What motivates someone to blend parkour, yoga, and play into a movement practice that fosters creativity and personal growth?

Lauren Messeck describes her work with the Parkour Visions project, Movement for All, and her personal project, Yoga Move. She discusses her interest in climbing, bare feet versus minimalist shoes, and her background in the performing arts. Lauren reflects on her voice over work, and expresses her passion for helping people to rediscover play.

“I can engage with the world in this way that I hadn’t done in a while. And it was awesome.” ~ Lauren Messeck (7:00)

The conversation explores how an online search for playful movement led to the discovery of parkour and a thriving community. Lauren shares how parkour complemented a background in yoga and the performing arts, blending these disciplines to create new movement experiences. The discussion touches on the importance of play, the role of community in fostering personal growth, and the development of workshops that merge yoga and parkour.

Further, Lauren elaborates on her involvement with Parkour Visions, an organization dedicated to expanding movement-based programs. This includes efforts to secure funding for community-driven projects, support regional hubs, and make movement more accessible to the public. The conversation also reflects on personal growth through movement, the significance of reconnecting with play, and how simple tools like minimalist shoes and meditation enhance the experience.

Takeaways

Rediscovering Play — Movement and play are not just for children but are essential for adult well-being and creativity.

Community Support — The parkour community thrives on inclusivity and encouragement, fostering connections that extend beyond physical practice.

Parkour and Yoga Integration — Blending yoga with parkour introduces new ways to experience mindfulness, structure, and flow in movement.

Barriers to Entry — Financial and logistical obstacles often prevent movement projects from flourishing, highlighting the need for funding and support.

Fear and Failure — Embracing failure and discomfort is key to progress in both parkour and personal growth.

Minimalist Approach — Minimalist shoes and barefoot training enhance proprioception, reinforcing a deeper connection with the ground and movement.

Certification and Training — Bringing certification programs to regional areas strengthens local communities by providing coaches with tools and education.

Voice and Expression — Voiceover work and movement share parallels in how expression, confidence, and character are developed.

Resources

Parkour Visions — An organization supporting regional parkour communities and movement-based initiatives.

The Movement Creative — A New York-based parkour group focusing on creative, playful movement and community engagement.

Brooklyn Zoo — A parkour and movement gym in Brooklyn that serves as a hub for creative movement and play.

Bouldering Project (Queensbridge) — A climbing and bouldering gym offering opportunities for dynamic movement and community interaction.

Fighting Monkey — A movement practice that blends play, structure, and coordination to develop physical resilience.

(Written with help from Chat-GPT.)

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— Hello👋 I’m Craig Constantine.

In the Movers Mindset podcast, I talk with movement enthusiasts to learn who they are, what they do, and why they do it. I’m interested in the nature and philosophy of movement and in exploring themes like independence, self-direction, and human excellence. My interests color each conversation and provide some structure to Movers Mindset. But since I like to take the scenic route, every conversation ends up going somewhere unique.

The purpose of Movers Mindset is to create and share great conversations with movement enthusiasts. Each conversation feeds my insatiable curiosity, but I share them to turn on a light for someone else, to inspire them, or to give them their next question.

I appreciate your time and attention, and I don’t take it for granted.

— Thank you!

My personal mission is creating better conversations to spread understanding and compassion. And Movers Mindset is one of the things I do in service of my mission. Drop by https://craigconstantine.com/ for my weekly email, my other podcasts, writing and more.

The Movers Mindset project grew from conversations I started having as part of my personal journey rediscovering movement. The project started late in 2015, and it was initially simply a web site that shared others’ writing. The project grew, and in 2017 I started the podcast. I’ve worked extremely hard, but none of this would have been possible without so much help from so many people.

Thanks for listening!

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