balance.

I was training on the playground about half a mile run from my house the other day, and the specific workout that I was doing was about balance.

You see, the playground was enclosed by a long series of wooden beams nailed together to encase the sea of woodchips that was the playground's... well, ground. The top of these beams rose just enough to be about three or four inches off the ground. Because of this, it was easy to determine whether or not you were balancing on the sucker or not.

I would traverse along the beam, do a two footed jump to a bench, turn around and land right on the three inch wide beam. I just kept doing this over and over again.

After a while, though when my legs were sore and my abdominals were about to give in to cramping, I laid on the bench and started thinking.

You see, every jump that I took, every placement of the foot that I made, every little strength calculation I did to ensure that I nailed each and every jump was all in the spirit of achieving a sense of freedom.

Playgrounds are dense areas, hard to get through and very limiting. Children playing on the structure can only do so much as their bodies and imagination can take them. When they see a playground, they think monkey bars. Slides.

When I see a playground, I think limitless possibilities.

I guess this is why I took up this sport. Every jump that I made, every little scary thing I got over, I was always one step closer to achieving freedom in movement. I was calm, mentally and physically capable, accurate, graceful, silent, and resilient.

I find freedom in the way I move, especially when I'm flying through the air and landing perfectly on a railing, or leaping off a bridge and rolling away.

People ask me a lot of questions about this sport. "Are you an adrenaline junkie?" No. In my two years of training never have I felt an adrenaline rush. "Have you ever been injured?" No, because through my practice I've drawn a distinct line between what I am capable of doing and what I am not.

PARKOUR develops a strong body, strong mind, and strong spirit. You develop self control, self awareness, and confidence in all aspects of your life.

Take it up now.