Archive for the ‘Nia’ Category
Posted by terrepruitt on July 13, 2020
Principle 2 of the Nia White Belt has two parts. Nia White Belt Principle 2 is Natural Time and Movement Forms. As you may have seen, I am re-taking the Nia White Belt training online and so far, the information, the bones of this principle has not changed . . . and that is comforting. It is nice to know that we – from the first Nia White Belt that experienced these principles to now – are all still moving from the same point of reference. Back when I took the Nia White Belt training in December 2008 they were developing new images called triads. We were the first class to get a glimpse of them and be shown how they “worked”. Nia is still using the triads to help students learn and embody information, but as I mentioned in a previous post, we are being presented with the latest langage to be used by Nia, but so far the core of the principles have been the same. In addition to the BRAND NEW (not even been printed) Nia White Belt “Sense” Book (the training manual) we are also reading The Nia Technique Book. The Nia Technique Book has pages and pages devoted to Nia White Belt Principle 2 – Natural Time and Movement Forms. It is a vast principle.
First of all, I want to remind you that Nia is amazing. It is a holistic model for movement and life so it has A LOT of depth. The training material they put out is ALWAYS mind blowing. And over the years they have added more and more things to the toolbox. So, I am not disclosing everything we learn, I am not sharing all of the information because it really is something one needs to experience for themselves. All of the stuff I share – ok, most of it – comes from the publicly available book The Nia Technique Book.
The first part of the principle: Natural Time. I don’t have much to add to my first post on Nia Natural Time. There is a triad for this, but, again, not sharing ALL of our training with you because that just wouldn’t be fair. The first part of P2 is about moving in your own time and using the 13:20, your 13 major joints and your 20 digits, for movement, and about what Nia calls measure which I equate to proprioception, where you know where your body is in relation to things around you and to your own body. This is very helpful when you are dancing with a lot of people. It is also VERY helpful nowadays when you are observing social distancing. You use movement and measure to move in your body’s way.
The second part of the principle is Movement Forms. There are three arts that each contain three different movement forms. Now, I say we may use moves from each art because when exercising and/or dancing you are probably going to do a punch or a kick and/or a shimmy or a cha-cha-cha. But I do need to be clear that we are not actually DOING any of these forms. We just use elements from each form or even more accurately we use the energy of each form. Since we are still using The Nia Technique Book in training, I feel that my previous posts can serve as information regarding each art and its included form.
The “Arts” are Martial Arts (MA), Dance Arts (DA), and the Healing Arts (HA). Within each art is the form from which we use energy.
T’ai chi is the slow dance
Tae Kwon Do is the dance of precision
Aikido is the dance of harmonious spherical motion
Jazz Dance is the dance of fun, showmanship, and expression
Modern Dance is the dance of creating shapes in space
Duncan Dance is the dance of free-spirited, honest movement
Feldenkrais is the dance of conscious awareness of sensation,
the Alexander Technique is the dance of movement from the top
Yoga is the dance of conscious alignment of bones and joints
I am sharing the hastily drawn triad regarding the movement forms because it helps with understanding the organization of them.
For our homework we spent time discovering our energy personalities in relation to the nine movement forms. In our training we spent time dancing each movement form to see how the different energy allowed our bodies to move. It is fun to explore and maybe learn new ways to move.
And there you have it Principle 2 of the Nia White Belt hopefully it gives you a little insight as to how we dance Nia and even how we move through life.
Might you play with dancing using one of the movement forms? See what is your favorite form of expression?
Posted in 2020 Nia White Belt Principles, Nia | Tagged: 13 MAJOR joints, 13:20, 20 digits, Aikido, Alexander Technique, dance arts, Duncan Dance, energy personalities, Felderkrais, Healing Arts, holistic model for movement, Jazz Dance, martial arts, modern dance, Natural Time and Movement Forms, Nia Triads, Nia White Belt, Nia White Belt “Sense” Book, Principle #2, Proprioception, Tae kwon do, T’ai chi, The Nia Technique book, training online, Yoga, Zoom | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on July 8, 2020
I kind of figure I will be posting a bit about each of the “re-languaged” Principles as I go along, but we will see. Some of them might not need another entire post . . . but we will see. In looking back at my original post regarding Nia White Belt’s Principle 1 not much has changed. The way it is written up in the book and the way she talks about it may have changed, but – two things – the main brunt of it is the same and I don’t want to share everything exactly anyway because if you are the slightest bit interested you have to experience for yourself. The first Principle is the Joy of Movement. Sometimes referred to as JoM or maybe even JOM.
Back when I took the training originally the fact that sometimes you just aren’t feeling happy, was discussed and, of course that is going to happen. It came up this time, too, because that is reality – no one is happy all the time. And that is somewhat what this is about. You don’t have to FEEL happy to dance the Joy of Movement. It might help. Moving when you are happy definitely has a different energy. Try it. You can dance when you are happy and it will be different than when you are not. But when you feel happy that is an emotion, a feeling, when you dance the Joy of Movement that is a sensation. Something that comes from the body. Something that many people may need to learn (as in it doesn’t necessarily come naturally) and we need to practice.
The Joy of Movement allows you to dance no matter what. For some it is relaxing the body and letting it move. A body that moves in its own way pretty much can’t help but find joy. So that means even if you have aches, pains, and an injury, if you move in the way your body is able to move at that moment, you can find joy. So, for example, if your foot is injured and standing, walking, jumping on it would cause it pain, doing that would not be YOUR BODY’S WAY (at the moment), but maybe sitting down and moving would be the way your body could move and movement will make your body sense joy.
Note, that one key is moving in YOUR BODY’S WAY . . . if your body does not like to move fast then doing so will not allow you to find that Joy of Movement. Moving in ways your body is not able to is not going to allow you to find it either, you have to move in ways that bring you the sensation of joy.
If you are feeling sad, but you move in your body’s way, you may still FEEL sad, but your body and its sensation will be joyful and perhaps you will end up feeling less sad. Now dancing away your sadness is not the point of the Joy of Movement, going back to when I mentioned the fact that sometimes we feel sad, that is ok. This is not a practice that preaches to ignore your sadness (feelings), just dance them away . . . it is just a practice that is body center and is teaching that you can find joy in movement. It is a tool that can help you deal with life.
There is always going to be situations that make us sad, upset, out of sorts, angry, grumpy, whatever, but if you want a tool to help this is one of the many tools in the Nia toolbox. Again, this is not to say I am not allowed to be upset and it isn’t even saying when I dance or move I have to be happy, this is just saying I have the CHOICE. I can CHOOSE the SENSATION of joy and tap into the UNIVERSAL JOY that is out there and available to anyone and everyone. It is not an emotion, but a sensation. With those three things I have . . . . . the Joy of Movement.
So what do you think? Do you move for the joy of it?
Posted in 2020 Nia White Belt Principles, Nia | Tagged: 2020 White Belt Principles, feelings vs sensations, JOM, Joy of Movement, Nia Technique, Nia White Belt, Principle #1, the body's way, your body's way | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on July 6, 2020
Back in December 2008 I took a training for a movement practice called Nia. I had only taken a couple of classes and that was only to see if I liked it enough to teach it. I liked it enough to want to teach it so I signed up for the week long training at the headquarters in Portland, Oregon. I went having no idea what I was getting into and thinking I would walk out with routines learned enough to jump start into teaching. Well, no, that is not what a week training for a Nia Belt is. But it is pretty amazing. Back then the TWO founders were still a part of Nia, whereas now-a-days it is just one of the founders. Turns out Nia is a practice . . . like yoga is a practice. You can do just the physical exercise part of it or you can add it to your life. Adding it to your life is pretty easy since the main idea of Nia – to me – is to notice your body and how it moves.
One thing Nia does is have principles for every “level” (called “Belts”). I listed the principles of the (2008) White Belt in my post Nia Or Nia Technique Is A Specific Practice. Then I wrote a post about each principle individually. With an amazing and unprecedented opportunity to take the training again with one of the Founders online at an astronomically generous discount, I couldn’t say no.
It is the first time a Nia Belt has ever been offered online. Nia is very much about the body and movement so it really does make sense to do it in person – to be in the same space with people learning and doing the same stuff. But . . . Nia is amazing in its ability to adapt and change and do what needs to be done to continue on yet keep its members and participants safe, so we are doing it online. Debbie Rosas (one of the founders) is determined to give it a personal feel and touch so we are on Zoom doing a portion of the training. Then we are assigned to a POD, with over 200 people taking the training I thought the PODs would be big, but there were only five people on my POD list.
Anyway, the principles’ wording has changed a bit so I wanted to post an updated list. With the slight changes I am confident that the principles are still the same. I mean, that is what Nia is based on. It is just that sometimes language can be updated, sometimes to more marketable friendly words. But still stay the same. We will see as I go through the training. I never like to give too much away because it is something you need to experience for yourself, but I do plan to post more about it . . . the information and my experience. That is the reason I started this blog in the first place. I wanted to share Nia with everyone. And now that so many things are having to be online, maybe you can experience it yourself.
Principle 1 – JOY OF MOVEMENT
Principle 2 – NATURAL TIME + MOVEMENT FORMS
Principle 3 – MUSIC + 8 BC SYSTEM
Principle 4 – FREEDANCE
Principle 5 – AWARENESS
Principle 6 – BASE
Principle 7 – PLANES + INTENSITY LEVELS
Principle 8 – CORE
Principle 9 – UPPER EXTREMITIES
Principle 10 – X-RAY ANATOMY
Principle 11 – CREATING A SENSORY LIFE
Principle 12 – BODY + LIFE TRANSFORMATION
Principle 13 – LIVING WHAT YOU SENSE
As I said I don’t think these have really changed, because if you compare lists they are basically the same but with slightly different wording. Number 11 is what always changes the most. I don’t know how many times it has changed, but I know I kinda didn’t care for some of the versions . . . but again, I think it is all BASICALLY the same. I am looking forward to seeing. This is not only new language to me, it is NEW to everyone . . . Nia just finished crafting it so this is really exciting.
As I said, I hope to be following up this post with more information as it unfolds.
Have you participated in any type of training or lesson online that you were/are enthusiastic about?
Posted in 2020 Nia White Belt Principles, Nia | Tagged: Amazing Nia training, COVID-19 World, Debbie Rosas, marketable language, Nia, Nia Practice, Nia White Belt 2020, online training, Principles of White Belt 2020, Zoom Nia Belt training | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on May 11, 2020
I have not been feeling very bloggy lately. Sometimes when I have an idea I don’t have the energy to write it. And when I have the energy I don’t have any ideas. I have been wanting to share something regarding online classes so I thought I had better write it up so I can have it ready for Monday. Last month I taught a Nia live stream class and I was told the sound was good. The students could hear the music and me. Now keep in mind I do not have a studio nor equipment made especially for streaming classes. I am pretty much like most of the other dance exercise instructors that decided they needed to live stream classes. For Nia I am in my living room, most often having to try to not step on a cat. I am very lucky that we do have a laptop that I can use. And since my hubby is working from home he was able to lend me his home monitor and brought his work monitor home. Also, I am borrowing the office microphone. It is not a headset microphone, but it is super cool. For music I use my Block Rocker. I don’t know what they hear, I experimented with recording it before the actual class, but that was just a test . . . I don’t know what it sounds like when I do the actual class, but for the first class they said it was ok. But in between classes I have been visiting with people on Zoom and I had adjusted my mic volume and forgot. So my second Nia class had audio issues. They couldn’t hear me. There are so many things it could have been, so I went through everything and I just wanted to share some settings with you that might help your sound quality in your classes.
I know that Zoom has a lot of videos and instructions on many things. I get e-mails from them all the time saying they are holding classes regarding how to do this and how to do that. So they probably have some information out there regarding this but maybe not because they were originally designed to be a meeting platform. With what is going on in the world we all took it over and we are using it for everything.
The first thing I had to make sure wasn’t causing sound issues was the mic cord. So we got new ones to take care of that in case that was an issue. Then I went into the Zoom settings. Every time I use Zoom it needs an update so every time I update it I check my settings because I am afraid that they will be changed with the update and that is where I discovered I had turned down my mic. I had turned it down for a Zoom visit and didn’t turn it back up for the class.
So, I think the best way to get the best sound is to turn up your mic AND . . . go into advance settings and make sure you disable “Suppress Persistent Background Noise” and “Suppress Intermittent Background Noise” I think that having them on auto confuses the system when teaching. Originally I had both of them on “auto” because I was thinking . . . I don’t want the jackhammering outside my house to be heard, but then I thought what if the system is thinking my music/voice is background noise. Because my students had said that the music cut out once or twice. So I think, it either considers my voice or the music as “background noise”. Because, remember this platform was not designed for music and voice, and especially not designed for either/both to be directed at it from three feet away.
Turn up the mic and speakers in the “Audio” section of “Settings” – Open settings by clicking on arrow next to audio in lower left hand corner
Now I am not sure how it sounds when the music isn’t louder than the background noise and there actually is background noise (like the jackhammer). But if you disable the suppressions it might give your students a more consistent sound. The last two classes I taught with the new cord and the adjusted settings, the students had said the music didn’t cut out and they could hear me fine.
If I were in an uncarpeted space, I would change the “Echo Cancellation” to “Aggressive” because I have taken classes that sound so “tinny”, and I would hope that the change in setting would help that. But in both spaces where I teach I have carpet.
I also have “Enable Original Sound” OFF because Zoom’s site states if your mic HAS auto enhancing capabilities then the sound from it will be enhanced, but if it DOES NOT, then you don’t want to use it. This might actually be the key to better sound as it allows the “Audio Processing” to work.
So, I think having music and talking as one does in a live streaming dance exercise class turning the suppressing settings to “Disable” are a good bet.
So have you taken any Zoom classes? How do they sound? What do you think?
Posted in Nia, Online Classes, Zoom | Tagged: Audio Processing, cardio online, live stream exercise class, noise cancellation settings, Online Classes, teaching from home, THX microphone, virtual dance class, Zoom | 23 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on January 22, 2020
I think it is time to revisit some things. A compilation of re-visitation. How does that sound? This is in regards to Nia. I have all of this information spread out in various posts on my blog and in various places on my website but I thought I could revisit some information for a post. This will help to get the information out there. I will answer some questions that I have received recently as a new group of people are going to be treated to a Nia class.
How is Nia different than Zumba?
Well, based off of my Zumba and Nia training and based off of the Zumba and Nia classes I have attended the main difference is movement, both speed and type. Zumba is regularly faster. Nia can be fast, but in general is slower than Zumba. Zumba’s movements tend to be more Latin; focusing on movement of the hips and feet, whereas Nia is more of an entire body movement type of dance class. Nia incorporates three art forms into the dance (martial arts, dance arts, and healing arts – more about all of that can be found in the “The Nine Basic Movements Forms Of Nia” post.)
Is it sweaty?
Well, that is based entirely on you, the individual. Some people dance Nia and don’t sweat, it could be that they just aren’t the type of body that sweats or it could be that they really didn’t move enough to sweat. I remember teaching one class years ago and a student came up to me as I was toweling off and said, “You really don’t sweat much in Nia, do you?” As I said, I was toweling off, my hair was wet, I was blind from sweat, and my glasses were fogged up. And I said, “No, no YOU don’t.” Because this person had stood behind me the entire class. I never saw this student’s arms or legs or head. So, in other words, this person didn’t move a lot, this person never lifted their arms up or out, nor did they kick out, so there wasn’t a lot of movement on their part so they didn’t sweat. And that is fine, if that is what your goal is. If you want to go to a cardio dance class and not sweat don’t move a lot. If you are the type of person that sweats when you move and you decide to move in the class, then you will sweat. It really is all about what you want for your body that day, during that class.
What do I wear?
Anything you want in order to feel comfortable. Something you can move in and that you don’t mind being on the floor in.
Is Nia done barefoot?
Yes. Nia is designed to be done barefoot. Again, we do not jump – sometimes a trainer might get fancy and excited and include a little jump or two when s/he created the routine, but for the most part we do not jump. We don’t typically twist on our feet, we pick up our feet. There is a lot of foot work in Nia designed to stretch and strengthen the foot. Nia believes that – while shoes can be lovely – they restrict the movement of the foot, so moving in bare feet allows the foot to move as it was designed.
What type of music is played in a Nia class?
All types of music. Some routines run the gamut of tunes from rock to classical, some routines contain only one genre or one artist but the music for Nia as a whole varies. You can click here and click around if you would like to hear some samples of the actual music in some of our routines.
As a note, people constantly confuse IMPACT with INTENSITY. We had been trained to think we have to move fast with high jumps up and down (impact) in order to get a “good” workout and in order to sweat. But if you stand with your feet in A stance (slightly wider than your shoulders) and do squats for three minutes, you might get a little sweaty. You will have done an INTENSE exercise, but not one that is high impact. Nia is not high impact, yet it can be intense. People who do the moves in their bodies way, always come up to me and say what a great workout they just had in Nia. The routines are created from movements that the body was designed to do, but Nia knows that not everyone’s body can move that way so dancers are encouraged to move in their own body’s way. And with that in mind individuals get the workout they need.
Above I mentioned sweating in a Nia class, well, it could be you do sweat when you workout, but it could be that you are taking a Nia class in the middle of your work day or you are meeting friends for lunch after class so you don’t CHOOSE to move a lot and you want to take it easy – that is perfectly acceptable. It is perfect to dance how you want to/how you are able to at that time.
So, these are the questions that I have received of late. I can go on for pages talking about Nia . . . and I have if you look here on my blog you will find plenty of posts about Nia. Or you can check out my website, here are some pages that might interest you:
Nia Information / Nia Class Cycles / Main Benefits of Nia / Tips for a Pleasurable Nia Experience / Principles of the Body’s Way / Nia Tips for Moving with Nia / Sounding Tips / Nia’s 52 Moves / Nia Belt Levels and Focuses
Also, feel free to contact me if you any other questions or want more information. Yay to new Nia dancers!
Posted in Nia | Tagged: Answers to Questions, barefoot, classical music, dance arts, dance class, entire body movement, Healing Arts, high intensity, latin moves, Latin music, low impact, martial arts, Nia, Nia class, Nia Class Experience, Nia dancers, Nine Movement Forms, rock music, sweaty workout, www.HelpYouWell.com, Zumba | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on July 31, 2019
So Nia has a few fundamental ideas, this post is a brief summary of the information that can be found in The Nia Technique book. The book is by Debbie Rosas and Carlos Rosas. It was first published in 2004. This information is on pages 16 through 19.
The Joy of Movement Is the Secret of Fitness. The idea is to not exercise. For many people exercising is not enjoyable. So stop, don’t exercise . . . MOVE. Move in a joyful way, not in a mechanical way that doesn’t bring any pleasure.
Fitness Must Address the
Human Being, Not Just the Body. Exercise that is done just to exercise is not fun and will probably be put aside after a little while. But movement that is fun and engages the mind, emotions, and spirit in addition to the body is something that one might stick with for a long time. Your body will benefit from exercise, but if you like the movement you are doing and if it is created to affect more than just the physical you can get more benefit from it. If you walk away from the activity with a clearer head, a happier and/or satisfied disposition, and a lighter spirit it is something you will want to do. Your health will be better overall.
Movement Must Be Conscious, Not Habitual. Haven’t there been studies that prove thinking about what you are doing, focusing on the movement results in greater gains? Being aware of your movement and the sensations of the body makes for a more fulfilling workout. Just hopping on the treadmill and turning on the TV is less satisfying. You also don’t affect the BMES.
Use Your Body the Way It Was Designed to Be Used. Replace the linear exercise with full range of motion movement. Vary the speed and intensity of movements. Move to improve your FAMSS!
Take the Path of Least Resistance. Move the way your body is. Not to say you cannot improve in areas that you want to improve in, but recognize that everyone cannot be a contortionist or run a mile in three minutes.
The chart is from page 19. I redacted some of it so that you would be encouraged to read it for yourself and have the opportunity to get new/additional information. 🙂
Remember that this was written in 2004 and it is really great to see that this type of information and way of thinking is becoming much more common. Yay!
What is your favorite type of movement?
Posted in Nia | Tagged: BMES, cardio dance, cardio fitness, Carlos Rosas, Debbie Rosas, FAMSS, fitness, Nia, Nia fundamentals, Nia Technique | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on January 2, 2019
So I was out today visiting the studio I am going to teach at on Thursdays. I was out much longer than I had planned. Then I came home and worked on my site the rest of the day. I have been having to go through all the pages to take out all the old class information. I would repeat a lot of the information on many of the pages to help people be clear on the various classes that I was teaching. So now I am having to change all of that because after five years the program under which I taught for the City of San Jose has changed. I will be teaching Nia on Tuesdays and Nia on Thursday. The classes will be at different locations. The fees will be different. As I said in my last Wednesday post Out With The Old, In With The New.
The new place I will be teaching on Thursdays is right down the street from the other place, so that should be very convenient for the Nia and stretch students. I was able to keep the schedule the same . . . with the old program under the city we had Nia at 9:00 am and stretch class at 10:15. We are doing that at the new place. We will start January 10, 2019.
I am excited. As I said, I spent time visiting the studio and one of the owners, today, then spent the rest of the day updating my site. I need to give it a rest and come back and look at it with fresh eyes to edit it. And retry all the links. You are more than welcome to help me edit it . . . if you see something that is incorrect, please let me know!
Anyway . . . I have been re-doing my site instead of writing a blog post. So I thought I would share what is going on. And use another avenue of social media to let people know about the changes and the new location of the Thursday Nia class and stretch Class.
YAY!
Check out the information on my website!
Thursday Nia
Thursday Stretch
I hope to you see you in one some day!
Happy New Year!
Posted in Nia | Tagged: dance studio, January 2019, new location for classes, Nia, stretch class, studio, Thursday Nia, updating website, yoga studio | 4 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on July 25, 2018
Sometimes we end Nia class with the laughter “exercise”. You know that saying “fake it ’til you make it?” Well, since the brain can’t tell the difference between fake laughter and real laughter it releases the “happy hormones” regardless. There are many additional benefits to laughter:
–it can trigger the release of endorphins (the “happy” hormones mentioned)
–it can help lower your blood pressure
–it can reduce stress hormone levels
–it can give your abdominal muscles a workout
–it can help improve cardiac health
–it can improve your immune system by boosting T-cells
–it can give you a sense of well-being and help you look at the world more positively
–it helps relax the body
–it burns calories
–it may even help relieve pain
What better way to end an exercise class than laughter?
There are a lot of ways to do it, but one way is by laughing and “cooking all four sides”. Debbie Rosas uses that saying when referring to being on or using the “sides” of the body; front, back, left, right or tummy, back, left side, right side.
Sometimes in Nia class since we are already on the floor for the Floorplay cycle of class we will do the “exercise”. It is simple actually. While lying on your back just start to laugh. It doesn’t even have to be “real” laughter. Just start to chuckle or giggle. Or even just begin by saying, “Ha!” One loud HA! Then keep going. Pretty soon your “ha-s” will change into something else – again, it might not yet be real, but someone who has joined in will make a noise that will cause real laughter. Once one person has started, it just goes from there and the next thing you know everyone is really laughing. Even if or when it starts to die down something will happen, someone will think of something funny and start up again, or someone will snort (that is always good for a laugh), or someone will do that long sigh that always happens after a good laugh session and it will start back up again.
After about one minute roll to a side. Stay there and laugh for a minute. Just keep it going even if there are moments when it is not that real-from-the-belly kind of laugh. Then after a minute, roll to the other side. Stay there laughing for about a minute. Keep it going. Then roll to your tummy. Here is where you might start really sensing it in your belly, after three minutes of laughter your abs might already notice and when you roll on the belly and laugh more, they probably will be getting your attention a bit.
This is a really fun way to end the class. It reminds everyone that participates how fun laughing is. It reminds everyone how contagious laughing is. It reminds everyone that no matter what is going on there is a chance for laughter. It also reminds everyone that laughter can be a bit physical.
Of course you don’t have to be in a class to do this exercise. Perhaps there is someone in your home that would like to participate with you. Also you don’t have to do it for a minute on each side.
So what do you think? Is this an exercise you can enjoy?
Posted in Nia | Tagged: abdominal exercise, cardio exercise, cooking all four sides, Debbie Rosas, laughing for four minutes, laughter exercise, Nia, Nia class | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on June 6, 2018
People often ask how long I have been teaching Nia and/or Yoga. Sometimes a student will ask how long I have been teaching the class. In order for me to remember I have to think about something I remember specifically for one class where the supervisor called me when I was in the hospital visiting my mom. Then I have to think of when that was and try to piece it together from there. I did send out some information over a year ago regarding the class facts. It was kind of in the form of a thank you for keeping the classes going. I decided to post the information so I will always have it on hand and I can point people towards it.
Terre’s Class Facts:
Nia at the Camden Community Center: Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9:00 am. Friday at 10:15 am.
The Tuesday Nia class started on September 4, 2012. It has always been at 9:00 am.
There was a Wednesday Nia class for a very short period of time in 2015.
The Thursday Nia class started on September 22, 2013. Originally it was at 8:30 am, then in November 2013 it was changed to 8:45 am. Then in February of 2015 it was changed to 9:00 am.
The Friday Nia class started in February of 2015. It has always been at 10:15 am. It follows a class that is at 9:00 am so that is why it starts at 10:15 am. The fifteen minutes in between classes is supposed to be for the out going class time to finish, clean up, and vacate the room AND allow us to come in and get ready.
Gentle Yoga at the Willow Glen Community Center: Thursday evenings at 6:00 pm.
I started teaching the gentle yoga class at the Willow Glen Community Center on July 18, 2013. Originally I was asked to do it for one session. But then it turned into the next, and the next . . . This class is held at 6:00 pm. This class is part of the Leisure Class program, so students sign up for session. So sometimes there is a mandated break in between sessions. They do not allow for drop-ins at this center.
Gentle Yoga at the Cypress Community Center: Tuesdays at 10:30 am.
I started teaching the gentle yoga class at the Cypress Community Center on February 25, 2014. The original time slot for this class was 10:00 am. But it was moved to 10:30 am so that I could get there from my Nia class at Camden. This class is also is part of the Leisure Class program, so students sign up for session. Sometimes there are breaks in between sessions, but we work hard to not have them because we like to just continue without breaks. This community center allows for drop-ins. So you don’t have to sign up for the entire session you can just come take on yoga class if you would like.
Stretch at the Camden Community Center: Thursday at 10:15 am.
I started teaching the Thursday Stretch Class in May of 2016. The original time slot was noon, but it was moved so it could be after Nia. It has gone on hiatus at times due to various reasons (summer camps usually come in and take over the community center). This class is at 10:15 am, after Nia.
Additional information about the classes:
All classes are an hour long. Nia and Stretch are part of the SJCITY Fit program. The gentle yoga classes are a part of the Leisure Class program.
There have been other class that have come and gone. I started teaching in 2009 at a studio I rented in Willow Glen. I did that for four years. I have also taught for the City of San Carlos. I worked for a little fitness studio, I taught at other community centers in San Jose, and I rented other studio space. But since those classes are not longer happening, I didn’t make note of those dates.
I am very fortunate to have such great students and to teach these classes. It is common knowledge among fitness instructors that a class can be cancelled at anytime, especially at city community centers. If there are not enough students then the class gets cancelled . . . makes sense, that is just the way it is. So that we have had these classes for so long is just the biggest blessing. I am grateful.
Posted in Nia, Yoga/PiYo/Pilates | Tagged: City of San Jose, Cypress Community Center, exercise classes, Group Ex, Leisure Classes, Nia at Camden, Nia Classes, San Jose City Community Centers, SJCity Fit, stretch class, Willow Glen Community Center, Yoga | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on February 19, 2018
So you may know that I teach a cardio dance exercise called Nia. It includes Martial Arts (such as Tae Kwon Do), Dance Arts (such as jazz dance), and Healing Arts (such as yoga). It is body centered. Basically, it has many facets and can explained many different ways, but it is best for one to see for themselves what it really is. So I call it a cardio dance exercise. That lets people know that they will be dancing and getting a cardio workout. It clues them into the fact that if they move, they will sweat. The rest they just have to experience. One thing we do in Nia is we move around the room. It is great to experience the world from other perspectives and just moving away from your regular dance spot in your dance class can help you do that. Sometimes when we move from our regular spots we are moving around the room in FreeDance . . . perhaps taking up as much space as possible, moving about the entire room or dancing in all the corners. Sometimes when we move from our regular spots we dance in a “bundle”. Nia is also about community so this really helps exhibit that. We dance in a group, in a bundle, as a community.
There is a particular kata in which I remember the training DVD to have encouraged us to dance close, as stated, in a bundle. So I always try to get people to get close. I suggest we all move gently in the tight bundle. I ask that everyone move through the middle of the bundle at least once. I also propose that people make eye contact. This is something I usually say to remind myself. I am getting better at doing so. I used to always look down, but now we are eyeing each other.
During one class I stepped outside of the bundle to turn up the music and thought it would be a great time to snap a photo. As you can see our little Nia community is great at doing the Nia Bundle. We always speculate as to what people who might see us would think when we have this large wonderful dance floor and we are all in the middle dancing. We also laugh about elbows and toes, acknowledging that you might run into one and being very careful not to step on the other. I believe the Nia Bundle is one of the things that makes Nia unique.
If you have read some of my other posts before, this one might sound pretty familiar as I wrote about the Nia Bundle in my post Dancing Close. This post pretty much explores the same information, but with this one there are pictures.
Not every Nia routine’s choreography contains a Nia Bundle . . . but a Nia teacher can use a Nia Bundle anytime. Since it is such a fun way to dance in community we might just sneak it in whenever we want. I tend to stick to using it when we dance the particular song that Carlos choreographed the Nia Bundle in . . . .but ya never know, since my students are so good at it, I might start using it more.
How would you feel about a “bundle dance”?
Posted in Nia | Tagged: body centered, cardio dance exercise, cardio workout, Carlos Aya Rosas, dance arts, Healing Arts, Jazz Dance, martial arts, Nia Bundle, Nia class, Nia community, Nia routines, Tae Kwan Do, Yoga | 2 Comments »
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