Prancing to the beat of your own drum

In 2013, Joanna Rohrback became a cult sensation. A self-confessed fitness devotee, the 60+ year old health services professional from Coral Springs, Florida had hit on a unique physical fitness formula that took the world by storm. But don’t take my word for it...believe social media. When a video of her approach was uploaded to YouTube that year, it attracted 15,000,000 views in 48 hours. Clearly, she was on to something, and people wanted to engage with it.

Or did they? As it happened, much of the attention that Joanna attracted was not entirely positive. Truth be told, much of it was extremely negative. Across multiple social media platforms, she was ridiculed, parodied and mercilessly mocked. But why the derision? Why the scorn?

One word…Prancercise!

Prancercise   

According to Joanna’s 2012 book, Prancercise: The Art of Physical and Spiritual Excellence, Prancercise is ‘a springy, rhythmic way of moving forward, similar to a horse’s gait and ideally induced by elation’ (p. 5). For those not familiar with it, a search on YouTube is probably in order at this point. As you will see, the standard movements in Prancercise are indeed fluid and rhythmic…not walking, not running, not dancing. A bit of everything, all rolled into one.

But that’s not to say that Prancercise is a unidimensional movement. Not at all. During a 2013 interview she revealed that it ‘took years to hone its every gesture and kick’, resulting in the development of the Prancercise Walk, Trot, Gallop and Box!

More than just a form of physical movement

And that’s not to say that Prancercise is only a form of movement. According to her website, it’s a holistic program that she’s found personally beneficial over many years. A program that’s about ‘self-expression’, ‘non-violence’, and ‘conservation’. It also seems to be ethical, as Joanna is very clear about three things:

1.     Her recommendations are based solely on her personal testimonials

2.     She has no medical training and so provides no medical advice

3.     Whilst she is seen galloping with horses on the cover of her book, her website states this is ‘not a suggestion that anyone should try such an act’!

In a world where the drive to successfully market products and services can obscure reality, such disclosures say a lot about the values and motivations of Joanna Rohrback. Kudos to her for that!

Full disclosure

Now I cannot, in good conscience, continue without confessing that I have been highly amused by Prancercise in the past. More than amused if I’m totally honest.

Like many people I suspect, I find the prospect of prancing through a park - with leg weights strapped to my ankles – a physical activity bridge-too-far. Then there’s the way it’s presented. A video backed with heavy beat rock music, the work out gear, and Joanna’s earnest approach. She is utterly committed to what’s she’s doing, with nary a shred of self-consciousness. Through my eyes, it all seems highly embarrassing, yet she shows no embarrassment *. Zero. Nilch. Nada. Whilst that says quite a lot about her, it also says quite a lot about me.

* Joanna has been so comfortable with Prancercise that, in 2012, she pranced all the way to the finish line in the 5km Tamarac Turkey Trot (a local fun run). Her finishing time was 1hr 2 mins.

What’s going on here?

So why, I ask myself, do I find Prancercise so hilarious? Well, the question of what makes humans laugh has become a serious branch of psychological science and casually saying ‘because it looks ridiculous’ explains precisely nothing.

It’s likely the answer lies in a combination of things. For instance, I may find it funny because (i) Joanna is breaking a social norm, as people don’t usually move like that, (ii) she’s not doing anything dangerous, as risk would change how I see it, (iii) I’m physically and psychologically distant from her, as we’ve never met and, possibly because I (iv) might regard her as being in some way unfortunate, and myself as being in some way superior to her.   

So, you might wonder, why spend anytime pondering this? Surely Prancercise is just plain ridiculous. Case closed. Move on!

Well, I’ve been writing a lot recently about the importance of creating joyful connections to physical activity. And as such, I’ve been thinking a lot about different forms of physical activity, everything from the conventional (e.g., swimming, running, netball) to the less conventional (e.g., underwater hockey, chess boxing, bog snorkelling).

But in what way is Prancercise any more ridiculous than bog snorkelling? Probably not a whole lot. Both come across as more than a little eccentric and neither is especially appealing to me.

Joyful connections to physical activity and exercise

And there’s the rub. When it comes to physical activity and exercise, the joy is in the eye of the beholder. Different strokes for different folks and all that. If you want to prance…do so. Prance your little heart out! 

In a recent blog, I made the point that ‘exercise’ has a serious image problem. For many the word conveys an impression of hard work, of pain and/or drudgery. Indeed, its baggage is so great that health promotion experts have spent many years trying to work out the best way to sell it. Whilst it’s taken a while, the use of disease-based messaging (i.e., inactivity leads to illness) has begun to give way to more vitality-based messaging (i.e., activity leads to health).

As simple as this sounds, it has not been obvious. Fear can be a powerful motivator and so it’s always seemed a good lever to pull. But fear can also be paralysing, and when repeatedly exposed to fear-based messaging, people can quickly tune out.

How physical activity loves you back

In a way, Joanna Rohrback has acted as a model for us all. Not necessarily from the perspective of physical activity modelling – as I’m darn sure you’ll never see me Prancercising! Rather, she’s been a model of autonomous living. She’s been out there, doing what gives her joy. Prancing to the beat of a different drum. Doing it her way…her drum, her joy. A courageous approach to living and one that many people quietly yearn for.   

And by choosing Prancercise, Joanna gains a double benefit. Not only does it help to keep her heart, bones, muscles and other vital systems in working good order, the activity loves her back via the intrinsic enjoyment and satisfaction it provides.

Now, that sure sounds like something worth striving for, if not prancing toward!

Note: Whilst preparing this blog post, efforts were made to find out about recent developments with Prancercise, but little information was found. As far as I know, Joanna still lives in Florida and is still practising.


My new book
Get Moving, Keep Moving is out now

“It’s a gift for anyone interested in ageing well”

Professor Lindsay G. Oades
Director, Centre for Wellbeing Science, University of Melbourne

info@drgordonspence.com
(+61) 421 641649

© Healthy Ageing Project 2022. All rights reserved.


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