What a strong team! And what a great Sunday morning at Gilman Park bringing the community together to get moving with some fun in the sun. Here's a recap and some ways to keep moving toward a better future.
It was an event with a lot going on at once, after a warmup and overview of fundamental movements, we touched on some of the themes the workout was built around. To look back on, to take action on, or to share, here's more of that background for how each impact area was connected to the workout.
Plus a few action-taking resource centers to take action on these topics (add your contribution to this list with more ways people can take action by filling out the form at the bottom of this page)!
Ocean Health
Partner Anchored Battle Ropes - Focusing on mutualistic climate solutions, such as with aquaculture between oysters, kelp, and the people cultivating the space supporting each other while supporting common goals, such as de-acidification, absorbing atmospheric carbon, and producing food.
Partner Squats with Band Pulling Each Other Away - representing the downstream impacts of actions in one area can make it harder for others in another, and the need to calibrate to find a balance.
Ways to Take Action:
Urban Mobility
Obstacle course with continuous movement, experiencing what the same space is like through four different modes of movement (bear crawl, duck walk, crab walk, run), like we experience in cities that need to serve a variety of people and modes of transit.
Ways to Take Action:
Food Justice
Thinking about how to move resources between areas with different concentrations of resources, and how to do with limitations. Moving weight plates of different sizes and weights between the area with more plates, and the area with fewer plates. Rotating through several ways of carrying the plates, each with its own challenges like lunges, overhead, walking, or crawling while lifting and dragging.
Ways to Take Action:
1 - Rescuing Leftover Cuisine - Be a Food Rescuer or Donate Excess Food as a Business or share with an organization that needs food to distribute to people
2 - Somerville Food Coalition Local Initiatives Directory and Somerville City Food Access
Mental Health
Throwing or slamming a medicine ball or a soccer ball to a partner, simulating what's happening in the brain while we exercise. As neurotransmitters reach their receptors and as enzymes bind and catalyze reactions, this can lead to us building up resilience. To simplify one specific pathway, this happens with KAT (kynurenine aminotransferase). KAT is expressed more when we exercise and this prevents too much kynurenine from building up. At high concentrations, this has been associated with mental illnesses, so exercise is working to prevent or limit the impact. The coolest part, this process happens on a micro level at the very same time you do the symbolic version!
Using buckets filled with several different amounts of weights for farmer's carries and single-arm suitcase carries. Simulating the shifting and adapting to how each of us carries different loads of stress and processes them differently, based on our experiences and neurochemistry, like we carry the buckets with different muscles, leverages, and strengths.
Ways to Take Action:
1 - American Foundation for Suicide Prevention - AFSP Legislation Fast Action Center
2 - National Alliance on Mental Illness Resources and NAMI Mass Mental Health Advocacy Priorities and Training
3 - Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance - DBSA Resouces, Events, and Volunteering
In addition to these, the SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) Action Corner from UNAGB is a phenomenal starting point for taking steps toward improving many issues! And if you'd like to add anything to this list or for future lists, share it in this form below here:
Thank you!