Archive for 2012
Posted by terrepruitt on May 5, 2012
The past two Thursdays have been pretty cold here and since I don’t teach Nia on Thursdays evenings I have been cooking soup. One Thursday I had it planned so I actually did go to the store after my Nia class on Wednesday to buy the ingredients I needed, but yesterday it was cold so I just decided to use what I had, which was not much. While I think that a bowl or two of soup can easily be a meal, I like to serve something else with it. When I looked in my fridge I saw the eggplant I had bought. Yay! Perfect. I saw a recipe on icancookstuff that sounded interesting. While I do not eat spicy hot food I thought I could use the garlic and the cummin. But it turns out I don’t have any cummin. So I decided to use ginger and turmeric. I have them in powdered form so I got the bottles out of the cupboard and set them on the counter. Then I put the eggplant in the oven to bake it.
The recipe said to bake it at 200 degrees for 45 minutes.** I didn’t think I had 45 minute so I put the temperature up to 300 and left it on for 30 minutes. I didn’t feel that the eggplant was cooked enough so I turned the convection oven on and set the timer for 30 more minutes. I turned it four times because it was getting flat on the pan side.
In the meantime I was cooking my soup. I only had one bunch of baby bok choy, a bunch of kale, and some broccoli. I swore I wasn’t going to put broccoli in a soup again, but . . . I didn’t think the rest would make it. So while I was trying to fake making soup I wasn’t really paying attention to the eggplant. My soup finished before the eggplant.
By the time I finally thought the eggplant was cooked enough to split I split it. I was thinking that I would make one half for me and one half for my husband. I salted it, I put a bit of garlic on it, I put a little bit of parmesan cheese on it. Then I looked over and I saw the onions I had chopped to put on it. And the kale. So I decided to put the onions and kale on one half and hubby and I would just get a half of each half making a whole half.
I put it back in the oven and let it bake for a bit more. Half way through the end of baking portion I saw the ginger and turmeric on the counter. Snap! I forgot to put it on. So I sprinkled a little turmeric on both halves. I put the broiler on for about 10 minutes.
Here is the result.
From the time I thought to cook the eggplant to the time I put it in the oven to finish baking I had thought of three different ways to flavor it. I had originally thought to use garlic, turmeric, and ginger, then I thought of garlic, onions, and kale, then I thought of garlic, and cheese. That really is not a big deal the big deal is that I forgot one each time I thought of the new one. Geez! What I ended up with was ok. I think it needed a little bit more flavor. I will work on that. I don’t even think I tasted the turmeric.
I like cooking eggplant this way because it is much less time-consuming than turn the slices all the time. But I think I like the roasted slices better. But I will continue to experiment with this. I might try slicing it into three pieces next time. Although a baked eggplant is not easy to slice.
**It just dawned on me that the 200 degrees was probably Celsius and not Fahrenheit. So it would actually be about 400 degrees F. Ha!
I can’t wait to try this again!
What do you think of this way of cooking eggplant? What would you put on the eggplant?
Posted in Food, Vegetables | Tagged: aubergine, broiled eggplant, Cheese, cummin, eggplant, garlic, ginger, Nia, Nia class, soup, Turmeric | 9 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on May 3, 2012
Nia has a different closed stance than some other dances and exercises I know. In Pilates the stance is heels touching and toes apart. I’ve heard it called a Pilates V. The Pilates V is done in more positions than standing. Sometimes there are exercises done while on the reformer where we will place our feet in Pilates V. It is nice to have positions that are specific. It helps a lot. I as a teacher can just say, “Closed stance.” and the Nia students will know what that means. Instead of forming a V as in the Pilates stance we form more of a rectangle. A basic closed stance is simple. It is stable. Nia’s closed stance is the side of the big toes touching and heels apart. It is as if all four corners of a rectangle are in contact with the edge of the foot. This allows for a very stable base. In the basic closed stance the arms hang. The back is straight, we are standing tall, lengthening the spine. Knees are relaxed as well was the feet. Weight is balanced evenly on both feet. Simple closed stance.
Closed stance is one of the six stances in the Nia 52 Moves. There is Closed Stance, Open Stance, A Stance, Sumo (or Riding) Stance, Bow Stance, and Cat Stance. I believe that in its basic form closed stance is the easiest. But when other elements are added that might not hold true.
We can practice our agility by walking quickly then stopping in closed stance. We might choose to be in closed stance while we allow just our arms to be agile . . . moving around in a starting and stopping fashion. We could just let our closed stance be stable as our arms are mobile. We could do an entire body dance . . . close stance dance. For some this is a challenge, even though our feet are formed into a rectangle and the idea is of a stable base it is still a practice in balance to have your feet secured to the earth while the rest of your body moves around. As I said, what we do with a close stance might not be so simple.
Practicing walking and stopping in closed stance is a good check to make certain you are not landing in “toes in“. The heels shouldn’t be that far apart as if you are doing toes in. Yet the toes should be touching. Coming from other stances to closed is good for conditioning the legs. Moving from Sumo to closed, or from at to closed is something to practice. Again we don’t want our heels to land too far apart making us pigeon toed.
I know of several routines that have us going through the stances. We start out in closed, then go to open stance, then go to A stance, then go to sumo. In some routines we work back through the stances, but in some we do move right into closed from sumo. I can’t think of one where we go from closed to sumo, but I bet there is one and I just can’t put my finger on it. Nia loves to mix up the moves to get the most out of the workout.
Can you sense the stability in the Nia Closed Stance?
Posted in 52 Moves (of Nia), Nia | Tagged: A Stance, Bow Stance, Cat Stance, closed stance, dance exercise, dance positions, Nia, Nia Dance, Nia Moves, Nia participants, Nia Teacher, Nia workout, Nia's 52 Moves, open stance, Pilates, Pilates reformer, Pilates V, Riding Stance, Sumo Stance, workout | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on May 1, 2012
At this point you might have noticed that I only have a post for 9 of the 52 Moves of Nia. I am going to work on that. I have a Nia friend who is posting about the 52 Moves of Nia on her blog and she has inspired me to continue on. I have the list of the moves on my website. I link the blog post from there so people on my site can click to see a description and possibly a picture. With only 9 post I only have 9 links. This is ten and moving forward.
Nia is a unique cardio dance exercise that combines nine movement forms into a fun and energizing workout. Nia has moves we call the 52 Moves. Many of them are common to other dances. I am posting here about Toes In, Out, and Parallel. I know I have seen these moves in other dances if not done together at least done separately.
To do the move as one move you start with your feet parallel to each other. They can be hip (joint) width apart. Then turn your toes in to face each other. Turn them in as far as you comfortably can. Then swivel your feet out so the toes are pointing in opposite directions. Again, only do it as far as you can — comfortably.
This is the whole move. There is a routine where we are in A Stance and I have the participants dance toes in then toes out. Which I consider a lot of fun. You can play with this move by trying to walk with toes facing in, then with toes facing out.
I like to play with the move by doing one foot toes in and out. Sometimes just letting one foot do a dance all of its own; in, out, in, out, tapping my toe to the ground with each twist of my leg. I also like to do this move with varying stances. My instructions here say to start in open stance, but it can easily be done in A Stance (as I mentioned I do in my Nia class). You’ll notice that different muscles are used when you change the width of your stance.
Moving the feet in this manner allows for all the bones in the leg to rotate which gets the thigh bones moving in the hip socket. Movement is a way to keep the joints health. Movement helps fluid into the joints. I say “juicy joints.” We move to have juicy joints.
In addition to helping the hip joint this move helps keep the ankles mobile and the knees flexible.
With healthy hip joints, ankle joints, and knee joints the enables walking and moving in general to be done with ease. So even though this is one of the moves we use in our dance exercise routines that does not mean the use of it is limited to that.
You can decide to walk with toes in for a bit during your day, then with toes out. While standing you can stand with toes in, then out, then parallel. It is an easy exercise to play with and incorporate into your day. And it really does help with the health of your joints.
Are you gonna do it? On your trip from your desk to the coffee pot? While you are going about your day with the kids? Which on in your favorite, in or out?
Posted in 52 Moves (of Nia), Nia | Tagged: 52 Moves of Nia, ankle joints, cardio dance exercise, dance exercise, Dance Workout, energizing workout, hip joint, juicy joints, knee joints, Nia, Nia friend, Nia routines, Nine Movement Forms, Toes In, Toes Out, Toes Parallel | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on April 28, 2012
When I first discovered Nia I bought The Nia Technique Book to see if I would be able to do it. I don’t mean do it as in do the moves and participate in a class, I mean do it as in “get into it”, as in understand it. It sounded a bit “woo-woo” to me. Listening to your body, voices of the body, energy this, moving energy that. I wasn’t sure I could sync it up with my beliefs. But as I studied it more I realized that it is based on science. It involves human kinetics. Most of the moves, although called the 52 Nia moves are quite common and are seen in many other types of exercises and workouts. The ones that I consider unique are probably part of some other dance I am not familiar with. And the “woo-woo” part, well, I realized that it is woo-woo – at least that is how many people think of certain things like energy, chakras, mind-body, and body-mind practices. I mean look at yoga, when I was young that was one of the “woo-wooest” things around and now people have embraced it. There are so many types of yoga it is difficult to keep track. For some they just ignore the woo-woo while others embrace it because they realize it makes sense. I mean cultures have been using “woo-woo” stuff for centuries. There is meditation, herbs, chanting, drumming — all types of other things that some people think of woo-woo. The woo-woo must not be too far off base though because it seems to work. Recently my posts have been about healing sounds and making sounds, this post is about the vowel sounds related to the chakras and I am sure to some people it sounds a little, or maybe even a lot, “woo-woo”. But I like to imagine that if you are reading this you are somewhat open to new things — even woo-woo things. So you might be willing to try the healing sounds or even the vowel sounds of the chakras.
The vowel sounds related to the chakras are as follows:
CROWN CHAKRA: EEE as in “me”
BROW/THIRD EYE CHAKRA: AAA* as in “say”
THROAT CHAKRA: EYE as in “my”
HEART CHAKRA: AH as in “ma”
SOLAR PLEXUS CHAKRA: OH as in “go”
PELVIC CHAKRA: OOO as in “you”
ROOT CHAKRA: UH as in “cup”
The idea is to say these sounds in a specific note. If you have a keyboard or a phone with an app that has a keyboard or an app that can give you examples of the notes it might help you. Or you might be musical and know what the notes sound like.
EEE is to be made in the B note
AAA is to be made in the A note
EYE is to be made in the G note
AH is to be made in the F note
OH is to be made in the E note
OOO is to be made in the D note
And UH is to be made in the C note
These sounds are to help open and heal the chakras. Or to keep them balanced, all depends on your needs and your practice.
As with everything there is a wealth of information out there on how to “do” the vowels. The commonalities I am seeing is to sit comfortable with a lengthened spine. Be relaxed. Use a normal breath. Repeat each sound seven times.
I have used these sounds in my Nia classes when we are using a chakra as a focus. I am going to take this list and use the vowels sounds just as I did the healing sounds. The focus can be the chakra vowel sounds and we can create an intent from there. Yay! I love thinking of things to use as focuses in my classes. I also think that sitting down to make these sounds as a specific exercise is a good idea. What do you think about chakra vowels? Might you try the exercise?
*Many places note this as “AYE” but to me that is AYE, as in what a pirate says. So I noted it as AAA, like Fonzie would say. 🙂
Posted in Chakras, Nia, Sounding | Tagged: Chakra, chakra energy, chakra vowel sounds, chanting, crown chakra, dance class, dance exercise, Dance Workout, exercise class, Fonzie, Healing Sounds, heart chakra, mind-body workout, Nia, Nia class, Nia Moves, pelvic chakra, root chakra, solar plexus chakra, The Nia Technique book, third eye chakra, throat chakra, unique workout, workout class, Yoga | 9 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on April 26, 2012
I’ve post about the Healings Sounds. I’ve posted about how we used the Healing Sounds in our Nia class. I’ve stated that making noise is a great way for people to know that you are breathing. There are other reasons to sound, one being it helps stabilize your core. In Nia or in other dance exercise classes there are times when you are moving and playing with balance so having a stable core can assist in proper balance. With the effort to stay stable there is also strengthening. On the exhale the abdomen is tightened.
In Nia we do a lot of movement where core stabilization is key. Some of the moves we do that require a stable core are punches, blocks, and kicks. In order to punch and/or block with strength and authority the spine needs to be straight, the ribs squeezing, and the abs tight. All of this can be accomplished with one loud sound, any sound can do it. Kicking is the same thing, even if you are doing a side kick where your body might be leaning, the spine is still straight and the torso needs to be tight. A joyful “HA!” can take care of all that!
Another reason to sound is release. We are often taught to be quiet. It could be as deep and as damaging as we were taught our opinions don’t matter. It could be more of a social “norm” where we were taught to respectfully keep one’s opinion to oneself or respectfully not sing, shout, or cry out loud because it would be inappropriate even though that is what we really want to do. All of these social confines can lead to blocked energies. Having to behave can lead to us feeling bad, so sounding in a Nia Class is a huge release. We can experience a release. Healing sounds aren’t the only ones to be made, anything will do.
Often times for me I am busy with listening to the music, thinking of the next move, getting ready to cue, dancing, and breathing I don’t THINK about sound it just comes out. Sometimes a move makes its own sound. Also depends on the move. I did a routine recently where the moves were very quiet for me. It was odd. It was as if the moves had no sound. I am wondering if that is because it was so new. I am looking forward to doing it again to see if sounds reveal themselves.
In addition to breath, stabilization, strength, and release sounding is fun. Children are expected to shout, laugh out loud, and be joyfully noisy, but adults not so much. Kids can run and scream on a playground, adult aren’t often afforded such a luxury, but in Nia we can. It really is fun. It is fun to make noise. It is fun to HA, HOO, FOO, SHOO, HI-YA, WAHOO, WHOOO, and SHHHHH to the top of your voice. It is fun to play with the volume and the tone of the noises. All of this playfulness adds to the joy. We can whoop it up as we did when we were young. The vibrations of sound heal the body. The fun heal the spirit and the soul.
I often wonder how people are able to keep quiet in a Nia class. I believe they have not yet experienced the good it will do for them. There is the breath, the added stabilization, the strengthening, the emotional release, and the fun that it brings all good for the body, mind, spirit, and soul.
While I am saying we do sounding in Nia class, don’t think it is restricted to that. So while you are exercising don’t forget to breath. Try making some noise. If you are in a class that doesn’t allow for it find a Nia class and whoop it up there!
Do you make noise while you exercise?
Posted in Nia, Sounding | Tagged: body-mind exercise, core stabilization, core strength, exercise class, Healing Sounds, mind-body exercise, Nia, Nia class, Nia exercise, soul sounding, sounding | 5 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on April 24, 2012
A post ago I posted about Healing Sounds. In Nia classes participants are encouraged to make noise or what we call sound. One reason to sound is to let the teacher of the class know you are breathing. This holds true for many exercise classes. Wanting students/participants to be breathing holds true for all teachers. There are a lot of reasons to sound, it does not have to be for healing or feeling better. But as I stated in that post, I just happened to come across that information and those sounds so I thought it would be fun to bring the list to class and use them as a focus.
The first time we used the Healing Sounds in a Nia Class, I had written each sound down on a separate piece of paper and I taped them to the mirror. Before class I verbally reviewed each sound. Our focus was the Healing Sounds with an intent of bringing some healing. I invited the participants to make these noises during class. The general invitation was to make them any way; they could breath in and make the noise on one long exhale, they could make them quick and staccato, they could make the tone high or low. Whatever they wanted. Whatever they felt. As with most focuses I do bring them into play specifically at times so when we were punching or kicking I might have encouraged them to make loud and forceful sounds. I encouraged them at one point to try each sound. I also had them play with saying a sound at least six times as was mentioned in the information I had found. For my own practice I know that I used the sounds in a pattern and as with many things when one person does it others follow. So we did a lot of lead and follow with sound as each person thought of different ways to use the sounds. It was very fun.
After the class I read to them what the sounds were related to and what they assisted with. It was very fascinating. Some commented that they had been drawn to a particular sound and they could see how that would be an area in which assistance would be appreciated. Some had fun doing a good job of using all the sounds. Some admitted that some sounds were more fun to make than others.
The most recent time that I used the healing sounds I again taped up the papers with each sound written on it. But this time I read the information before class. So the participants were aware of what each sound was prior to dancing. The focus and intent were the same, but with the knowledge of what each sound assisted with some Nia students decided to focus on the specific sounds they felt would help them. Again we had the freedom of how to make the sound and when to make it. It is so exhilarating to hear my students weave sounding into the dance and to hear them make the sounds in their own way.
This second time around it was rewarding to hear my students say, “Yay! I was just thinking about the healing sounds and hoping you would do them again soon.” So they enjoyed it the first time and were looking forward to it.
I think I just decided today that with each routine I teach, with each round, I am going to do at least one class at each location (Willow Glen San Jose, Campbell, and Blossom Hill San Jose) where the focus is the healing sounds. Whether the belief is that they actually heal or not we all have a lot of fun with it. And they are sounds that my class actually make!
You don’t have to be in a Nia class to experiment with the sounds. Have you used them?
Posted in Helpful Hints, Nia, Sounding | Tagged: FOO, HAA, Healing Sounds, HOO, Nia, Nia Blossom Hill, Nia Campbell, Nia class, Nia participants, Nia San Jose, Nia student, Nia Willow Glen, SHEE, SHOO, sounding, SSS | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on April 21, 2012
To me life is about learning. I have learned a few things since I started my Nia Class on Monday in Campbell in the evenings and my Nia Class on Saturday. It is much better for me to have Monday’s dinner cooked on Sunday. So I have been planning my weekend meals so that I have leftovers on Monday. You may have noticed that I didn’t post anything last Saturday . . . . lesson learned: I need to make sure my Saturday post is done on Friday. I have too many other things to do when I get home from my 10:00 am Nia Class. It ends at 11:00 so I don’t get home until 11:30 (at the earliest) or noon! So I really need to have my post done because the next thing I know it is 1:48 am on Sunday morning and I am just noticing I forgot to post on my blog. 😦 Well, it was only the second time I forgot. The first time also was a Saturday. This past week the weather has been gorgeous here in San Jose. I haven’t spent much time lately getting any pictures of our yard happenings. This past week while the weather was cool and nice I took a few. I thought I would share some with you. It has been awhile since I have shared some fun pictures on my blog.
This guy has an injured foot. I noticed his injury about the same time I hurt my foot. I try to keep an eye on him and make sure he gets some nuts. And he makes sure I know he wants nuts. He will find a spot where he can look in a window at me and stare. He will stare at me until I go outside and give him some peanuts.
He is doing that now. Staring. Of course, I went outside and gave him some nuts. Did you notice how clear the sky is?
Sometimes the squirrels drop whatever it is once they get it up to the roof. There is often fruit in our yard that doesn’t blog to any tree we have.
Here is a picture of the cat enjoying the sun. She will stay in the sun for a bit, then get too hot and move.
The blue jay was getting some nuts. I took a few shots “through” the chair then I went out and turned it so I could get a clear shot. And of course I sat there for a long time waiting. I got bored with staring at my camera at a peanut filled chair so I started taking pictures of the cat. What happens? The blue jay sneaks back while I wasn’t paying attention. But I managed to get a few.
Of course the squirrels wanted some too!
I wanted to get some shots of our blooming rose bush. A while back I was unhappy with the wilderness that was out the window so I went outside and did some pruning. It was completely “Edward Scissorhands” style as I just took the saw and went right and left and left and right and up and down and down and up and all around. I just wanted all the wildness gone. So I was very concerned that I wrecked the bush. So when I saw one rose I was very happy. And now that the whole bush is blooming I am really happy and wanting to share. I’ve posted about how weird our roses are. But I still like them, even though they start out really sunset orange and then fade to a washed out peach. They SMELL really good. 
One bush has a single flower on it. The single flower is pictured below.
Well, thank you for stopping by and visiting our yard. We enjoy the entertainment the wildlife offers and the beauty that the flowers share with us. I hope you did too.
Do you have a flower garden? Do you have a vegetable garden? Fruit trees? Does any wildlife visit your yard?
Posted in Birds, Flowers, Misc | Tagged: backyard, evening Nia, flower garden, fruit trees, Nia, Nia class, Nia in Campbell, Nia on Saturdays, Nia San Jose, rose bush, Roses, San Jose Nia, San Jose Nia classes, vegetable garden, wildlife | 10 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on April 19, 2012
In a Nia class the participants are encouraged to make sounds. There are many reasons to make sounds while you are working out. One, is to ensure breathing. As you are making a sound there is air going out, and in order to repeat it, there has to be air that was inhaled. So making sounds during an exercise class is a great way to let the teacher know there is breathing going on. There are also specific sounds related to specific things, but we don’t always have to be so particular. Sometimes just any sound will do. I did a post on Sounding in July of 2009. That is when I was brand new to Nia and new to teaching. I was still learning to be vocal. I had no probably being vocal as I was teaching but as a student I didn’t always participate. So I believe I understand some of the reasons a person might not want to sound and some of those reasons are the very reasons we SHOULD be making noise. All of these points can easily lead to additional posts, and they just might (a sounding series?), but for this post I am going to share what I found a while ago about healing sounds.
There are sounds associated with the chakras so a while back I was thinking I could bring a list of them to my Nia classes and I could use them to encourage my Nia students to sound. But I found a different list instead. Before I share the information with you I want you to play along with me. Pick one sound from the six below. Just pick one that appeals to you right now as you are reading it. Don’t think, just pick one.
SHOO, HAA, HOO, SSS, FOO, and SHEE.
Now keep playing along with me. Inhale and then say the sound you picked out loud on the exhale. Now do that six times. How do you feel?
Well, according to Sales Creators, a business problem solving company, the above sounds are healing sounds related to specific problems or issues. As I mentioned I had wanted to find some sounds that we could make in my Nia classes that would be fun and associated with chakras. As I was looking I discovered this information. At the time I didn’t know it was from a company that helped with business problems, I just discovered that now as I tried to locate the source of my information. In glancing quickly at the website, it looks pretty interesting. They actually speak to wellness of the entire person. What? REALLY? On a sales and marketing consulting company’s website? Yes.
Anyway here is what the information said in summary.
SHOO is a sound that helps alleviate problems associated with a sense of depression. The information states that you will feel better after having repeated it six times. The liver and the gall bladder is positively affected by the vibration of this sound.
HAA helps alleviate anger and helps calm the heart and regulate the small intestine.
HOO is a body temperature regulating sound. It helps one to not become too cold and balances the spleen, pancreas, and stomach.
SSS is a balance sound. SSS helps to regain equilibrium in the nervous system and the body. The vibration of this sound cleanses the lungs and regulates the large intestine.
FOO is another body temperature regulating sound but this one helps with a high body temperature. So to me is sounds as if you are typically hot making this sound will help cool you down. This sound is said to stabilize the kidneys, bladder, and adrenal glands.
SHEE helps relieve stress, tension, and anxiety. The instructions say that if you are under stress make this sound 36 times. It helps with regulating the blood circulatory systems and the central nervous system.
I truly believe that vibrations affect us, so to me it makes sense that certain ones would affect us in certain ways. I was hoping that without your knowledge, without you thinking about it you would gravitate to one of the sounds that would help you.
So, did the sound you randomly picked match up to what you were feeling? And now that you know what is associated with each sound are they a few you might want to try out? What do you think about vibrations and healing sounds?
Posted in Helpful Hints, Misc, Sounding | Tagged: business problem solving, chakras, exercise class, exercise teacher, good vibrations, Healing Sounds, Nia, Nia class, Nia exercise, Nia participants, Nia Sounds, Nia students, Nia Teacher, regulate body temperature, relieve anxiety, relieve stress, relieve tension, sales and marketing consulting, Sales Creators, sounding, sounding series, workout class | 7 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on April 17, 2012
Every year there is a Bay Area Dance Week. This year is the 14th annual dance week and it is being presented by Dancers’ Group. This will be the fourth year that I have offered my morning Nia Classes to New Students for free. I did it last year, but I didn’t post about it. I figured I should post about it to remind people it is happening. My 9:00 am Nia Classes on Monday, April 23rd and Wednesday, April 25th at Halanda Studio will be free to New Students. Here is another opportunity to try Nia for free.
In addition to Nia there are many FREE Classes during National Dance Week at Halanda Studio. Halanda Studio is owned by two women who rent out the studio by the hour. The variety of classes that are offered at the studio is very diverse. As you can see by the schedule of free classes there is several types of Belly Dancing from beginning to Intermediate/Advanced. Also being offered for free during Bay Area Dance Week is Hot Hula, Yoga, Zumba, Bollywood Fitness, and I’ve already mentioned Nia.
While I want you to attend classes at Halanda and in particular MY Nia class, my dancing spirit has to bring to your attention to the fact that from April 20 – April 29, 2012 it is Bay Area Dance Week. So there are FREE classes ALL OVER THE BAY AREA!!! According to the Bay Ara Dance booklet there are more than 650 groups, artists, and organizations participating. There are over 100 forms of dance to enjoy. Not only are there free classes but there are free performances.
The opening event is Friday, April 20th at Union Square Park in San Francisco. The closing event on Sunday, April 29 will be at 2 pm in Union Square Park in San Francisco where there will be simple circle dance for peace among people and peace with Earth. Looks like this dance will be led by the amazing Anna Halprin. She is 92 years old and still dancing and teaching dance . . . now that is what I call amazing!
Below is the current list of FREE classes (as of Tuesday, April 17, 2012) being offered at Halanda Studio in San Jose during Bay Area Dance Week (Friday, April 20th through Sunday, April 29th – 2012)
Saturday, April 21:
9:30am-10:30am: Bellydance Basics with Amanda
10:30am-12:00pm: Bellydance & Beyond with Amanda
12:00pm-1:00pm: Bellydance Fusion Technique with Michelle
1:00pm-2:00pm: No Rules Bellydance with Michelle
2:30pm-3:30pm: Tunisian Folk Dance with Pamela
—
Sunday, April 22:
2:00pm-3pm: Hot Hula Fitness with Marie
—
Monday, April 23:
9:00am-10:00am: Nia with Terre
4:00pm-5:00pm: Silk Road & Middle Eastern dance for Kids with Farima
7:00pm-8:00pm: Bellydance – All Levels with Hala
8:00pm-9:00pm: Bellydance – Intermediate Technique & Drills with Hala
9:00pm-10:00pm: Bellydance – Choreography with Hala
—
Tuesday, April 24:
5:00pm-6:15pm : Hatha Yoga – Mixed Levels with Dahlia
6:30pm-7:30pm: Bellydance Workout with Natika
7:30pm-8:30pm: Tribal Fusion with Natika
8:30pm-9:30pm Fan Veil Dance with Natika
9:30pm-10:30pm Silk Road Fusion Dance with Farima
—
Wednesday, April 25:
9:00am-10:00am: Nia with Terre
6:00pm-7:00pm: Bellydance with Setareh
7:00pm-8:30pm: Hala Dance Company Rehearsal with Hala
8:30pm-9:30pm: Basic Belly with Naima
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Thursday, April 26:
6:30pm-7:30pm: Killer Drillz Level 1 with Vanessa
8:30pm-9:30pm: Dances of Persia & the Silk Road with Farima
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Friday, April 27:
7:00pm-8:00pm: Zumba Fitness with Melissa
8:00pm-9:00pm: Tunisian Folk Dance with Pamela
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Saturday, April 28:
8:00am-9:15am: Power Flow Yoga with Delanie
12:00pm-1:00pm: Bellydance Fusion Technique with Michelle
1:00pm-2:00pm: No Rules Bellydance with Michelle
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Sunday, April 29:
9:30am-10:30am: Bollywood Fitness with FusionBeatz
There are other classes taught at Halanda, but the classes listed here are the ones that are participating in Bay Area Dance Week.
Aside from Nia :-), what classes are you going to try out?
Posted in Exercise and Working Out, Nia | Tagged: Anna Halprin, Bay Area Dance Week, Bay Area Nia, Belly Dancing, Bellydance Fusion Technique, Bollywood Fitness, dance choerography, Free Dance, free dance performances, Free Nia, Halanda Studio, Hot Hula, Middle Eastern dance, Nia Classes, Nia students, Nia Technique, San Francisco, San Jose Dance, San Jose Nia, Silk Road, Tribal Fusion, Union Square Park, Yoga, Zumba | 1 Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on April 12, 2012
When I wrote the post regarding anti-inflammatory foods, I decided to buy some Turmeric. At the time I was not able to claim knowing what it tasted like. I figured since it was used a lot in curries I would be ok with it. I thought that it would be a good thing to add to our diet. Since there are so many things that work as an inflammatory, I am always trying to add anti-inflammatory foods and ingredients into our diet. I wasn’t sure exactly how to use it, but I was wanting to give it a go. Turmeric has been used in food and as medicine for centuries. Seems like the West is doing a lot of research to see what health benefits it has.
According to the University of Maryland Medical Center: “Turmeric has been used in both Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine as an anti-inflammatory, to treat digestive and liver problems, skin diseases, and wounds. Curcumin is also a powerful antioxidant.”
Remember Curcumin is the phytochemcial that give turmeric its color.
And Eat This! has a list of 20 Health Benefits contributed to Turmeric including;
-When combined with cauliflower, it has shown to prevent prostate cancer and stop the growth of existing prostate cancer.
-Has shown promise in slowing the progression of multiple sclerosis in mice.
-May aid in fat metabolism and help in weight management.
Well, I’ve had it for a while now and I really like the flavor. I’ve added it to soups, to veggies, and to meat. You know my standard ground turkey and whatever veggies I have? Well, it really makes that taste wonderful. I had cooked broccoli, mushrooms, and ground turkey for dinner a few nights ago, today I decided to have the leftovers in a tortilla. Since we have a few cucumbers I decided to use some up by slicing it really thin and putting it in the tortilla with the meat and a bit of parmesan cheese. WOW! The turmeric and the cucumbers were a party-in-my-mouth flavor. It was really good. So now I am going to serve cucumbers with my turmeric ground turkey. Many people can describe flavors, I can sometimes, but I cannot describe the flavor or turmeric. I would say that it is somewhat mellow so it won’t necessary overpower what you are using it with. It is not hot or bitter. I think it can be used with anything savory.
Wiki says “it has a distinctly earthy, slightly bitter, slightly hot peppery flavor and a mustardy smell” but I don’t agree. Maybe I will give it the mustardy smell, but not off the top of my head.
But there is a problem with turmeric. It dyes everything yellow! I now have several bowls and utensils dyed yellow because I used them to stir, serve, or store something with turmeric in it. It is just as bad as tomato sauce when it comes to dying things!
I am familiar with turmeric in its powdered form, but it is a root like ginger, so if you get it in root form you can use it just as you would ginger. You could chop it, grate it, cut it up . . . the same as ginger.
If you like the flavor it seems like a great thing to add to just about everything. Since it is touted as an anti-inflammatory, an antioxidant, help in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), helps treat the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, improves liver function, prevents some cancers, lowers cholesterol, helps treat and prevent Alzheimer’s, reduces risk of childhood Leukemia among other things — why not add it to things?
Do you cook with Turmeric? If so what do you add it to?
Posted in Food | Tagged: Alzheimer's, anti-inflammatory foods, antioxidant, arthritis, Ayurvedic medicine, Chinese medicine, cholesterol, curcumin, curry, Eat This, ginger, IBD, inflammatory, inflammatory bowel disease, Leukemia, multiple sclerosis, mustard, peppery, phytochemical, prostate cancer, savory, Turmeric, weight management | 4 Comments »
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