Rael Isacowitz is definitely one to follow in the Pilates industry. He founded BASI™ (Body Arts and Sciences, International) Pilates in 1989 and over the past 30 years, since he began his study in Pilates, he has made an indelible mark in the industry. “I have tried to keep BASI Pilates™ quite intimate,” says Rael, even with its spread across 20 countries. BASI Pilates™ is headquartered in Orange County, California and has 65 certifying locations.

Although business requires that he still travel, Isacowitz prefers to stay close to home. He resides in Oregon with his wife and 8-year-old son. He is a passionate windsurfer, which is what brought him to Oregon. Isacowitz also enjoys hiking, walking with his wife, skiing and snowboarding, long distance swimming, yoga and dance. He practices Pilates at least 3 times per week in his fully equipped home Studio. Obviously he is a hard worker and very disciplined… a great example to his students.

“My infinite thirst for exploration of different forms of training” is what Isacowitz says brought him to Pilates in the late 70s. His background at the time included dance, yoga, exercise physiology and biomechanics. He found the merging of arts and sciences in Pilates. “I felt that Pilates had the inner sense of yoga and dance, but it also had the physicality of a conventional workout. Pilates develops the musculature; coordination, flexibility and strength, and uses resistance in creative ways.” Over time, he began to focus more and more on dance and Pilates.

Rael danced professionally for many years and became the head of the dance department at a performing arts college in Australia. It was there he opened a Pilates studio and taught mat classes as part of the college’s curriculum. He began working with athletes, dancers and physical therapists, and was instrumental in helping Pilates be integrated into one of the largest and most prominent physical therapy schools in Australia.

Isacowitz came to the U.S. at the invite of an orthopedic surgeon who asked him to create a rehabilitation program based on Pilates. It was at that time that Isacowitz began to shift his main focus to Pilates rather than dance.

Recognized as an industry leader in Pilates, Isacowitz was the first Pilates professional to be invited to main land China. “For me this was an amazing experience and honor. This is a country so big with an enormous population, and I was the first Pilates person to be officially invited there by a government authority,” he says recalling the memory.

He does see a difference in Pilates across the countries, he says, “The American style of practicing Pilates has led the way. It is typically a more dynamic style, more active and athletic. To this day in England it is much softer, slower, lighter, less dynamic and athletic, even though there are always exceptions. There is a mixture of influences in other countries.”

Even within the U.S. he sees a difference between East Coast and West Coast. Whereas California is often regarded as alternative, esoteric and mind/body oriented, New York is very dynamic and physical. Some schools, particularly in New York, are staunchly focused on doing the repertoire and working on the apparatus exactly as Joseph Pilates originally did.