Ted and I record Jeopardy! every day, then watch it in the evening. On May 29, the final Jeopardy! category was “Exercise.” Before the question appeared on-screen, Ted and I both said “Pilates” as a joke. Here’s the final Jeopardy! question in a true “screen”shot–I took a picture of the TV screen. We laughed when we read it.
The answer: Pilates. Ted and I and the two contestants on the left had the correct answer; the man on the right incorrectly responded “isometrics.”
Joseph Pilates, a German physical fitness trainer, developed this exercise method as a holistic approach to fitness, emphasizing breath, core strength, and mind-body connection. He originally called his system Contrology.
As a German national living in England during World War I, Joseph (as our Pilates instructor refers to him) was interned in a prison camp on the Isle of Man for four-and-a-half years. During his internship, he refined his fitness regime and trained his fellow inmates in fitness and exercises. He boasted that his students would leave their confinement in better condition than they were before being involuntarily committed. During his internment, he used Contrology to develop core strength in seriously injured veterans. (See the Jeopardy! question.)
Ted and I are halfway through our 21st year of twice-weekly Pilates classes.