As we are now heading into the the fall and the beginning of the Flu season, I am reminded of the great story of Joseph Pilates vs. Influenza. The story sticks in my mind, as I see Flu Shot advertisements everywhere! Stories tell of Joseph Pilates on the Isle of Mann as a prisoner of war. This is during world war 1, he and his brother were part of a Greek statue act in a traveling Circus. The circus happened to be in England during World War 1, because of his German citizenship, he and the rest of the group were sent to the Isle of Mann as POW's. Once there, Joseph Pilates was put in charge of the injured soldiers. He also had a group of soldiers that did his exercises religiously. When this influenza pandemic came to the Isle of Mann, Joseph Pilates' group of exercising soldiers were the only ones who did not come down with this horrible Influenza....

 I was recently reading about the H1N1, and in this article from the Atlantic Monthly called, "Does the Vaccine Matter?" by Shannon Brownlee and Jeanne Lenzer, they were talking about past years and pandemics of Influenzas that have happened. " The worst flu pandemic in recorded history was the “Spanish flu” of 1918–19, at the end of World War I. A third of the world’s population was infected, with at least 40million and perhaps as many as 100million people dying—more than were killed in World Wars I and II combined. (Some scholars suggest that one reason World War I ended was that so many soldiers were sick or dying from flu.)".

It was fascinating to read this after having always heard the story of Joseph and his healthy soldiers. In today's world of health care, it seems the most important thing you can do for yourself and family is become proactive about your health. Colds and flu's can be less debilitating when your body and immune systems are healthy and strong. Here's to yet another positive result from Joseph Pilates' exercise system!