Pilates Class

Pilates is a form of exercise invented by a German man named Joseph Pilates. He invented the system to rehabilitate wounded veterans in World War I. Nowadays, it is the preferred method of exercise for women of a certain age. Last month, I signed up for membership at the Sports Universe Gym in Kadikoy, where they offer free Pilates classes every Friday morning. The original impetus for the decision was related to the question of showers. At my apartment, we have a shower. In many respects it is a good shower - it has hot water and is relatively clean. There is even a place to put your soap and shampoo. However, the showers at Sports Universe Gym are fantastic - from the water pressure to the North American style shower-head (what I mean by this is that you can hang up the shower-head on the post and use both hands while you wash), one can find all the ingredients for a successful bathing experience.

Pilates class is fun. It is filled with middle aged Turkish women. The instructor doesn't know any English and shouts out the instructions in Turkish (Guzel! - Great!; Yavas! - slowly; Yapma! - don't do that!) Sometimes we play with plastic bands. Yesterday, I was a little too enthusiastic with my plastic band and broke it. I didn't feel badly, though, because Hocam (literally, 'my teacher') told me not to worry and provided me with a brand new grey plastic band. She calls me "canim", an affectionate term which means "my dear". The secretary at work calls me "tatlim", which means "my sweet". The choir director at the church I'm attending calls me "zayetz", which means "little rabbit".

The unquestionable highlight of the class was when Hocam played Leonard Cohen's "Dance Me to the End of Love". I've actually used this song in my English classes. Cohen sings clearly, and his lyrics are thought-provoking. My Turkish professor at the University of Minnesota played songs for us in class where we had to fill in the blanks as a listening exercise. I've tried to do the same in my classes.

At the end of the class, I exchanged a few words with the only other representative of the male gender present, a plump fifty-year old Communist who recently demonstrated at the IMF meeting in Istanbul.