I have returned from an incredible weekend up in Virginia where I attended the Exuberant Animal East Coast Jam. It was a fantastic event filled with fantastic people. If you want the short version, here it is: Go to the EA Events page, look for the next event that is close to you and go. You won't regret it. If there isn't one close to you, host one. Seriously.
The weekend's activities took place at the lovely Frying Pan Farm Park. I arrived just before 5PM on Friday and immediately engaged in the first of many Kwame-hugs with Kwame Brown. We hadn't seen each other for a long time and there were many hugs to be made up.
My favorite thing about EA events is the diversity of people who show up. We had some pretty serious athletes in attendance right next to dancers, educators, lawyers, etc... all ages, all fitness levels, all together in the same space. While it may sound like a recipe for disaster, it's actually a crucial part of the experience - more on that later...
The basic flow of EA events is 45 minutes of movement, 45 minutes of talking, rinse, repeat. The flow works extremely well - the movement gets you nice and tired - but not too tired - and primes your focus for the lectures and discussions. After 45 minutes of sitting and listening, you're ready to move again. A common theme throughout the weekend was the importance of movement for focus and engagement. Corporations and schools could learn a lot from this model.
The lectures ran the gamut from a panoramic view of our current modern lifestyle, to evolution, to a little neurobiology and social neurobiology, to stress, to the importance of play. We talked about diet and exercise, obviously, but also lifestyle, education, development, sociology, etc. The diverse backgrounds of the attendees was really an asset here - everyone had unique insights and contributions. Frank keeps updating and improving his material. I thought I had heard most of his talk but was delighted by all the new content that had been added.
For me, the heart of the experience is the movement sessions. When I first heard about EA, about 3 years ago, I looked at some of the movements and games posted on the website and thought, "Psh, this stuff looks easy." Then I tried a few and fell down a lot... and the next day my legs and butt were so sore I could barely move. I've been a believer ever since. The EA games are potent developers of athletic ability - real athletic ability. But the thing that makes them so special is the scalability. EA games begin with developing a rapport - a relationship - with your partner and then riffing off of it. We had some really big burly guys in attendance, and they were able to work with (and be challenged by) some relatively tiny partners all through developing rapport and then occasionally applying some handicapping. Everyone worked with everyone, a core tennant of an EA event.
I was thrilled to be able to teach a few of the movement sessions. That was an absolute blast - everyone did extremely well with some pretty challenging stuff. I hope I was able to demonstrate that Parkour style movement is not just for crazy young men.
So, the weekend was amazing. Frank is a visionary in the field - it's been fun watching the ripple effects of his AHS talk throughout the Paleo community. All of the participants were beautiful people - I loved getting to know all of them. I totally kicked Kwame's ass at hamburger eating. I brought my camera with the intention of capturing some of the magic, but I promptly forgot about it once the event began and did not manage to take many pictures. Here are a few and I'm sure there will be more going up soon from other people.
;)
;)
;)