By Paloma Richards
It is no secret that living in the city and being a student or a young professional can be very stressful. But there is an up and coming exercise trend that can help with those everyday stresses and it is only offered in Boston.
"I chose Boabom because I needed something to relax. I'm a computer programmer and after a couple of years I realized that I was able to put a lot into my job, but it also took a lot out of me," said Russen Guggemos, who has been a student of Boabom for two years.
The Boston School of Boabom in Brookline is the first and only school to offer this Eastern type of exercise art. For beginners, there are two different arts: Boabom which is the faster art that has elements of self defense and Seamm Jasani, the slower art that is similar to tai chi.
Boabom is known as "the art of self-healing through self-defense." However, Boabom teaches self-defense in a way where there is no contact or competition. Boabom teaches students how to develop balance, fast reactions, self-control, agility, and how to strengthen their concentration. Even though participants can work up a sweat during a Boabom class, they will not leave exhausted. Instead, they leave refreshed and with a clear mind.
Seamm Jasani, "the art of active relaxation," focuses on building coordination and developing balance between the mind and body. The movements of Seamm Jasani are smooth, slow, and graceful.
But the two arts are very similar and share the same goal.
"The principle idea is to take care of your body,"said Benjamin Kelley, the school's director and a Boabom participant of ten years. "One working in a slow way where we work a lot with the smoothness of the movement and the faster one where we work with the energy of the movement."
Each class begins with warm-ups that stretch every part of the body from eyes to wrists to toes. The second part is more challenging and has students focusing more on coordination. In a Boabom class, it is during this part that students will start putting together defensive moves.
Students also like the fact that they will learn a new movement at every class.
"I'm still here probably because of that ever- changing thing, the evolution of the art, that every day I get to come to the class and learn something new," said Momai, who has been practicing Boabom for six years and is now a teacher.
"You're always on the edge of uncertainty and you learn to become comfortable with that," Guggemos said.
But the students and teachers of Boabom agree that the one of the biggest benefits of the exercise is that it makes them feel mentally refreshed. One of the ways the class does that is by the breathing techniques.
"You can almost think of it like a mantra without any words, only the sound of the breathing. It's a way to kind of bring you inside the class and take you away from the rest of the world," said Kelley.
For student Abraham Dorantes, the breathing techniques help him go back into the world with a clear mind.
"Many times when I get to class I am very tired because of work and then I start moving in the class and breathing a lot and when I finish the class it's like I was recharged like a battery. And I feel really, really bright and awake," said Dorantes.
For Momai, Boabom not only offers an escape from the stresses of everyday life, but it also helps her deal with those stresses in a better way.
"I think it's difficult in our culture to find a place or an activity where you can just sort of put everything else aside or that forces you to put everything aside. And obviously after a class you walk out the door and go back into that culture and into those stresses, but you come with a new perspective or a refreshed perspective," said Momai.
For now, the school in Boston continues to grow and the teachers are in the process of starting a school in New York. But Kelley said keeping the art the way it should it be is much more important to them than bringing Boabom all over the country.
"Myself and the other teachers prefer to keep Boabom as something more authentic, more deep where we can be teaching new movements for ten years or longer and keep that originality and that root of the system and for that we are growing slowly," said Kelley.
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