Running and Ramblings

I count myself extremely blessed to have the opportunity to coach everyone who moves at The Proving Ground. Watching people throw themselves, mind and body, into the movements of the evening is sheer joy. Last night was particularly inspiring for me.

In a moment of observation, the stark contrast between what was going on in the small room at the Southside YMCA and what passes for physical fitness in 95% of the gyms and health clubs out there was never more apparent. There was crawling, pulling, swinging heavy weight, walking, encouraging, smiling, grimacing, resting and cajoling. It seemed as though everyone was fully present mentally as well as physically. It was dynamic and community driven. No counting. No screaming on a microphone. No unnatural command and control. Just hard, fun work and play.

This really hit me when I stepped outside the room we use into the main portion of the building. What I found was a quiet metronome of assembly line fitness with very little movement at all. In fact, the devices being used were designed to limit movement as much as possible. What's worse, there was no heart or sense of community to be found. It really made be appreciate what our group does and how we do it.

On a related note, physical educator and researcher Frank Forencich's organization Exuberant Animal promotes many of the same ideals which shape the research and practice of The Proving Ground. His concept of natural, play based fitness is intriguing as is his mantra of getting people to "fall in love with movement." Check it out at http://www.exuberantanimal.com/index.php.

I plan to run the Big Apple run tomorrow. It is hosted by the Louisiana Resource Center for Educators. This terrific organization works tirelessly to help teachers and teachers-in-training all over the state. The weather should be beautiful. Here's the link in case you would like to see what kind of 5K time you have: http://www.lrce.org/big_apple_run.html.

Have a fantastic weekend.