Written by Magnolia Voice contributer Scott McCredie
Want to add a little exuberance, fun, and playfulness to your exercize routine? If you’re a little bored or unsatisfied with your current fitness regime, or you simply want to try a new and more engaging approach, you should check out a new series of fitness classes being offered now at a Magnolia fitness clinic.
It’s called Exuberant Animal.
The name of the class is both intriguing and somewhat mysterious. What exactly is an Exuberant Animal? While conjuring up images of playful monkeys or leaping dolphins, it actually is a reference to humans and our million-plus-year legacy of joyful, daily, vigorous movement.
According to Frank Forencich, a 53-year-old Seattle resident trained in human biology, anthropology, physiology, and martial arts, humans were designed to move in a myriad of complex ways in order to survive. He believes that in the modern world most of us have lost this innate drive, and also much of our health and sense of play. After traveling to Africa to study hunter-gatherer tribes, poring over reams of scientific literature on every aspect of human health, play, and fitness, and studying human movement in many different contexts, he came up with a philosophy of movement that’s “primal, playful, and practical.”
So how does one become an Exuberant Animal? In the several classes I’ve attended at Studio 122, a small, well-equipped health facility located near the east entrance to Discovery Park, newcomers start out a little nervous at first, not knowing what’s expected of them. Within about ten minutes, however, everyone is giggling and smiling like children at recess, flushed with enthusiasm. I haven’t had this much fun exercising since grade school.
By the end of the hour-long session, after a series of deceptively simple movements and games, students are sweaty and fatigued and, yes, even exhilarated.
So what makes an Exuberant Animal session “primal, playful, and practical”? Take one of the warm-up movements that Exuberant Animal instructor Steven Stanfield introduced last week. He called it “pretend jump rope,” where students skip an imaginary rope. Anyone who’s tried to jump rope knows how difficult it is, but grasping handles made of air “we’re all pros at this,” he said. Suddenly students were free to be creative, throwing in double and triple twirls, going backwards, sideways. They got the physical benefits of jumping rope without having to master the skill.
If jumping “air” ropes is playful, then the many variations of squatting movements are both primal and practical. Primal refers to movement that our stone-age ancestors performed as they roamed across the African veldt. Stanfield squatted down on his haunches and invited the others to follow suit. He said that in societies that don’t have chairs, this is the preferred resting position. Squatting exercises are a great way to strengthen leg and back muscles that are critical for performing everyday activities, such as gardening, walking, or picking things up from the floor.
A good example is a movement called “bulldozer.” Two people stand back to back, then lower into a squatting position. Now one person pushes the other across the room, while the partner gently resists. It’s a real leg burner, but gets people smiling as they communicate with each: “Push a little harder,” one person says. “Resist me more,” says another. There’s an element of cooperation and comraderie that goes into many of the Exuberant Animal moves.
“To become healthier,” Forencich says, “we have to re-learn how to move as our ancestors did, how to bring that movement into our everyday lives. The best way to do that is to make it fun and playful, not drudgery, more like recess than, say, a traditional P.E. class. It’s got to be social, because humans are group animals. And it should be practical, so that gains in strength, balance, and agility carry over to other aspects of our lives.”
When movement gets integrated into our lives, it becomes “sustainable,” Forencich says. He believes that only strong, fit, and agile homo sapiens are able to deal creatively and effectively with the challenges and stresses of modern life.
At the end of an Exuberant Animal session, the instructors (a rotating group that includes Stanfield, his wife Monica, and Forencich, always gather the group in a circle and lead them in a ritual of three leaps into the air, yelling with joy.
Afterwards, I asked Stanfield what was on the docket for next week. He looked at me and laughed. No two classes are ever the same, he said, as there are hundreds of movements in the Exuberant Animal “playbook” and each instructor likes to do different things. “You’ll have to come and find out.”
The classes take place at Studio 122 near Discovery park. Classes are open to all ages, but parents should accompany children and classes are rigorous. Click here for schedule. The classes were also featured on KING TV news. Watch it here.
