Joseph Pilates (Monchengladbach, Germany 1880–New York, USA 1967) was the creator of Contrology (later renamed Pilates).

As a child, Pilates had several health issues, including asthma, rheumatic fever, and rickets. He answered these conditions by becoming an avid student of fitness such as body building, yoga, zen, gymnastics, and self-defense techniques. He also loved outdoor activities such as skiing, and became an expert in ancient Greek philosophy, especially concerning fitness.

His Greek father had been an award-winning gymnast, while his German mother was a naturopath who believed in stimulating the body to heal itself without artificial drugs. Without a doubt, it was Pilates’ parents who greatly influenced the ideas and philosophies that would later become his brilliant method of exercises for the body, mind, and spirit.

In 1912, Pilates moved to England, earning a living as a professional boxer, circus performer, and self defense trainer for the police. During World War I, he served in a a hospital as a nurse and physiotherapist in Lancaster and The Isle of Man, where he started to develop his Contrology method.

Later he was invited to train the Hamburg Military Police, but declined due to the new social movement emerging in his native Germany, and soon left for the United States. While sailing to the US, he met his future wife, Clara. Together, they opened a successful studio in New York in 1924, sharing a building with several dance studios and rehearsal spaces. At this studio, Pilates interacted with dance luminaries George Balanchine and Martha Graham, building upon the work he did with Rudolf Laban during his years in Germany.

Joseph Pilates' legacy can be discovered through several books, such as "Your Health: A Corrective System of Exercising that Revolutionizes the Entire Field of Physical Education (1934)" and "Return to Life Through Contrology (1945)." He was a prolific inventor with over 26 patents to his credit, and developed and refined his Contrology (Pilates) method over his entire life.

Romana Kryzanowska grew up in Florida, but moved to New York City at an early age to study dance. Having a great talent and love for ballet, she joined the School of American Ballet. After her graduation, she became a professional dancer with the New York City Ballet under the direction of George Balanchine. In 1941, it was Balanchine who took Romana to meet Joseph Pilates after she suffered an ankle injury. Balanchine wanted her back to rehearsals as soon as possible, and Pilates promised progress in five sessions. But Romana felt improvement in just three sessions, not just in her ankle, but also in the quality of her dance technique. Impressed by Pilates and his system, she immediately became a convert to the Pilates philosophy, which became her lifelong inspiration and way of life.

Over a period of fourteen years (1944 to 1958), Romana lived in Peru with her husband and two children, daughter Sari Mejia Santo and son Paul Mejia. Despite the distance, Romana kept in frequent contact with her mentors Joseph and Clara Pilates, and spent her time in Peru teaching the method that Pilates had taught her.

In 1958, Romana returned to New York, where she continued teaching and working with Joseph and Clara Pilates in their studio. After Joseph’s death and her upcoming retirement, Clara chose Romana to take over the operation of the studio in 1971. Romana ran the studio until 1989, later opening her own studio within Drago's Gym in New York City (still open and working under the name True Pilates NY).

Romana made a commitment to Joseph and Clara Pilates to continue their life' s work, keeping the method as pure and true as possible to the way Pilates had originally taught it. She is responsible for education and certification of most of the leading Pilates instructors in the world. At 80 plus, Romana is a living inspiration, not just to Pilates followers, but also to anybody whom she touches with her mystique, happiness, good taste, simplicity, tenacity, and aura of genius.