Pilates's exercise methods included rehabilitation of seriously injured veterans. After World War I, Pilates returned to Germany and collaborated with important experts in dance and physical exercise such as Rudolf Laban. In Hamburg, he trained police officers. Move to the US and marriage Around 1925, Pilates immigrated to the United States. On the ship to America, he met his future wife Clara. The couple founded a studio in New York City and directly taught and supervised their students well into the 1960s. Joseph and Clara Pilates soon established a devoted following in the local dance and performing-arts community of New York. Well-known dancers such as George Balanchine, who arrived in the United States in 1933, and Martha Graham, who had come to New York in 1923, became devotees and regularly sent their students to the Pilates for training and rehabilitation. His exercise regimen built flexibility, strength and stamina. Soon after it became known that ballerinas were attending the Pilates gym on 8th Avenue, society women followed. Joseph Pilates wrote several books, including Return to Life through Contrology and Your Health, and he was also a prolific inventor, with over 26 patents cited. Pilates continued to advocate for and teach his method well into his old age, even once he was physically incapable of performing the exercises himself. Death Pilates died in New York City in 1967 of advanced emphysema at the age of 83. Books Your Health by Joseph H. Pilates (1934) Return to Life Through Contrology by Joseph H. Pilates and William J. Miller (1945) Reprint of 1945 book "The Pilates Pamphlet: Return to Life Through Contrology" by Joseph H. Pilates and Frederick Rand Rogers (1957) In popular culture Joseph Pilates is the subject of the 2013 documentary film A Movement of Movement made by Mark Pedri. References External links English-German blog of Pilates-biographer Eva Rincke in which she shares background information on her research on Joseph Pilates' life. 1883 births 1967 deaths German emigrants to the United States People associated with physical culture People from Mönchengladbach Sportspeople from New York City Pilates World War I civilian prisoners Deaths from emphysema