The History of Joe & Romana

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Joe Pilates was a boxer turned gymnast and developed methods of exercise for men in the early 1900s. He moved from Germany to America with his wife Clara, and continued his methodology, believing all people could benefit from his exercises. Joseph Pilates opened his fitness studio in 1920’s in New York in the same building as the New York City Ballet and dancers soon fell in love with his style of conditioning which could strengthen, lengthen, and rehabilitate the injuries dancers incurred throughout their rigorous training and performing.  

Today, Pilates is known around the world by countless millions of people as a sought-after form of exercise due to its abundant benefits of strengthening and change it gives to the body, while producing a well-rounded workout. Joe was quoted saying, “Pilates is not a fatiguing system of dull, boring, abhorred exercises repeated daily ‘ad-nauseam’....Physical fitness can neither be achieved by wishful thinking, nor outright purchase.” 

If you give yourself the chance to see the change, through multiple sessions, and not give up, your body, like the muscle memory dancers and athletes discipline themselves to love and understand, you will begin to learn the movements, and will gain independence in your overall health and well-being. 

 Romana Krzyanowska found Joseph Pilates after an ankle injury while studying ballet at the School of American Ballet in NYC at age 14. Romana went on to become Joe's protégé and dedicated her life to teaching Pilates. Romana's Pilates International is a specific style of Pilates created by Romana and maintained by those closest to her so the truest form of classical Pilates that Joseph Pilates created may continue forward today. 

As former ballet dancers who continue to seek a balanced lifestyle, rehabilitative health, along with strength and flexibility throughout the lifespan, Grace and Kathryn appreciate the methods that employ the mind, one’s own strength, muscle memory, and recognizable gains at one’s own pace, no matter one age or fitness level. Most of all, they feel honored to introduce others to Romana's Pilates, knowing her love for ballet, passion for teaching, and her legacy of helping students achieve more than they thought possible! Pilates is an art, a discipline, and to many, a discovery into a lifelong lifestyle of health. 

As twins, Grace and Kathryn appreciate how Romana's legacy extended to her entire family who have protected and kept her legacy preserved for future generations. Like some of the greatest ballet instructors, Romana was known for her intense dedication to her students, her eye to really see the body and give proper cueing, and teach students to go beyond what they thought was possible. From Grace and Kathryn's years of ballet training, they relate to this style of Pilates in its truest sense as Joe Pilates and Romana intended, and look forward to passing it on to their clients and dancer community. 

Romana's Pilates International puts instructors through intensive training for upwards of 12 to 14 months before reaching certification. On average, modern Pilates instructors train on average for about 5 months and focus on large, group and mat classes while Romana's Pilates offers private, personalized instruction. 

Instructors who come from differing styles of modern Pilates find they must train many months to reach the physicality to enter the program. Students come to Park Cities Pilates Center from all over the world to train in Romana Pilates, under the watchful guidance of Amanda Owens, Owner of Park Cities Pilates Center and a Senior Instructor Level 3. Owens offers the only training center in Texas and only one of two centers located in the Southwest for Romana’s Pilates International. Many Pilates instructors and Pilates Studio owners seek out this specific and renowned style to take back to their home country or Pilates community in the United States. Instructors have the opportunity to continue to grow in teaching the art and discipline of Romana Pilates with ongoing continued Pilates education throughout their lifetime.  Annual Continued Pilates Education (CPEs) must be maintained by instructors to satisfy and maintain Romana's Pilates International standards of credentials.  

FYI: Are you traveling out-of-country or in the United States, let us help you find a Romana's Pilates International studio while traveling.