On February 7, Loud For Tomorrow will host a Resilience Through Recovery, a free, beginner-friendly mobility and recovery session open to the public. The event will begin at 4:30 pm at 629 Main St in Delano.
Paola Garcia, with Resilient Strength, a powerlifting and weightlifting gym in Oakland, is the lead instructor and event organizer for this wellness event. Garcia, a Delano native and UC Berkeley graduate, is bringing this event to communities and local organizations on the front lines fighting and advocating for immigrant rights.
In January 2025, the immigration raid known as ‘Operation Return to Sender’ brought fear, unrest, and heartbreak for many families in Kern. Residents were hit with a series of unlawful and warrantless arrests of 78 individuals, all predominantly Latino and migrants.
So at a time when Latinos and other marginalized communities are currently facing civil unrest and prejudices at the hands of Immigration Agents and the Trump Administration, the pressure to continue moving forward with life is high, leaving no room to decompress and alleviate the heavy burdens.
“ There’s cultural pressure to push through, meaning rest and recovery isn’t always indulgent,” explained Garcia
During a previously coached fitness class for competitive strength training, she noticed her athletes were not actively implementing mobility exercises, an essential addition to high-intensity training. With the implementation and consistency of mobility exercises, individuals can find muscle stiffness being reduced, an increase in blood flow throughout the body, and more.
“With these small changes and consistencies, it makes one’s body feel better, so I took that idea from that class, and with everything going on with ICE and the current political climate of our state and country, I didn’t know what to do to help. So I decided to offer these classes for centers fighting for migrant rights,” said Garcia.
She further elaborated on the benefits mobility training can have on the body, from releasing endorphins and oxytocins to helping alleviate tension that builds around the body by allowing it to rest and recover properly.
“There is no stopping, especially when we are on a mission to help civil rights movements, or if we have people depending on us financially, or if we have a family of our own. It can be really difficult to take a second to decompress. So it feels good for the body when we have tension built up to release it,” Garcia said.
The young performance athlete and coach further explained that she hopes to create a space that will encourage community support through this session, but that will allow individuals to move in a relaxing setting that will not add further stressors.
She has been previously involved with Loud For Tomorrow during her high school years, and emphasized that since moving to Berkley, being able to host this event in her hometown for her community is a full-circle moment for her.
As a young woman competing in a field dominated by men, she is also empowering other women to take up space inside and outside the gym, and how to become better individuals overall.
