of quotes similar to a series of marketing slogans! Reading the first half - took a few tries this time around as I found myself dozing off!  I wish George Hoyningen-Huene had gotten in there and streamlined and pared down this text - to the elegant simplicity that the Pilates Method can be. 

This first half of the book is broken down into the following five sections:

Basic Fundamentals

Contrology Restores Physical Fitness

Guiding Principles of Contrology 

Bodily House-Cleaning With Blood Circulation

Results of Contrology

As I took notes - I decided instead of giving you my own verbal rehash of this whole text - I would attempt to pare it down myself - down to the essence of what I feel the Pilates method is and yet the words are directly extricated (and liberated) from Return to Life through Contrology. 

Please take a minute or two to read,  listen and experience  my own version of Return to Life through Contrology by pressing the play button above.