Josh Nobleman came to town to be a lawyer.
“I’ve just started my career and it’s super exciting,” he says, “but I found that I need something to balance that out. A lot of what I do is litigation – so it’s basically a form of fighting – and my interest in Ju-Jitsu is just too similar to that, in some ways. I don’t need more fighting in my life, but I do need a physical outlet to relieve some of my stress.”
Nobleman was into gymnastics in his youth, he says, “but there’s a reason you don’t see too many old gymnasts. It’s hard on the body.”
And he’s not alone. Many who get too old for full-on gymnastics, Nobleman says, turn to yoga for that physical stress relief they used to get from flinging themselves around on mats or trampolines. That’s what he did, too.
“I think a lot of people have a background in the continuum from gymnastics to yoga, but that move often either continues to destroy their bodies or is too boring for them.”
And that’s where his new partnership with local yoga instructor and registered massage therapist Megan Pocock comes in. They’ve teamed up to introduce the community to Acro Yoga.
Nobleman calls it “the best of both worlds.”
So every Friday night, Nobleman and Pocock head to Solstice Studio to meet up with whoever wants to give it a try.
“Jenny (Koropecki, owner of Solstice) has been very generous in letting us just kind of take over on Friday nights,” Nobleman says. “And it’s actually gaining some momentum. For the first few, we had maybe six people, but lately we’ve been having people come all the way up from Nanaimo and people from Strathcona Park Lodge, and they’re all coming to town just for this.”
The general idea is that one person is the “base,” one is the “flier” and each pair has at least one spotter. The base lays on the ground with their feet in the air, the flier goes on top of that person, and the spotter lends support and makes sure everyone is safe. From there, however, the options are endless.
“It’s as structured as you want to make it with the people you’re practicing it with, but it’s also infinitely creative,” Nobleman says. “Anything that a person can do with one body, you can do with multiple people. When someone is just starting, I like to get them to stand on the base’s feet. You get a couple of spotters who know how to keep someone safe, and it’s like them learning to walk again. It can be a little terrifying, but the stakes are really low and it’s an excellent way to push someone’s comfort zone safely.”
Best of all, Nobleman says, it’s “almost free.”
“We collect a ‘suggested donation’ of $3 to $5 that we pass onto the studio for letting us have the space.”
For those wondering, no, Nobleman and Pocock freely admit that are not “licensed instructors” in this discipline.
“We’re not offering classes and we’re not doing this professionally,” Nobleman says. “We call them jams and we keep everyone as safe as we can and just have a really good time.”
And although it will probably make it a bit easier, you don’t need a gymnastics or yoga background to get involved.
“When people see a photo of this or we describe it to someone, there’s a gut reaction and people immediately say, ‘I’m too blank for that,’” Nobleman says. “I’m too old. I’m too young. I’m too fat. I’m too inflexible. I’m too short. I’m too tall. I’ve heard everything and I honestly haven’t come across one excuse that holds up. All you need is a little sense of play and be willing to try something new.”
Anyone interested in giving it a try can look them up on Facebook by searching “Acro Yoga Campbell River” and requesting to join the private group or contact them by email at joshua.nobleman@gmail.com or heartbodymindsoul@gmail.com
Check out Nobleman and Pocock demonstating the basics along the Seawalk: