“Physical fitness is the first requisite of happiness.”

The above quote is likely one of the most famous ones attributed to Joseph H. Pilates, the founder of the Pilates Method of exercise. If that one or the many other inspiring passages penned by our leader doesn’t inspire you to do or teach Pilates, perhaps one of these nuggets from some celebrities and other famous people might do the trick!

“Sometimes I’ll just move around and dance around to kind of just sweat because I feel like I need to get things circulating. But I’m not hardcore about it. But my go-to’s are Brazilian Butt Lifts—it’s just really, really concentrating on your core and your butt—and Pilates.”

— Kate Hudson, actress

“Pilates is the only exercise program that has changed my body and made me feel great.”

— Jamie Lee Curtis, movie star

“I was doing Pilates before people even knew how to spell Pilates. I started with [Pilates guru] Mari Winsor after my first child, 22 years ago. She used to come backstage and do a mat floor workout with me when I was doing Kiss of the Spider Woman on Broadway. Core strength balances your entire body. It pulls your shoulders back, tucks in your pelvis, makes you walk straighter, and gives you great posture.”

—Vanessa Williams, actress

“I’m a Pilates person. It’s great. I had a hip problem. I had a chronic back, a pinched nerve and a hip problem and it’s completely solved all of it. I love it. It makes me feel like I’m taller.”

— Jennifer Aniston, actress

Now [after doing Pilates], I have muscles of steel and could easily deal with giving birth.”

— Hugh Grant, actor

“What do I like most about Pilates? The fact that I can really feel my body working. I might do 250 crunches but my body is so used to them that I don’t really feel them. With Pilates, I can really feel [my abdominals] even if I only do six or 12 repetitions.”

— Joan Collins, actress and writer, who first started doing Pilates more than 30 years ago

“By working from this whole-body perspective I transformed into a lithe, alacritous, empowered version of my former self. It was miraculous. I was hooked!”

— Brooke Siler, celebrity Pilates instructor and author of ‘Pilates Body’

“You can say what Pilates is in three words: Stretch with Strength and Control. And the control part is the most important because that makes you use your mind.”

— Romana Kryzanowska, disciple of Joseph Pilates and the mother of Classical Pilates

Want to know more about Pilates and learning to teach the method in New York City? Let us help!