Matthew Harkins stretched his arms towards the sky, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. Opening his eyes, he looked at the five people standing in the circle beside him and smiled.

“Let’s lay down on the grass,” he said, lowering his body to the damp ground and spreading his limbs wide before making snow angel-like sweeping motions. The others followed suit, some succumbing to laughter.

This group congregates in Concord’s White Park every Tuesday and Thursday evening for an hour of rolling around, elephant walking, crab crawling, stretching, jumping, and climbing. Harkins, their parkour and natural movement instructor, seeks to help participants build a stronger connection between their minds and bodies through movement. The class uses little to no equipment – the park around them becomes their natural gym.

Parkour involves navigating obstacles and moving through the world around oneself, according to Harkins, who began teaching the class in late July. While parkour sometimes involves scaling and jumping from tall structures, this class focuses less on daring acrobatics and more on building healthy movements while injecting an element of playfulness and peace back into the body. Harkins has been practicing natural movement since childhood and now strives to empower other adults to take part.

“The practice of natural movement will allow our bodies the structure to take on the forces that we come across,” Harkins said. “I’d like to emphasize the practice of parkour to inspire adults to view the world as a playground. Each moment we have is an opportunity to move. The stacking of movement throughout the day is a recipe for long-term health.”

Still laying on the grass, he led a series of rolling exercises and then asked everyone to flip around onto all-fours and undertake a number of crawling movements. Participants drew their gaze inwards and focused on the cadence of their own motion. Giggles populated the circle every few minutes.

“It’s about connecting with the body and thinking about what we are capable of,” participant Deborah DelaCazalda said. “How can we build strength from where we’re at? It’s just a really safe space to do that.”

DelaCazalda, new to parkour, has attended every class since the first one on July 23.

“Each class is different,” DelaCazalda said. “I feel like I’m always learning more because it’s something new and fresh and fun.”

Since beginning the class, she has grown her ability to move through – rather than around – her natural environment. The sessions are structured so that movements build off of each other and participants can grow their skills alongside their confidence.

“When I get the opportunity to implement what I learn, I do, like jumping over something, as opposed to walking around it or stepping over it,” DelaCazalda said. “We got to learn how to launch over a fence post, and I feel confident now I know how to do it without falling on my face.”

Harkins expressed pride at how his students have grown in the past few weeks. He acknowledges that parkour can seem intimidating and clarified that his classes are more about learning healthy movements than jumping off of tall structures. He wants each person to feel empowered to step beyond their comfort zone both in the class and in their lives.

“My goal is to bridge the gap between the healing of mindfulness and endurance/strength conditioning and bring them together so people feel like they can use fitness to build a better relationship between themselves and their bodies,” Harkins said.

He turned to natural movement and parkour as a means of healing following chronic knee and back pain in college as the result of multiple sports-related injuries. He graduated from the University of New England in 2022 with a degree in applied exercise science. In March of this year, he founded Mindful Mortals, a Concord-based movement and longevity training business designed around wellness to facilitate healing journeys through mindfulness and exercise. Also a certified yoga instructor and personal trainer, he primarily works with adults to help them build their movement practices and strength while growing their mind-body connection. This is the first time he has taught the natural movement and parkour class.

Tina Massmann, who is spending the summer in Gilmanton Ironworks, saw a flyer for the class and decided to attend. A former personal trainer, she has practiced natural movement for years and appreciated how it can help participants reacquaint themselves with the playfulness of movement they experienced in childhood.

“We go through different cycles in our lives, and getting back to doing some of those movements, like crab walking, brings you back to when you were a kid but practicing them slowly and with intention,” Massmann said. “It brings into play your childhood and this idea of being intentional and aware of your movements.”

Harkins views children and their freedom of movement as models for how adults can strive to move in their natural playground. He always leaves 15 to 20 minutes at the end of class for students to take the movements they have learned and apply them to the environment around them, whether that be balancing on rocks in the park or crawling under bushes, or climbing a fence post.

“It’s also helped me take what I learn and translate it in my personal life, so being more playful with my children and getting them on the ground and playing and comfortable in their bodies,” DelaCazalda said.

She credited Harkins with fostering an environment where participants feel comfortable enough to play while also forging deeper connections with themselves and each other.

As the class went on, the students grew looser in their movements. Harkins asked everyone to stand as he folded his body to a new exercise. Within a minute, each student bent over and mimicked his motion.

The natural movement and parkour classes will continue Tuesday and Thursday nights from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. at White Park, rain or shine, until Oct. 10.

“I encourage us all to do the things we normally wouldn’t do,” Harkins said. “Take the dance class, brush with your non-dominant hand, ask [someone] out on a date, move your hips in a new way. Continue to build self-awareness and find uncomfortable situations.”

Rachel Wachm an can be reached at rwachman@cmonitor.com.