“Let’s Pretend We Have No Legs!”

The above quote was repeated with much hilarity at yesterday’s Recess! session… I believe we were coming down the stairs headfirst at the time, reminiscing about the pretend games we all played as kids. As adults we get hung up on rules and scoring systems, but kids play in a way that is unhindered by this “logic” nonsense. Kids’ play is all about exploration and joy in movement (two themes we hit on all the freaking time at Recess!) Abandon your legs for a moment. How are you going to cross the room to get another cup of coffee? Try it out. I’ll wait here.

Um, try this at home, not at work or on the TTC. Just a suggestion.

The second leg of the wheelbarrow race showdown

More wheelbarrow race drama

Slam, grumpy as always

Jan shows the stairs who’s boss

Sharkey launches!

Leaping!

Flipping into the pit

The first leg of the wheelbarrow showdown

So speedy!

Want to find out more about natural movement and play-based workouts? Check out StrengthBox, my baby in East York. Want to come Recess! it up with the Death Track Dolls? We run around on Saturday mornings at 10:30am at The Monkey Vault, 213 Geary Avenue.

Recess #2

Recess is now on Saturdays at 10:30 and 11:30! Come to The Monkey Vault at 213 Geary Avenue and see what all the fuss is about…

This week at Recess we climbed a rope ladder, learned how to do Jackie Chan-style parkour tricks, and played with throwing and catching… and then the brave, brave Death Track Dolls requested an ass-kicking. Five short (long) minutes later, I think everyone agreed that an ass-kicking had indeed been delivered. Don’t think Recess is all fluff and no substance! You may not notice how much work you’re doing because it’s all about the fun, but Recess will mold you into a lean, mean, fighting machine if you give it a go.

Throwing and catching

Stair crawling

Balancing…

The calm before the storm

Context

MovNat is all about how movement becomes “natural movement” primarily because of its context. Taken out of context, a burpee is just a burpee (yay burpees!). While they’re certainly an effective calisthenic bodyweight exercise, one might find oneself asking why the hell one is doing so many damn burpees when one is, say, halfway through Pukie Brewster (that’s 150 burpees for time, for the uninitiated). In the context of falling down and getting up as fast as possible to escape a threat, burpees make a lot more sense. Dare I say it also makes them more fun? Context defines pretty much everything we do… when you see someone who usually makes your morning americano at your favorite cafe, but they’re at the grocery store, it can be tough to pin down why they look so familiar. If you’ve ever had a truly mind-blowing meal, it probably wasn’t just about the meal… after all, the steak you eat after a day of heavy yard work or snowshoeing isn’t the same steak you eat after a day of surfing the net.