WITH much of the country still under Alert Level 2, and Iloilo and Guimaras in the Visayas and Zamboanga City, Davao De Oro, Davao Occidental and South Cotabato in Mindanao under a stricter Alert Level 3, looks like it’s best to still be spending more time at home than not.
Good thing that the Department of Education (DepEd) recently launched “Galaw Pilipinas,” a national calisthenics exercise program that aims to promote a healthy lifestyle—a treasure while being grounded in our cribs for the past two years because of the pandemic.
What makes this exercise routine interesting and worth integrating into our daily schedules is that while it gets us moving, it keeps us in touch with our Pinoy roots and culture. The featured steps and movements come from cultural dances from all over the Philippines. Besides highlighting folk, cultural and tribal dances, there are exercises that are borrowed from our national sport, arnis.
In the YouTube instructional video (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=galaw+pilipinas+instructional+video) I saw movements from the Spanish-influenced Rigodon, Samar’s Hapay An Marol, the Maglalatik, Tinikling, Kiwël-Kiwël, Sinulog and the Arnis Strike, and many more.
According to DepEd, the aim of the exercise program is to promote an active lifestyle among Filipinos that will benefit their physical and emotional wellbeing. The movements are meant to improve strength and flexibility, cardiovascular endurance, balance and coordination. Set to be implemented in public and private schools nationwide as part of flag ceremonies and early morning calisthenics, even Mom and Dad and everybody else can take advantage of it just by following the instructional on YouTube.
Galaw Pilipinas does get the energy up and moving as early as possible—a perfect way to de-stress, get fit, conquer boredom and be upbeat during these trying times. It is said to be inspired by Japan’s Rajio taisō (or Radio Taiso), a 94-year old radio calisthenics broadcast that warms listeners up as they perform the moves to music and instructionals from radio broadcasts. Introduced in 1928, the exercises were intended to improve the overall health of Japanese soldiers at home and abroad in the 30s and 40s. They also became popular in China, North Korea and Taiwan.
Although Radio Taiso was discontinued for a while after the War, it was reintroduced in 1951 and is still used in schools and offices as a warm up for physical ed classes and sports day activities. That’s where the inspiration for similar warm-up exercises with a touch of Pinoy dance and culture came from.
If you want to catch Radio Taiso on YouTube, click this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgsh5vP54BM. Former Philippine Sports Commission Chairman Aparicio Mequi, however, has a few comments about the Pinoy’s version of Radio Taiso. “Most of its movements are angular,” he said. “It can be improved by adding circular and flowing movements. The models performing the exercises look too tense, tight [and] movements are forced rather than relaxed. Exercises should be performed in a relaxed and joyful stance.”
He suggests that if we want children and more people to move, “popular and fun-filled Tik-Tok dances incorporating movements from our national folk dances like those of the Mountain Province, Visayan dances like Kuracha and Muslim dances like Singki— done in the current Tik-Tok style,” would be so much fun.
Well, in a take of what an old, old TV commercial used to say, “Galaw Pilipinas may not be everything. But it’s a good beginning.”