How tall are you?

A humbling start to 2023. Pilates (eye roll). I have avoided it for years after two classes left me nauseous. I thought of it as soulless yoga.

Pilates emphasizes proper alignment, core stability, and muscle balance. Improving balance and flexibility can improve posture, mobility and overall physical function. I just need it for osteoporosis so I can get off the ground in case I fall.  

I discovered a studio tucked in the back of an old apartment building in Tel Aviv. It is a two minute walk from where I live. From the first class, I was out of my comfort zone. While setting up the reformer, the teacher asked my height. My face became hot and flushed. I was caught off guard and embarrassed as an American who doesn’t know the metric system. I said five foot three and she laughed. 

That question hit me hard. When I told my close friend about it he said, affectionately, “Koplin, who cares?” I feel this is basic knowledge I should know about myself living in Israel. I looked it up as soon as I got home - 160 cm. Easy!

Assuming I could waltz in here after leaving 23 years ago and fit right in was naive. My Hebrew is rusty. I still convert shekels to dollars in my head to know how much something costs. Is 16°C cold enough to turn on the heat? What cut of meat do I use for brisket? 

Basic stuff. Necessary for the flow of daily life. 

It is challenging (impossible?) to return to a place and time of your past and to experience the same magic. Patients come to me with feelings of nostalgia and longing for a place called home. Often people have moved on, the places they used to go are gone or different and they themselves are not the same people anymore. Priorities and responsibilities change. Growing apart is reality.  

I talk about the concept of home in this article. “Home is where the heart is” does not work for me because my heart is in every place where there are people I love - which means several continents. Home may not be a physical, stationary space. It may be the place where you, at any given moment, resonate most with the Earth beneath your feet. Right now, Israel is that place. 

I follow along but at times I feel like I am a step behind and not quite sure what I am doing. 

In Pilates and in life, that is where I am at.