As part of the Te Whai Oranga Open Space and Recreation strategy, Wellington City Council has been looking into how people use recreational space within the city and how they find their happy places in Pōneke.
Jordan, who joined the Wellington calisthenics community five years ago, is in his happy place when he is doing calisthenics – a form of workout which focuses on using body weight, with little to no equipment.
Since starting calisthenics, he has found that he is more connected to his body and feels like he can tap into his inner-child, he says.
“Calisthenics can be defined by any body weight movement, so in that scenario I have been doing it my whole life! What initially inspired me to start was just being curious about my body.
“It’s something you always did as a kid right; kids do handstands and cartwheels all the time and at some point along the way we lose touch with our bodies and can no longer do the things we used to. The majority of us that are able bodied have those movements in us, it’s just that through life we lose connection to be able to do them.”
Jordan lives in the city centre and is able to walk and immerse himself in calisthenics by training at Wellingtons first ever calisthenics park on Pirie Street, an initiative that his group lobbied for.
“Having the calisthenics park gives people the opportunity to move in a way that allows them to make progressions and regressions easily. Just having a bar for example is something that is quite hard to find naturally so it helps people to adapt.”
“Gyms aren’t for everyone and they come with a barrier of entry which is money, opening hours and fear of being judged by other people. Calisthenics is something free and available 24/7."