Creating Stronger Communities With Play and Parkour: EMP Podcast Ep 20 with Caitlin Pontrella

This week on the Evolve Move Play Podcast we are very excited to have Caitlin Pontrella with us to discuss the importance of play in facilitating learning, developing physical, social & emotional capabilities, and building strong, inclusive communities. We feel this is a topic of paramount importance; as our society moves forward into an age of higher productivity and relationships become more and more built upon a platform of technology, we are gradually seeing the practice of creative, unstructured free play being left by the wayside as rates for anxiety and depression continue to rise. Play is not only where we naturally develop physical capacities like strength, stability, speed, coordination, etc... it's also where we develop our ability to solve problems, communicate with peers, negotiate, and learn empathy. Losing something so incredibly important to us is a real problem which is why it's great to have Caitlin on to talk about her extensive experience on the subject and to discuss what we can do to reunite with our play drive so that we can live as fully and freely as possible. OTHER TOPICS/SHOW NOTES 00:00 - Intro 02:35 - Respecting the Process 07:49 - Emotional Literacy and Empathy 17:10 - Play v. Performance 22:46 - The Four Types of Players 26:58 - Crossfit & Parkour, Exercise & Movement 31:21 - Parkour for Risk Management 36:31 - Meaning and Internal/External Validation 39:21 - Avoiding the Confidence Trap and Building Internal Motivation 52:08 - Constraints for Games & Newcomers 01:00:23 - Building Community 01:05:15 - Examining Hierarchy 01:11:48 - Jam Etiquette 01:17:36 - Caitlins Books 01:22:00 - Contact and Events CAITLINS BOOK LIST: 1) Play - Stuart Brown 2)Deep Play - Diane Ackerman 3)Love Where You Live - Peter Kageyama LEARN MORE www.caitlinpontrella.com www.artofretreat.com SUPPORT US www.patreon.com/rafekelley www.evolvemoveplay.com Thanks everyone, and happy moving! -The EMP Team