[Please don’t delete the link but watch the vid if you can]
Is there a place that hides from sight
Where daytime never turns to night?
Somewhere, somewhere?
There must be, else we could not bear
The pain, the anguish we have here.
Tell me! Tell me! Is it not true?
A place exists where we’re made anew,
Somewhere, somewhere? — William Frank Fonvielle, Author
The Nadir (approx. 1880 - 1923) was the lowest point of African American life in American History. It stretched from post-Reconstruction to the early 20th century and was marked by extreme violence, educational and civic disenfranchisement and systematic annihilation of black bodies and rights by white perpetrators, especially in the South. But out of the depths of terrorism, absolute despair, and the Great Migration north for better opportunity and perceived safety, rose a people stronger and more resolute in their focus to be educated, employed and engaged.
Enter Inverted Leg Raises an extremely advanced move that requires core strength, complete body control and whose anatomical focus is the body’s center of mass. A therapeutic and restorative move —proven to calm the brain, strengthen the spine and alleviate depression— force is produced by the hips and mass is accelerated skyward towards the celestial point. Just as the enslaved searched for and followed the North Star for freedom so too did the masses looking north towards the zenith for social and economic salvation. And still we rise.
Recommended Reading: Black Reconstruction in America, W.E.B. Du Bois; From Slavery to Freedom, John Hope Franklin
Exercise Difficulty: Extreme
Strengthens: Core - Abdominals and Lower Back (Primary); Hip Flexors and Glutes (Secondary)
Execution: Begin in supported and anchored headstand, either with hands flanking head or forearms pressed into ground and hands cradling crown of head. Inhale deeply, draw belly in and via hips (not feet) methodically lower straight legs down to ground to create inverted (upside down) “V” shape. On deep measured exhale, engage core, squeeze glutes, lift feet off of floor and raise straight legs until completely vertical. Repeat for intended count. Body should be in total alignment, from toes to crown of head, at top of move. Work to keep legs moving together and engage core, avoiding arch in lower back at any point during move.
Contraindications (Inadvisable): Neck, Back, Wrist Impairment
Watch the move: THE NADIR / Inverted Leg Raises
“A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.” –Jackie Robinson
Mr. Jackie Robinson (b.1919 - d.1972) was a Professional Baseball Player, Businessman and Civil Rights Activist who, on April 15, 1947, integrated Major League Baseball by signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers. He went on to have a Hall of Fame career (1962 induction) and was best known as a league leading and electrifying base stealer. Established by his wife, Rachel Robinson, the Jackie Robinson Foundation honors his life and work by providing mentorship programming and academic scholarships to deserving students.
Enter Fast Feet Drill. Anatomical focus is the foot-ankle complex, a lever whose responsibility is to bear the weight of the entire body and perform complex movements. Frequency of ground contact and fine motor articulation allows for instantaneous pivot in any direction. Jackie Robinson used baseball as his lever -transmitting and modifying social forces- and the world was forever changed. Add Lateral Hip Abduction to mimic the art of base running which, as Jackie Robinson proved, requires tactical jockeying left and right. The move strengthens the hips, the structural divide between torso and lower body. Mr. Robinson, as such, was critical in providing joint integrity between athletics and society.
Recommended Reading: Jackie Robinson Foundation
Exercise Difficulty: Beginner - Difficult, dependent on speed and duration
Strengthens: Hips (LHA - Primary), Foot- Ankle Complex (FF - Primary)
Execution:
Lateral Hip Abduction: Stand feet shoulder width apart, knees flexed, with weight trending towards heels in squat form. With weight distributed equally in both feet and hips low, step laterally in one direction for intended count, pause, return opposite direction making certain to avoid hip tilt. Movement is measured and horizontal in both directions.
Fast Feet: Stand in athletic eyes-up “ready” position with knees slightly flexed, feet shoulder width apart and arms hanging outstretched to sides. Engage core and, while in place, rapidly alternate foot lifts no more than 1 inch off of ground while maintaining starting posture. Speed for intended count; rest appropriately repeating thereafter. Breathe deeply throughout.
Watch the move: JACKIE ROBINSONs / Lateral Hip Abduction + Fast Feet
“In recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute." – Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall (b.1908 - d.1993) was a Civil Rights Pioneer, Presidential Medal of Freedom Awardee and, in 1967, he became the first African-American Justice of the Supreme Court. He is most recognized for Brown v. Board of Education (of Topeka) —the 1954 ruling that ended de jure (legal) racial segregation— in which he fought for equal protection under the law and challenged the precedent of “separate but equal” established in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896).
Enter Lateral Raises whose anatomical focus is the shoulder(s), one of the most mobile joints in the human body. Its range of motion makes the shoulder responsible for important functional movements —pushing, pulling and lifting— but also makes it highly unstable. But upon some shoulders balances the weight of the world as was the case with our contemporary Titan, Thurgood Marshall who stood at the borders of mobility and stability. His scales of justice helped to engineer one of the greatest social transformations in American history. Stand that ground.
Recommended Reading: Devil in the Grove: Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America
Exercise Difficulty: Beginner - Difficult, dependent on load
Strengthens: Shoulders (Primary)
Execution: Hold weight in each hand in front of thighs with palms facing each other and laterally raise arms simultaneously until arms are parallel to floor. Slowly lower arms back to starting position and repeat. Engage core and maintain posture to ensure control and rhythmic lifting and lowering pace. Breathe deeply throughout.
Contraindications (Inadvisable): Shoulder, Thoracic Spine (Upper Back) Impairment
Watch the move: THURGOOD MARSHALLs / Lateral Raises
Mrs. Henrietta Lacks (b.1920 - d.1951) was a woman whose cells, harvested from her cervix and abdomen without her knowledge, became the first known immortal human cell line vital for the development of the most important tools, procedures and research in modern medicine. Polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, in vitro fertilization, cancer research and more.
Enter Mayurasana whose anatomical focus is the abdomen, a bodily metaphor for the source of life and strength. Also named “Peacock Pose,” it is a symbol of immortality and love and is to be held parallel to the Earth with the entire weight of the body resting on the core. Henrietta Lacks is the core of the issue stretching forever in both directions, past and future. She is immortal and from her a new world has emerged.
Recommended Reading: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Exercise Difficulty: Extreme
Strengthens: Core - Abdominals and Lower Back (Primary); Wrists, Forearms (Secondary)
Execution: Kneel on floor. Insert elbows into midsection with palms facing up and thumbs facing outward. Lean forward while pressing palms firmly into floor with fingers facing back towards knees. Bend elbows to 90 degrees and lower torso onto elbows while holding abdomen firmly against pressure of elbows. Squeeze glutes, straighten legs, lean body weight slightly forward and simultaneously lift torso and legs off of floor into position in which entire body is parallel to floor. Maintain balance and hold for intended count; repeating thereafter. Breathe deeply throughout.
Contraindications (Inadvisable): Wrist, Elbow, Lower Back Injuries
Watch the move: HENRIETTA LACKS / Mayurasana
The Legacy Workout is dedicated to the memory of bodies of work. Of bodies at work. And at play. Of minds committed to mining greatness, to combating injustice, to insuring a future for future bodies, and minds. The Legacy Workout is dedicated to legacy makers past, present and future. The black body. The celestial body. The empowered human body, in motion.
This is not trivial. This is tribute. Each movement reflects a person, a people, or a point in time – an era. Because they dreamed us, because they dreamed of a better place for us –and for themselves– we owe them. We owe it to ourselves to do/be better. To be caretakers of our bodies without which we cannot persist; we cease to exist. Infinity is our limit.
THIS, is the Legacy Workout.
–Andia Winslow and Monique Walton
Inquiries: TheLegacyWorkout@gmail.com