Movement. Artistry. Activism. The New Forefront of Health and Fitness Motivation

Movement. Artistry. Activism.  It's the New Forefront of Health and Fitness Motivation.  Millenials are making activism cool again, and there are a lot of reasons why we are seeing Post Modernism revival and how it is effecting every industry in America, including the health, fitness, and recreation industry.  Everyone has a cause, and everyone is looking to do more than what we did before.  Greener initiatives, more ethical standards, and efficiently using every ounce of energy we have to produce maximum results. The bikes we use in cycling sessions are producing clean energy.  Parkour isn't just a movement discipline, it's a way of life, leaving no trace.  

 

Team Neoflow leaves no trace in and around business parks, roads, and training areas.

It makes perfect sense.  Humans generate more energy every day than almost any other resource on the planet. Every movement we make is energy produced.  And it's a diverse road ahead on how new companies and innovations are going to create efficient ways of multi-tasking any and all energy produced by humans.  

Since we are already thinking outside of the box, what about using human innovations as platforms to effect change?  That is something human's have done for quite some time.  Athletes, Rappers, Musicians, Artists, Poets, Writers, Filmmakers, are using their craft, artistry, and innovations to spread messages about social change, political reform, substance abuse prevention, and much more.  Recently Free Flow Academy partnered with CALY (Coalition for Auburn and Lincoln Youth), and Auburn Hip Hop Congress, to promote an understanding that you can achieve a "Natural High" by pursuing a craft/passion of some kind, rather than turning to drugs or alcohol.  Placer County has a high concentration of substance abuse among the youth.  The reason for that is accessibility - we have the I-80, I-5, 99, and a multitude of corridors for drug and human trafficking.  It's depressing, but at the same time, the data shows that MOST youth are making good choices and choosing to concentrate on the things that are positive.   

What is also exciting is that more youth are getting involved in activism, and are recognizing that the fitness industry and media has deceived them into thinking that they have to fit a certain mold to be healthy.  Which is the opposite of the truth.  Health comes in all shapes and sizes.  Now that the youth are becoming more educated and aware of "Body-Shaming" marketing tactics, they are finding that they feel pulled to activities that promote health and fitness, with a worthwhile cause that is in alignment with their values.  Wearing minimalist shoes, for example, as well as getting involved with companies and organizations that share their vision of participating in socially and environmentally conscious pursuits.

Miss Elle speaking out at Auburn Earth Day Festival.  

Parkour is about adapting and overcoming your obstacles.  It's not about trying to destroy what's in front of you because it's in your way and challenging you.  It's not about you moving out of the way either.  It's about adaptation and change.  You have a wall in front of you, take a moment and observe that wall.  Build a relationship with that wall, and learn to respect the wall for what it is, what it stands for, and what it is designed to protect.  Then you take some time to change yourself, your body, your physiology.  YOU take the time to grow YOU.  And then, you teach the wall how you can co-exist, and help each other out.  That wall is your opportunity to be more than what you were yesterday, today, or a minute ago.  These are the life lessons Parkour gives us.

Activism doesn't have to be all seriousness.  Free Flow Academy puts on free workshops at a variety of events to promote positive change in a fun, friendly, community focused setting.  Pictured here is Coach Rob with Boys and Girls Club of Auburn.

Many students find they are not motivated by fame, fortune, looking cool, ect... With each generation we are seeing a trend of  youth seeking deeper meaning and purpose in their work and in their lives.  Technology and accessibility to information is creating a multitude of fragmented markets, incredibly diversified planes, and a need to explore more than what exists in mainstream culture.  Here team Neoflow students check out how DJing technology works, new ways of mixing music, and the process of local artists to create new and dynamic tunes.  Team Neoflow went out to the Boys and Girls Club to perform to music that was created on the spot.  We're looking at a trend where kids are not afraid to fail.  They want to explore, and to find out what works and what doesn't.

Miss Elle speaking at a substance abuse prevention assembly.  Here we have an opportunity to affect positive change, within our own lives, and in the lives of others.  We have so many options, so why waste those options on things that will not serve us?  Why waste our bodies, our minds, on choices that do not build us up to be stronger, better, faster, smarter?

One of the things we do at our presentations is that we put on a parkour and nun-chuck demo. People often wonder why I would spend so much time training in a self-defense weapon (nun-chucks) that is illegal to carry in California, the State in which I reside.  Many people consider this an enormous limitation.  But the way I see it, that very limitation is what makes this weapon so powerful.  I know I cannot carry it with me where ever I go for protection.  That limitation forces me to train in a way that allows me to put on a lens of resourcefulness and adaptability.  I have to think that whatever I am holding in my hand is a potential nun-chuck.  That could be a purse, a rope, a chain... I could put a rock in my sock and turn that into a nun-chuck.  My skills translate to anything and everything I put my hands on, and there is a fundamental understanding that I am the weapon, and anything I place in my hand is a tool to orchestrate whatever I need to protect myself or the ones I love.  What's more is that my limitations, give me LIMITLESS options.  We need to challenge molds and ideas that perpetuate limiting beliefs about ourselves and what we are capable of.  Often our limitations are the very thing that empower us, elevate us, and bring us to a higher plane of understanding.  With that said, raise your fist high and ACT. 

#substanceabuseprevention #Naturalhigh #bodyshaming #ecogym #greengym #artandactivism #parkour #nunchucks #selfdefense