Movement + Calisthenics X in Sayulita

I’ve been to a lot of exercise classes in my time, but knew immediately that the Movement + Calisthenics X in Sayulita class, one with a strong gymnastics foundation, taught by Daniel Spencer, is one of a kind. It was Tuesday morning at 9:15 a.m. and I was at Quilombo of Sayulita, participating in the warm up, moving my neck in slow movements forward and back, like a turtle peeping its head out of its shell. It sounds easy, but it’s really not, making this small motion without moving the rest of your body. As we continued warming up, Daniel, a certified personal trainer, explained how we can learn to move more efficiently by mastering the ability to make small body movements. 

The class was fun, the awareness of actually doing a workout, just a distance thought throughout the hour. We played a game with a partner, making slight body movements to avoid our partner’s hand coming into contact with our bodies. We leaped like frogs across the floor. We stood on a giant rubber band, extending it high above our heads, and then we hung from gymnastic rings, all the while aligning our body as if we were in a handstand. And then came the actual handstand, which I can’t tell you the last time I did one. Well, until this class.

Daniel demonstrated how we should slowly, and with control, kick a foot up against the wall to bring ourselves into a handstand. He made it look so easy that I was almost surprised that it didn’t come easy for me, so Daniel, who was attentive to everyone, helped me properly get into a handstand. After a few rounds of handstands along the wall, we moved to the center of the room. I wasn’t sure I was ready for it. (How is it handstands are so easy as a kid, but so difficult as an adult?)

We partnered up, one person doing the handstand, and the other spotting. Since I was new to class, Daniel spotted me, and lo and behold, I actually can still do a handstand (with a little help)! I was surprised to find myself slightly out of breath from holding a handstand, and Daniel suggested a little trick so I wouldn’t hold my breath – quietly recite the ABC’s.

The class continued with some inversions on the gymnastic rings, and a short circuit of exercises that included lunges, pulling our knees to our chest while holding on to the rings, and frog leaps.

When the class was finished, I felt strong, with slightly better posture than I had an hour earlier. Daniel explained that the small isometric movements we did throughout the class are all about strengthening.  

The next morning I woke with the familiar soreness following a good workout. It’s the kind of sore I like, the kind that means I did something good for my body, and thought about what a fun alternative this class is to a traditional workout.

If you’d like to try this class for yourself, contact Movement + Calisthenics in Sayulita.