SoulCore classes combine prayer, strengthening in Colorado Springs
Prayer does not always have to be on bent knee, hands clasped at your heart.
Prayer can also look like pushups.
Soft music plays as half a dozen women gather inside the parish office building at Divine Redeemer Catholic Church. They remove their shoes and unfurl their yoga mats in a circle around a few candles and a string of rosary beads.
“Be gentle,” says one woman to SoulCore instructor Mary Wilson. “I’ve never done this before.”
“There will be no tears because you’re in pain,” Wilson replies.
But there could be tears of emotion and devotion.
“SoulCore is combining the prayers of the rosary with strengthening and stretching exercises,” said Wilson, the only certified SoulCore instructor in Colorado. “It’s using the whole self in prayer. It’s prayer first, then rosary. Then the exercises are an invitation.”
Today’s class will focus on the Joyful Mysteries, the period of time when Catholics say joy and God entered the chaos of the world. There will be some scripture and many sets of the Lord’s Prayer paired with pushups over the next 45 minutes. So many, that by the end of class the ladies will have accrued 75 reps of the full-body exercise. Of course, many of those might be done on their knees or from sitting in the form of air pushups. And some will choose to do zero.
“You don’t have to do any. You can sit and be still in the prayer,” Wilson said. “If you don’t like pushups lay on your belly. It’s not a place of comparison or judgement. Class is whatever each participant needs it to be.”
And you also don’t have to be Catholic or familiar with the prayers. Wilson recites the first half of each prayer and invites participants to say the second half silently and meditatively. Ten Hail Marys are sandwiched in-between the Our Fathers.
“For Catholics it’s a great way to spend time with Jesus and pray,” said Veronica Frias, Divine Redeemer’s business manager, who regularly takes class. “Even if you’re a non-Catholic you can do the meditations and prayers. Even if you don’t know the rosaries it doesn’t stop you from participating.”
As sun streams in and quickly warms the space, the whole body prayer begins. First comes the prayer intentions, where participants are invited to ask out loud for prayers for loved ones. Then come the pushups — 10 at a time as Wilson repeats prayers, planks, side planks, lunges, back and core work, and exercise bands for upper body strengthening. There’s also plenty of rest when Wilson has the class get on their knees and fold forward into what she calls a “glory be” position, which resembles child’s pose from yoga. Palms face up “to receive God’s good graces.”
“It’s the most peaceful way to get your exercise and your prayer in,” Wilson said. “One of the greatest compliments I received after a class was a lady who said I can go to the gym and be so mad at my husband and jump on the treadmill and run and I’m still mad at him. But you can’t do that with SoulCore. You let it all go here.”
SoulCore was founded by Colleen Scariano and Deanne Miller in 2012 in Indiana. It was a practice born of Scariano’s tragedy-riddled life: the death of her older brother due to a lightning strike when they were teens, which led to her father becoming an alcoholic and her other brother a drug addict. Years later, shortly after her mother died, Scariano’s father and brother also died due to accidental carbon monoxide poisoning.
To help manage her grief Scariano ran while reciting the rosary. When someone suggested she add in core strengthening, she tried to find a rosary-based workout, but couldn’t. It spurred her in 2012 to connect with her fellow parishioner Miller to design a prayer-based, full-body workout.
Wilson, an exercise therapist, earned a SoulCore certification in 2015 and has taught classes around the Pikes Peak region since then. In addition to Divine Redeemer, she also teaches throughout the month at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church and St. Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Church.
She’s also a physical education teacher at St. Gabriel Classical Academy, where she incorporates SoulCore into the curriculum, and teaches SoulCore for American Heritage Girls, a Christian form of Girl Scouts.
“As an exercise therapist and a faithful Christian Catholic it made total sense for me to make this part of my world,” Wilson said.
Classes are a suggested $10 donation, but Wilson doesn’t turn anyone away. And all that’s needed is an exercise mat and some water; Wilson also has extra mats on hand, if needed.
“I love that Mary has a background in physiology and knows how to exercise and lead prayer,” said Amy Conklin, who’s attended classes for 18 months. “I always have a sense of calm when I leave.”
SoulCore with Mary Wilson, $10 suggested donation
– 1:45 p.m. first Tuesdays of the month and 9 a.m. third Saturdays, parish office at Divine Redeemer Catholic Church, 926 Farragut Ave., 719-633-5559, divineredeemer.net.
– 9 a.m. second, third and fourth Tuesdays, second and fourth Tuesdays are traditional SoulClore class comparable to a Pilates mat class, third Tuesday is a chair class for older people, those new to or not into exercise, or with mobility limits, St. Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Church, 8755 Scarborough Drive, 719-528-8407, saintgabriel.net
– 9:15 a.m. second Thursdays and fifth Tuesdays (if there is one), St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, 2650 Parish View, 719-599-5031, stfranciscs.org
Instructor Mary Wilson, left, and Veronica Frias hold a pose during a SoulCore class Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at Divine Redeemer Catholic Church in Colorado Springs. The class merges exercise with the prayers of the rosary. (The Gazette, Christian Murdock)
Instructor Mary Wilson stretches her hands while teaching a SoulCore class Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at Divine Redeemer Catholic Church in Colorado Springs. Wilson teaches six classes a month around the Colorado Springs area. (The Gazette, Christian Murdock)
A beam of sunshine spotlights student Veronica Frias as she meditates while instructor Mary Wilson recites the rosary Tuesday, March 5, 2024, during a SoulCore class at Divine Redeemer Catholic Church. (The Gazette, Christian Murdock)
Veronica Frias holds a pose while instructor Mary Wilson recites the rosary Tuesday, March 5, 2024, during a SoulCore class at Divine Redeemer Catholic Church. (The Gazette, Christian Murdock)
Veronica Frias rests while instructor Mary Wilson recites the rosary Tuesday, March 5, 2024, during a SoulCore class at Divine Redeemer Catholic Church. (The Gazette, Christian Murdock)
Rosary beads and candles are placed on the floor as instructor Mary Wilson teaches a SoulCore class Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at Divine Redeemer Catholic Church in Colorado Springs. (The Gazette, Christian Murdock)
Instructor Mary Wilson holds a pose while teaching a SoulCore class Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at Divine Redeemer Catholic Church in Colorado Springs. Wilson teaches six classes a month around the Colorado Springs area. (The Gazette, Christian Murdock)
Instructor Mary Wilson holds a pose while teaching a SoulCore class Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at Divine Redeemer Catholic Church in Colorado Springs. Wilson teaches six classes a month around the Colorado Springs area. (The Gazette, Christian Murdock)
