Every Body is Beautiful Goes Digital

Way ahead of its time, Ron Fletcher’s book on his life’s work remains a classic 40 years later.

In 1972, Ron Fletcher opened the first Pilates studio on the west coast, in Los Angeles. He had studied directly under Joe and Clara Pilates since 1948, and with Clara’s permission, Ron set out to spread the work of Body Contrology outside of New York City. His original studio, located on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, soon became an epicenter for Hollywood elite, leading to a renaissance of the Pilates method. Six years later, Ron published Every Body is Beautiful, one of the first books based on Body Contrology. Featuring several of Ron’s celebrity clients, including Ali MacGraw, Candice Bergen, Sandy Duncan, Susan Dey, Ben Vereen, among others, it quickly became a mainstay in the Pilates community. Although the plates for the original book were destroyed in a fire, technology now allows us to celebrate its 40th anniversary and bring the book back to life—digitally, that is—so it can become a part of your library, too. Along with chapters on breath, body alignment, awareness and modifications for pregnancy, Every Body is Beautiful features Ron’s evolution of the Pilates method, which later crystallized into the Fletcher Floorwork™ and Towelwork™ techniques. What follows is a taste of the original exercise photos from the book, juxtaposed with modern Fletcher Pilates teachers performing similar movements.