Over the course of the past month, I've gotten pretty cozy at Breakin' Boundaries, on N 10th street. This is a studio that offers all different types of classes. I typically take Zumba, abs, sometimes Cardio Jam, and I've taken Jazz Jam and IMX-Pilates. Because I'm there so often, I get to talking to people, one of the people I talk to a lot is the owner, Renee.
I've gotten to know Renee over the course of the past month. I've talked with her on several occasions about my goals, my hopes, how exercise is, literally, changing my life for the better, and she has spoken with me about her theories and beliefs when it comes to exercise, our bodies, and movement. For Renee, she doesn't just own a studio and teach classes; she is dedicated to what she practices and teaches. She gets to know us as people with unique needs and limitations and strengths. She also educates us about our bodies and how they function to better help us with our practices. It nearly blew my mind during our abs class, when I was doing forced exhalations and she said, "do you have your period? you look more bloated than usual." Then she very quickly had me switch my breath and said, "yep, you were forcing your breath too much. I knew that wasn't right- you don't normally look like that." When do you get this type of attention? I mean, unless you're a celebrity and pay really big bucks for personal trainers, you're not getting that kind of attention.
Not only do I enjoy the class, but I know that she won't let me do something the wrong way, in a way that might hurt me. I mentioned once that my knees bother me sometimes after cardio and she asks during class how they're doing at least once a week. I've come to trust her when it comes to movement, in all forms.
One day, I noticed a class on the schedule. All it said was, BF/LMA. I asked Renee about it after one of my Zumba classes. She told me it's a way of using movement analysis in a therapeutic way. I was very curious. I'm very open to all things with the word "therapeutic" that don't involve sitting in an office and forking over my insurance card.
I showed up tonight and it wasn't at all what I expected, which is totally fine. It was interesting. The best way that I can explain it is to call it a guided tour into your heart and your body while attempting to connect everything together. Believe it or not, in this day and age, and especially in NYC, many of us live largely in our minds and pay very little attention to our bodies. Muscles hold onto memories and we ignore it. Our bodies often can inform more than our heads. So, why are we always listening to our heads?
Part of the Laban practice is playing with sound. I might be exurberant and outgoing and I love being the center of attention, but when I'm not acting and it comes down to just me; skin and bones and voice, I hold back a lot. I feel inhibited. It's like there's this little thing inside of me that always says, "don't do it that way- it's WRONG!" and it's no coincidence that that voice might be that of my mother and grandmother. Just a critical thought that rings through my head. I've learned not to listen to it as much, but tonight, even though this class was just about me and the way that I do things, no wrong or right, save for some adjustments Renee might make, I still couldn't shake that feeling that my voice sounded funny; that the way I was moving was strange. And at one point, I couldn't make the sounds we were playing with anymore because I choked up and had tears running down my face. It was that intense.
There were many other exercises that we did; some of them were a little bit more free-moving and, guess what I discovered about myself once again, I felt inhibited. I felt silly moving around the room, even though it was a totally safe place and the other person was allowing herself to do this. I'm not saying this in a judgemental way about myself. It's just important to notice and to work through if it presents itself as a problem.
Renee had a student who was visiting from Italy for a while. She began taking a tribal fusion dance class and one day, the teacher wasn't there. The girl went to put her coat on and leave, but Renee being the way she is, insisted she stay. This girl ended up being a loyal student to the BF/LMA class and wrote an article to be published in Italian. She also said that she is going to study at the Laban institute because it was such an amazing experience. Renee believes that all of that happened for a reason. Sometimes, you are faced with something you didn't think that you wanted, only to discover that it is just what you needed.
I will be going back, for sure. When you find something that makes you feel so good about your entire day, your week, your month, why wouldn't you? And it's rare to work with someone who believes with such an intensity in what she is teaching. You can't pass that up. It's too good.
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