This book is a great introduction for beginners and will teach pilates veterans a thing or two. It focuses on the body, mind and personal aspects of finding the perfect pilates workout and understanding how each element of the prgram works. This book is alone enough to teach you about pilates and assist you with your home or gym pilates routine. Pilates is not easy - it takes focus and discipline but the mental spiritual and physical results beat any other exercise program out there. This book will help you help yourself. 4 stars

Joseph Pilates relates his original exercise set and his original philosophies of fitness in this double volume containing the only two books he ever personally published. Edited and updated for the new millennium, the instructions in this book represent the official backdrop of Pilates' writings against which all the newest books by students and teachers must be measured. 5 stars

This book is helpful for one reason - it's the real Pilates and you actually get to see his photo. So many people jumped on his bandwagon, rennovated his moves, and polished the picture, that it was nice to see what the man was actually talking about. Instead of one book, you get two short books. The first is Pilates' Return to Life Through Contrology (published in 1945; 95 pages) where he describes 34 exercises with 4 photos each (old B&W) and complete step by step written instructions. This is the part of the book that I used to compare with the modern day Pilates video I purchased. Only some of his exercises were included in the video as I suspected, and it was nice to see them all which is the reason I bought the book. I still use the video because I got used to the routine, but I plan :) to start incorporating his other exercises. The second short book (60 pages) is "Your Health" and describes his philosophy of health mixed in with a few real old photos of exercises. I did not get as much out of this part (published in the 1934 mindset), except for the fact that breathing means keeping the belly in instead of out like a balloon (yoga style). After all, if you don't work the muscles around the abdomen to "go in," they "go out," and that's the real gist. Thank you Pilates for teaching us about working the "core," because I can really feel the difference. The killer is that Pilates is easier than crunches, and it's the ONLY thing that really works the abs and makes them feel flat. 4 stars

I think it is very important that people get to the originals works and ideas before listening to what others say about them. This Pilates works are the core of his Philosophy and must be undertood to fully comprenhend what many Pilate instructors or authors, men and women, are writing or teaching in todays world.
Here Pilates expose his thesis. This method of exercises are looking to re-integrate body and mind into a whole by re-teaching our bodys to be natural again, just as it was meant to be before human enter in the new slavery of modern times.
Don't expect pretty words, poems or trascendental meditation. Expect an argument, a philosophical statement and a contribution to a debate about the role of excersices on human well been. Read it and discuss it on gyms, ballet or dance classes, martial arts schools, with personal trainers, physical educational teachers, family and friends. 4 stars

I am new to Pilates, but have an extensive background in yoga and other fitness endeavors. I thought it was well worth the purchase price of this book to read Joseph Pilates' own words on his exercise system.

It provided great insight, that is timely even today, more than fifty years later. Some of the material (especially in the second part of the book), is very dated, and modern science can refute some of his claims (i.e. the straight spine), but overall the book shows that Pilates was, as he himself suggested, "fifty years ahead of his time".

It is well worth seeing what the original system was envisioned to be by the creator, and then choosing an instructor who teaches from this foundation. 4 stars