Classical Pilates in Haarlem
What is Pilates?
Pilates is a versatile form of exercise that strengthens your core and flexibility and supports your overall wellbeing through controlled movement.
It is based on six fundamental principles: breathing, centering, concentration, control, precision and flow.
Through a set sequence of exercises — lying, seated, and standing — you stretch, bend, twist, and roll the body in a conscious and precise way, creating a balanced workout for the whole body.
Pilates at Body Joy Studio in Haarlem
At Body Joy Studio in the centre of Haarlem, we teach classical Pilates mat classes with respect for Joseph Pilates’ original method and the insights passed down through his direct students. On the mat, you work with your own body weight and learn to support, organise and strengthen your body from within. The exercises may sometimes look simple, but they require focus, precision and full-body connection.
Who is Pilates for?
Pilates is suitable for everyone: from complete beginners to experienced movers, dancers, and athletes. You can perform every exercise at your own level.
Pilates classes:
Monday 9:30 AM – 10:30 AM
Monday 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Tuesday 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Wednesday 8:30 AM – 9:30 AM
Wednesday 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM
Friday 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
Saturday 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
Try a class
Book a trial class for €11 and discover for yourself what Pilates can do for you.
Who was Joseph Pilates?
In old photographs, Joseph Pilates is instantly recognizable: simply dressed, upright and powerful, with his own body as living proof of his method. Behind that striking image was a deep conviction: “Physical fitness is the first requisite of happiness.”
Joseph Pilates was born in 1883 in Mönchengladbach, Germany. As a child, he was often ill and suffered from asthma, rickets, and rheumatic complaints. His desire to become stronger and healthier led him to immerse himself intensively in movement, breathing, and body control. He developed into a gymnast, boxer, and athlete, and studied the human body with great dedication.
In 1912, Pilates moved to England, where he worked as a boxer, circus performer, and self-defense trainer. During the First World War, like other German citizens, he was interned. During that period, he began to further develop his ideas on movement, strength, and recovery. He would later name his method “Contrology”: the art and science of the balance between body and mind.
In 1926, Joseph Pilates emigrated to New York. Together with his wife Clara, he opened his first studio there. He taught mat work and developed various pieces of equipment to support, correct, and further strengthen the body. Mat work formed the core of his method: working with one's own body weight, breathing, concentration, control, and precision.
His method attracted a remarkably broad audience: from people who felt stiff, restricted, or insecure in their bodies to professional dancers, performers, and athletes. Choreographers such as George Balanchine, Ruth St. Denis, and Martha Graham sent their dancers to Pilates to support their technique, strength, balance, and recovery.
Joseph Pilates believed that physical health forms the basis for life energy, clarity, and well-being. For him, therefore, his method was much more than a series of exercises: it was a way to develop the body evenly, improve posture, deepen breathing, and move with greater control, suppleness, and ease.
When Joseph Pilates died in 1967, he had dedicated his life to movement, health and education. During his lifetime, his method remained relatively small-scale, but today Pilates is practised all over the world. Over the years, many new forms and interpretations have emerged, some of which are far removed from his original work.
At Body Joy Studio, we keep his century--old legacy alive: with respect for the origins, attention to the whole body, and joy in mindful movement.
