Many of the words in the fitness vernacular are actually the proper names of the people who created, popularized, or jotted down the rules for mind-body fitness.

Though each of these individuals deserves a long, detailed biography to describe their contribution to modern Mind/Body Fitness, these brief introductions might be useful to students exploring the timeline of these schools of thought. The following names and brief bios are in chronological order based on year of birth.

F.M. Alexander

" . . .for Nature does not work in parts; she treats everything as a whole." (Introduction to a New Method of Respiratory Vocal Re-Education 1906)

Born Frederick Matthias Alexander in Wynyard, Tasmania,1869. Died in 1955 in London, England. Actor and Lecturer turned anatomist, Alexander created his Technique as a way to improve breathing and speech performance. Popular among actors, musicians and dancers, the Alexander Technique began in1930 London. Author of four books, F.M. Alexander should not be confused with AR Alexander, Albert Redden was F.M’s brother and a renowned teacher of his work.

Key Mind/Body Lesson: Release tension in the neck

Joseph Pilates

“I’m fifty years ahead of my time...” (1951)

Born in 1880 in Mönchengladbach, Germany. Died in 1967 in New York City, New York. Created Contrology beginning in 1912 England based on martial arts, yoga and physical therapy healing techniques. From 1925 through the 1960s, with wife Clara, taught what would later fail to be copyrighted as the Pilates Method in New York City, particularly popular among members of the New York City Ballet.

Key Mind/Body Lesson: Breathe properly

Ida P. Rolf, Ph. D

“One individual may experience his losing fight with gravity as a sharp pain in the back, another as the unflattering contour of their body, another as constant fatigue, and yet another as an unrelenting threatening environment. Those over forty may call it old age; yet all these signals may be pointing to a single problem so prominent in their structures and the structures of others that it has been ignored: they are off balance; they are at war with gravity.”

Born 1896 in New York, NY. Died 1979 in Boulder, CO. Ph. D. in Organic Chemistry, Ida Rolf explored osteopathy, chiropractic medicine, yoga, the Alexander Technique and Korzybski’s work on states of consciousness to help solve personal and family health problems. She began using her system called Structural Integration in the 1940’s, gaining notoriety during the 1960’s at the Esalen Institute in California. She published one book in 1977, and continued teaching and speaking about her method, copyrighted as “Rolfing” until her death.

Key Mind/Body Lesson: Mobility and resilience of the fascia

Moshe Feldenkrais

“What I'm after isn't flexible bodies, but flexible brains. What I'm after is to restore each person to their human dignity.”

Born 1904 in Slavuta, Ukraine, died 1984 in his home in Tel Aviv. Chemist, physicist and Martial Arts expert began scientifically studying the art of Judo, following WWII. He was also influenced by the work of G.I. Gurdjieff, and F. M. Alexander and others during this time. The Feldenkrais Method, or Awareness Through Movement, was born with the publication of his first book Body and Mature Behavior: A Study of Anxiety, Sex, Gravitation and Learning in 1949. The Awareness Through Movement program was taught at the Esalen Institute in the 1960’s, and the Feldenkrais method continued to grow well beyond his death in the 1980’s.

Key Mind/Body Lesson: Self-Awareness and inner discovery

B.K.S. Iyengar “Guruji”

“Yoga means union - the union of body with consciousness and consciousness with the soul. Yoga cultivates the ways of maintaining a balanced attitude in day-to-day life and endows skill in the performance of one's actions.” (Astadala Yogamala)

Born December 14, 1918 in Belur, Karnataka, India. Author of Light on Yoga and seven other texts that have been translated into languages worldwide, including the most recent Light on Life, Iyengar is generally given credit for bringing Yoga to the West. His extensive use of props to make poses possible and comfortable to hold for long periods of time assisted less flexible westerners to get into and out of the asanas. There are five official Iyengar Yoga institutions and centers all over the world.

Key Mind/Body Lesson: Patanjali’s eightfold path of yoga using hatha yoga asanas as a gateway.