The Origins of the Pilates Wunda Chair
By Elaine Ewing
The Wunda Chair was one of several chairs that Joseph Pilates invented in the 1930s as furniture that doubled as exercise device. The premise of his invention was that a chair could be easily and quickly converted into an apparatus that could provide a workout for the entire body, therefore solving two common problems that many people have: little space for exercise equipment and almost no time to use it.
A vintage ad from the 1930s for a “Wunda Chair”
Contrary to popular belief, the term “Wunda” does not mean “Wonderful” in German. Its actually doesn’t appear in any German dictionary that I know of. In fact, “Wunda Chairs” were actually a well-known style of chair in the 1930s, which had cushions with inner springs. It is our current belief that Joe’s apparatus was a clever play on words, as if he was inventing his own version of a “Wunda Chair” that would of course, be even better than the Wunda Chair his customers would have already been familiar with.
Joe’s Original Wunda Chair
Joe Pilates’ original 1934 patent for “Chair”
As a chair, the seat sloped downward towards the chair back, which assisted in keeping the spine straight and enhanced sitting posture. To decrease the extreme angle, a wedge-like pillow was placed between the chair back and the person sitting in the chair.
When the Wunda Chair was in the sitting position, there were no mechanical or moving parts on the chair- it was just for sitting and not for exercising. The chair back was completely stable and did not move. However, other chairs similar to the Wunda Chair that Joe invented included a spring-loaded chair back that would recline slightly when the person would lean back in the chair.
To convert the Wunda Chair from furniture to exercise apparatus, all one needed to do was to flip it over, attach the inner springs to the hooks, and what was once the seat of the chair now became a spring-loaded pedal that could be used for dozens of exercises for the whole body.
An element of Joe’s original design that he later abandoned was small, metal attachments that could be inserted into the pedal. These looked similar to the metal pedal of a foot corrector and would cup around the shape of the pedal, providing specific placement and structure for the feet.
Each of these original elements of Joe’s design can be found in his 1934 patent for “Chair”:
Another point of interest about Joe’s Wunda Chair involves the springs and spring settings. Most of Joe’s Wunda Chairs only included 2 springs, and 1 attached on each side of the pedal. However, he was also known to have created chairs that used 2 springs on each side.
Like most of Joe’s equipment, the chair had very little padding on the top, to provide a stable surface for hand, foot, or placement of any other body part during the workout.
Joe’s Other Styles of Wunda Chairs
A Wunda Chair from inside the original Pilates studio, with brackets that were used to hold removable handles. Photo by John Vachon, from the Library of Congress.
One of Joe’s early styles of Wunda Chair had sides with openings that had a few different functions. One was to provide an additional way of holding the hands on the chair. With open sides, the hands could grip around all four sides of the chair easily, as needed depending on the exercise.
Another version of Joe’s Wunda Chair included removable handles that looked like the handles used on the Electric Chair. We can see evidence of this in photos from inside his studio, which show the wear marks from the handles on the wooden sides of the chair, and the brackets that would have held the poles onto the chair.
Ted Shawn’s Wunda Chair
Ted Shawn on his Wunda Chair. Photo courtesy of The New York Public Library.
Joe used the chair in his studio, and he also sold chairs to his students to use when they couldn’t come in for a session. One of his most famous students to own a Wunda Chair was Ted Shawn, founder of Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. Ted Shawn once wrote about the chair,
“… my favorite piece of all your inventions. Assuming that one cannot always come to your studio, and work on all of the many inventions you have created to help humanity return to Life… the chair seems to me the most usable. It is light enough, to begin with, to move around easily by one person… Your set of exercises for chair are so complete that every muscle of the body is toned up equally all over, and the varied exercises are also void of monotony (such as, for instance, the floor exercises sometimes seem just drudgery to me)… This necessity to keep one’s mind alert, and the constantly changing positions hold one’s interest and this, in itself, is a valuable part of daily exercising- to enjoy it. And it takes up so little room, anyone could use it even in a small hotel room.”
Vintage 1950s Archival Wunda Chair
An original Wunda Chair from Elaine Ewing’s collection.
We estimate the date for this original Wunda Chair to be sometime during the 1950s. This design was Joe’s most common design for the Wunda Chair and the one that he finally decided to keep making. It originally had only 2 spring settings. A third setting was added at some point after Joe passed away. It has two different original Pilates studio patent plaques on it for authenticity.
This chair comes from the original Pilates studio and was used at Drago’s Gym and True Pilates for many years. It's now part of Elaine Ewing’s collection of archival and original equipment at Rhinebeck Pilates.
Vintage 1960s Archival Wunda Chair
An original Wunda Chair from Sean Gallagher’s Pilates Archives®.
This chair is estimated to come from the 1960s and is of the same style as the archival, white Wunda Chair pictured above. One main difference between the two chairs is that this chair was made with three spring settings. This chair was used at SUNY Purchase College for many years and is part of Sean Gallagher’s Pilates Archives®.
Gratz Wunda Chair Today
Joanna Lee from The Pharmacy on Gratz Wunda Chair in Upholstery Color Bisque
Today, the Wunda Chair continues to be an essential apparatus in classical Pilates studios around the world. The Gratz Wunda Chair ensures practitioners can experience the work as Joseph Pilates intended.
The Gratz Wunda Chair features a spring-loaded pedal that challenges strength, balance, and control in every movement. Its precise build allows for a wide range of exercises to strengthen the entire body while also improving posture and stability.
With every Wunda Chair, Gratz bridges past and present, staying true to Joe’s vision and design while ensuring it remains a vital part of the Pilates Method today.
About Elaine Ewing
Elaine Ewing is the owner of Rhinebeck Pilates, and a third-generation, certified Authentic Pilates teacher and Certified Teacher of Teachers through the New York Pilates Studio®. Elaine is also the owner of many pieces of original equipment from Joseph Pilates’ 8th Avenue Studio and Carola Trier’s original studio, which can be found within Rhinebeck Pilates.
Copyright 2025 Elaine Ewing
