Finger Extensions, one of the Fifty-two Moves of Nia. Yeah, extending your fingers is a Nia move. It may sound odd, but it makes sense. Extending the fingers helps move energy. Each finger holds its own energy. The finger movements also have emotional connections so these type of movements tie in very well with the whole body experience, the Body, Mind, Emotion, Spirit (BMES) connection. The finger extensions are the thumb, the index, the middle, the ring, and the pinky.
Each finger holds specific energy and whether you can think about that and believe it or not, when you really think about it you can believe it. Each finger has an emotional association. The thumb is associated with nurture. It is the finger babies suckle, it gives them comfort. The index finger is the desire finger. It is the finger a child uses to indicate what she wants. We use our “pointer” finger to point to what we desire. The middle finger is our power finger. When used with an extended arm pointing down it is the Balance Finger. Sometimes when pointed up it is used as a way of communication.
The ring finger is the commitment finger. It is where engagement rings and weddings bands are placed to signify commitment. It is the point in which a hand hold is fully committed. The pinky finger is on the edge of the hand it represents the boundaries. Boundaries that are respected yet can be nudged and expanded.
With the emotional attachments of each finger, can you see how there can be energy linked with each finger? Can you acknowledge how extending your thumb might elicit energy associated with nurturing because we or babies we know have sucked their thumb? Can you fathom how extending your desire finger might cause you to have an emotional response? And with our emotions there is energy attached.
I know that when I am dancing in a Nia Class and I extend my various fingers it often affects my feet. When I am extending my desire finger sometimes I feel happy because I am pointing at what I want. Sometimes that happy translates to strong movements of my feet because I am identifying my desire. Dancing my pinky, the edge, sometimes makes me feel brave. When I feel brave my movements, the energy, is different than when I am relaxed or feeling timid.
So now that you have an idea of how a simply hand movement can be used in an exercise class, in a cardio dance class, let me share how we do them. It really is somewhat simple. Just extend your arm and then point each finger one at a time, then take a moment to sense the “different qualities of energy”.
Some benefits to doing these extensions, as stated in The Nia Technique book, are that it “helps move energy in and out of the upper body, and keeps it from getting clogged in the next and shoulders.”. Finger extensions also help you move your fingers in a precise way which exercises the brain and the body.
So really this is an easy move and some might not even think of it as an exercise, but it is important to keep our hands strong and flexible. And if, when we do this it activates our brain, that is even better. And . . . if we can do it while we are dancing and having fun, then why wouldn’t we?
You may have seen me announce that I was producing another Nia class with a guest teacher. “Producing” just means that I communicate with the teacher, secure a venue, and promote it as much as I can. The guest teacher does the routine or playshop work and presents the material. I have had this guest teacher come teach a couple of times before. Jason Alan Griffin is a first degree Nia Black Belt and he travels the country with his dog River, and he teaches Nia. In March of 2015, he was going to be in our area so I invited him to present his FreeDance Playshop. Then since he was going to be here on Friday, I asked him to do his based-on-Nia-routine Frankie Say Nia. So we had a Nia class on Friday, then the playshop and a class on Saturday. He happened to be passing through our area in August so I invited him back to do Frankie Say Nia again because it was so fun the first time. This time around he was traveling with a few routines and the one I thought would be the best for the Nia community here was “Amazing”. It is appropriately named. A small group of us danced Amazing with Jason on Friday, May 06, 2016.
Amazing came about through Jason’s desire to share all the wonderful Nia energy he experiences during his trips. He said he was bringing his work and sharing it, but sensed a lot of creativity out there and he wanted to embrace it. So he invited Nia communities to contribute songs from their areas. Then as he visited each area and each Nia community the choreography was revealed. It was either revealed by the community already having done it or by a collaboration.
Now he is spending several months on the road bringing this routine to many Nia communities around the country. He has a few other routines that are on the menu Orchestra, Woodstock Experience, and Floorplay . . . all sound super fun by their descriptions.
The focus of Amazing is on connections and directions. We moved in all directions and were encouraged to sense the connection. As with many things in Nia the connection could be one of or all of the BMES. So we could have been connecting with the Body, the Mind, our Emotions, or Spirit. We were invited to connect with people in the room, in the Nia community, and any where. The intent was to explore something new and return home renewed. And again, as with many things in Nia, that could relate to the BMES. As an example we would extend our arm and try a new movement for our hand, then return our hand back to our center or our “home” and sense if there was a change or some new or different kind of sensation.
It was super fun. A question occurred to me today as I was thinking about writing this post, “Do I just think it is fun because I am not a student often and so any chance to dance Nia is fun?” Then I pictured the e-mails I received telling me it was fun. I remembered the comments after class. It was fun. We have fun when Jason teaches us. So, even though he is planning on taking a year off from traveling, I am hoping that a quick jaunt down the coast to us won’t be considered “traveling” and he will come back next year to teach us again. I really want to try that Orchestra class.
Below are some pictures from the class. I do hope one day you’ll come dance with me!
If you want to see MORE pictures and a video from the class please visit my site.
So, I was so blessed yesterday to have two fellow Nia Teachers attend the class I was teaching. There are three of us that teach a Sunday Nia class at the Northwest YMCA in Cupertino on a rotating basis. We have general “dibbs” on Sundays; Anita likes the first Sunday of the month, I like the second Sunday of the month, and Joan has the fourth Sunday of the month. At one point we had a fourth teacher and she usually took the third Sunday. But now that it is just us three, we each take the third Sunday when we are available. It seems to work out amazingly well that when one (or even two of us) is not available the other two or at least one is. So it works out. Sometimes there is even a fifth Sunday and we make sure one of us is available. Plus we work together when something comes up and we have to switch Sundays. The class is at 12:30 so it is late enough that one can get up and enjoy a nice Sunday morning and not have to rush off to teach. Then we teach and are home in time for a late lunch. 🙂
Well, after class yesterday we were talking about Nia, of course . . . and Anita asked us if we had seen her list of top ten signs you are dancing in a Nia class. I had remembered seeing it, but I didn’t remember them until she started reading them. Then I remembered I saw the list. I had glanced at it, but saved the e-mail to read later. When she brought it up I had asked her if I could share the list on my blog and she kindly agreed. So here ya go:
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“Anita Christensen’s top ten signs you are dancing in a Nia class:
1. They like to freedance without judgement of themselves or others.
2. They are the nicest people.
3. They are all so grateful for the day she, Debbie*, took off her shoes.
4. They make claws with their fingers and scratch the air….sounding grrr…healing emotional issues related to power, abandonment, fear, and anger.**
5. They shimmy and shake their shoulders to express sassy gestures that play with each other in seductive and joyful ways.**
6. They fully acknowledge and embrace that this is THEIR adult play time!
7. They kick to the front, side, and back with authority settling on a supportive leg.
8. As a collective group they yell out “yes” or “no” for all to hear.
9. They choose, sustain, and tweak their JOY of movement to sense life force energy….
10. They invite you to come and be open to a life affirming experience.
It is true Nia is fun, healing and joyful! Do you have anything to add to my top ten list? How I would enJOY hearing your top ten list! The bay area teachers are THRIVING and we want you to join us.”
*”Debbie” is Debbie Rosas is the founder and co-creator of Nia.
**Referenced from the Language of Nia
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Anita Christensen is Nia Black Belt and she teaches several classes in the South Bay and the Peninsula. Check out her profile on NiaNow.com.
If you have ever taken a moment to look at the list of the Fifty-Two Nia Moves you might have wondered what the “Power Finger Crossover” is. You probably figured out it has something to do with fingers as the name contains “finger” but perhaps that is as far as you had gotten. You may have thought, “What is crossed over what?” Well, the middle finger is considered the power finger in Nia. It has a lot of power. In some cultures it is considered a finger of communication ;-). In Nia it is also called the balance finger. With the power finger crossover in the 52 Nia Moves it can be used at many different times during a Nia routine.
First: how to – the way you do the power finger is to cross the middle finger, the power finger over the index finger. Then you release the index finger and cross the power finger over the ring finger. The arms remain long and extended. The cross of the fingers is small. Use both hands, doing the crossover at the same time on both hands.
Go ahead, try it.
I can do the middle finger crossed over the index finger on both hands. I can do the middle finger crossed over the ring finger on the left hand with out help. But I have to use my left hand to cross my right middle finger over my right ring finger. As you can imagine it takes a little strength and dexterity to cross the fingers over each other unaided. It is obvious to me I need to practice more.
There is a routine in which we cross the ring finger over the pinky finger and for the longest time I could do it on my left hand, but had to help my right hand out. But now I can cross both ring fingers over both pinky fingers without help. So it really is just a matter of practice.
If you can do the crossing without helping great! But if you can’t, it is fine to help your fingers until you can do it without the help of the other hand. The fingers still get the benefit of flexibility. And your brain gets the benefit of your digits being crossed.
According to The Nia Technique (page 164) “practicing this move helps you extend energy along your arm bones and out through your hands, which keeps your neck and shoulders relaxes. It creates positive tension in the hand and adds to awareness of the integration of the hand and arm.”
And as I said it helps strengthen the hands/fingers and brings dexterity to them.
This move is part of the moves of the upper extremities and is grouped under “Fingers”. It can be done in combination with many of The Fifty-Two Nia Moves and during many of the Nia Routines. It can be done at almost anytime in a Nia class. During FreeDance or as part of a routine. It can also be practiced throughout your day.
So did you try it? Can you do it? Can you do it on both hands without the help of the other hand?
I am not organized in all areas of my life. Who is, right? But I do find that when I am organized it makes things easier . . . faster . . . quicker. And, most of us can benefit from that, right? There is so much going on, if we can do something faster it helps. Even if it is just to allow us time to slow down. Hurry up and cook dinner so we can sit and relax. Hurry up and clean up so we can go off to play. Whatever . . . hurry in one area of life to make it easier so we can get to the OTHER things in life. Well, I teach Nia, which is a cardio dance that is done to a variety of music. Nia Teachers purchase routines from Nia Technique. They are playlists and choreography. Ok, really they are A LOT more than that, but if I got into ALL of what the routines are in this post it would be really long and I would probably not even get to the point of this post. The point is some information on how I “organize” or arrange my music in iTunes.
So, Nia teacher purchase routines and for some reason sometimes the Album is titled the name of the routine and sometimes it is titled “NiaSounds”. Sometimes it is the name of the routine-NiaSounds. It is NOT consistent. The artists are all over the place from the ACTUAL artist to “Nia Technique”. It is not consistent. And the genre is spotty too, sometimes it is “Alternative”, sometimes it is “New Age”, and I am not even sure what else. This inconsistency does not make it easy to organize the music. And it is very desirable, if not necessary, to have the music labeled consistently so that it can be organized consistently.
What I do, is I make certain the genre is “Nia”. The ACTUAL genre could be anything because we dance Nia to all types of music. So what it REALLY is, is not what I am looking for. I want my Nia Routine music to come up all in one spot when I look at it if I am looking at it via genre.
I change all the Albums to be the name of the actual Nia Routine so I can find music easily by the name of the routine.
I don’t bother with the artist because I like it when it is the ACTUAL artist, but I am not going to spend the time to correct all the music to be the actual artist. As I said, the way Nia labels it is not consistent.
iTunes changes the way it functions WAY TOO often for me. I notice that the length of a song doesn’t show any longer where it used to. I have to go in and out of playlists to see the length of songs. When I have a playlist pulled up, I have to go out of it into the list of playlists to see the length. I have been delaying the update that is currently out there because I can’t even imagine the new changes they have done, the last time an update came out someone on Facebook asked a question about where the total time of the playlists had gone to and that made me think I had better not update because one of the things that makes an iPhone and iPad useful to me is that it can be used to create playlists. And when you are teaching you need to know how long the playlist is.
One of my devices is on a really old iOS (6something) and the other one is at 9something. I think my iTunes is a few versions behind. But I am afraid to update because I don’t want to lose the function that I use.
Another way I organize the music is I have three separate playlists for the Nia music. One is arranged by Album. So I can easily see what song goes to which routine. I can pick out a song that I know is in a routine, or identify a routine when I know the song. Also, I have a playlist arranged by BPM . . . which means Beats Per Minute, but in Nia we don’t go by BPM we go by the 8BCs. So once I figure out that count I try to remember to put it in my iTunes (under BPM). I have not successfully remembered with all the routines, so not all of them show up properly in that playlist but enough to help me when I am trying to put a particular speed song into a routine I am trying to create. Then I also have a playlist arranged by time because sometimes I need a LONG song and sometimes I need a short song. When they are all clumped together by time it makes it easier to pick the length of time I need then I can just pop it into the correct Nia Class cycle. So these three separate “playlists” allow me to see the music in ways that I need, in order to create playlists on my device that I will use in class.
That is what I do to help keep my music organized in a manner that works for me. I am sure there are different ways that other Nia teachers do it as this is not the only way.
Whether you are a teacher that uses music or not – how do you organize your music?
In my last post I told you how I was recently reminded of the Cootie Catcher. I explained how you can make your own. Did you? What did you use it for? Well, I also mentioned that I would be using mine for picking a focus and an intent for Nia class. Well, I used it today and I liked it. It worked. In Nia we set a focus and an intent for each class, which allows us so many different things. It could help us move differently to a familiar routine, it could allow us to help work out some kinks in the body and mind, it can do many things. It is a powerful tool in the Nia tool box. Most often I ask my students if they have anything they would like to focus on. Then we go from there deciding an intent. One of the most requested focuses is shoulders. So many of us hold tension in our shoulders. Rarely is there a time when no one has something they want to focus on, but I thought it would be fun to mix it up giving us an alternative for picking the focus of the class. Plus I thought it would be a good way to get some focuses in use that we don’t use that often. So I made a cootie catcher to assist us.
I wrote four of the seven Nia Class cycles on the outside. I used the number of the cycle. Warm-up is cycle 3, Get Moving is cycle 4, Cool Down is cycle 5, and Floorplay is cycle 6. I could have just used numbers but I wanted to remind people that Nia has cycles. I wish I could have used all seven. So we have someone pick the cycle, then we open and close the catcher that number of times. Then someone picks a focus or I might have them choose a number . . . that way they won’t really know what focus they are picking. Ha, I will probably do it both ways. Anyway . . .we now have our focus. Then the catcher is opened and closed as many times as the corresponding number. Then someone picks another number and we open that triangle and read the intent that is behind it and that is our intent for the class.
Today in class we picked Natural Time . . . to empower us to connect with our body. NICE!
Each focus can work nicely with each intent. So no matter what combination is picked it will work.
You may notice the underlining on the focuses (Joints is underlined, Extension is underlined), originally I was going to use the words, spelling them out to open and close the catcher, but I decided to go with the numbers. But again, I might try that way, too. There are so many ways you can do it. That is one thing that makes it so fun!
There are many ways we can decide on a focus and intent, this is just one. If you are going to make one to use to help with a focus and intent you need FOUR things for the outside (that is where I put the cycles). Then you need EIGHT focuses and EIGHT intents. So that would be the same formula for anything you are going to use the catcher for. Four, eight, eight.
I would love to make more and have all kinds of different focuses and intents. So, you Nia teachers and Nia students, share with me your favorite focus and intent!
Saturday, April 2, 2016 there was a Nia Jam in the San Francisco Bay Area. It has been a long time since I have been to a Nia Jam. The last one I went to was in 2013! They are so fun. The energy at a jam is fantastic. I thought I was going to miss it because the event was being held at a studio in the Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto. It is a HUGE complex and I parked in the garage and followed the first sign that said fitness center. It led me to a courtyard where every door was locked. There was a sign pointing up and to the left, but there was no way for me to go up and to the left. I asked someone walking around if he knew where it was and bless his heart, he had no idea but he made an attempt to help me. We looked at a map and I decided the best route was to go out to the street and go all the way around to where I thought the studio was. As I was making my way back to the garage, I made a few turns and ended up on the right track. I was supposed to be the first teacher and I was kinda bummed that I was late because I thought I missed it. But as I was walking in they were saying. “Where is Terre?” and I was able to say, HERE!” Yay! I made it. I was about 5 minutes late. I thought I was going to be early. I am so glad I made it. Nia Jams are soooo fun.
Often times there are microphone issues. It seems as if movement disrupted this one’s connection. But Nancy H. worked on it and got it fixed after the first few songs. And it was good to go. As we were making introductions one of the teachers told me she was going to be after me. It is important in a jam situation to know who is before you and after you. You need to know who is before you so you are paying attention and can be ready to switch off with the microphone. And also, it is nice to know who is after you so you can make eye-contact as you are ending your selection so the switch off can go as smooth as possible.
I don’t normally teach with a microphone so I always feel like I have to be quiet when I have one in my face. Otherwise it would blow people’s ears out.
The focus was the Nia Five Sensations, FAMSS, (Flexibility, Agility, Mobility, Strength, and Stability) And I did it again, I don’t know what the intent was. I always seem to miss the intent. We had a great playlist (as you can see)!
It was super fun. It is always so nice to see all the teachers. We are kind of spread out in so many different areas. It is even nicer to be able to dance with everyone. And the JCC was very kind to donate the space so between ticket sales and the raffle, I think the association did well.
Here are some pictures and a video. I will continue to encourage you to go to a Nia Jam. They are so fun. I know you will love it!
I have shared before that in a Nia class we have a focus. In my classes we always have a focus and an intent. Sometimes our focus and/or our intent might be loose or flexible or maybe even not clear, but we always have one. Setting the focus and intent is the first of seven cycles in a Nia class. I often ask my students what is going on with them and their bodies so that we can set the focus and intent together. I think that if they are the ones coming up with the focus for the class then they will be more apt to stay focused on it. A focus the take part in setting will be something more relevant to them and their bodies. We focus on backs, shoulders, and necks a lot. It seems as if a lot of us carry our stress in our shoulders. And I say the because often times that seems to be what it is, but there are also a lot of reasons there is “something going on” with our neck and shoulders. We do focus on other things, since there are so many things to focus on. Here are some things we have focused on.
Focus on the shoulders with the intent of bringing relaxation to them. Focusing on any body party with the intent of bringing relaxation to it/them, is a great one. So often we hold tension in our body and this can help relieve some of that. The focus could be the next with the intent of allowing it to relax.
Focusing on the shoulders with the intent of seeing how they are affected by the movement of our hands and arms. Sometimes this one is a good one to do followed the next day by the first one because we can see how sometimes MOVEMENT can bring tension to a body part!
Focus on the toes with the intent of seeing how their movement affects the knees. Focusing on a body part to allow awareness of how it is affected by other body parts is always interesting.
Focusing on the spine with the intent of creating length and space. So this could help our posture. We might dance taller as we reach up or reach away from our bodies with the crown of our heads to help bring a sensation of lengthening.
Sometimes we focus on a body part or area with just the intent of bringing awareness to it. Sometimes as we move through life, since the world seems bent on teaching us to ignore things our bodies are telling us (“here take this pill to mask your symptoms and go on with your life”), it is important to just pay attention to our knees or our elbows (as an example). It is important to check in with our hamstrings and/or our calves. So sometimes we just dance with specific body parts or areas in mind. This allows participants to think freely about something and receive sensation without a particular goal.
What do you think would be a good focus and intent for a Nia class? What do you think would be a good focus and intent for you?
Wow. This non-verbal cueing that we did in Nia has brought up some stuff. So here is another post about it! I have really noticed since the “silent class” that cueing sometimes disrupts the dance for some participants. Since people are so different, we all hear differently, see differently, concentrate differently, and learn differently, it is different for different people. What I noticed is that when I mention something, some people stop or they look to be interrupted. I had noticed this before, but it seems more obvious to me now that we had the silent class. Nia teachers are supposed to cue at a specific point, to me it is so that the person has a moment to finish the move they are in the middle of, have a moment to know what is coming, then perhaps be able to seamlessly change to the next move. That is the idea. The idea is to NOT interfere with the dance. I see it happens sometimes. I see sometimes it does not. So I think it might have to do with what the person is thinking while they are dancing. It could be, if they are completely in their bodies there is no disruption of the movement, but if they are thinking something else while they are moving, then a cue is given, their thoughts are interrupted so their movements get choppy, then they either finish the present move or move onto the next. I am not sure of the reason for what I am seeing, but it is very interesting.
I feel as if in the silent class they actually have to pay attention MORE. They have to LOOK at me if they want to see what is happening. When you have to LOOK at something, it might help with concentration. It could be that the mind is not wandering and counting on the verbal cue to tell you what to do.
As I mentioned in the last post, the participants were in sync, but that was after the move was done at least once. Without verbal cues there is no way for them to know what the move is after I clap until they see it. So once they saw it, or sometimes in the middle of seeing it they knew what to do.
Since they were so synchronized and got there so quickly, I am also thinking that without verbal cues from ME they were letting their bodies cue them. Muscles have memories and without the benefit of me telling them what to do, they just did what their bodies knew to do. As I mentioned in the first post about the “silent class” we have been doing this routine for a few weeks. Plus it is one they already “know”.
I have had people tell me either before or after classes that they need CONSTANT instruction. They want the instructor to say each move through the entire song. I have had people tell me that I don’t tell them what they are supposed to do enough. I have had people tell me that they don’t like Nia because there is not enough of the teacher telling them what to do. I share that to let you know, as I said before, there are different ways to learn and people like different things.
That is why Nia is so fun. We can do it different ways. If you like constant instruction, think of what new things you are being introduced to with less instruction. If you don’t like any instruction, think of what new things you are being introduced to with minimal instruction. It is all about keeping the body, mind, emotions, and spirit challenged (BMES). Learning and doing new things or learning and doing “old” things but in a “new” way. The BMES likes to be flexed and stretched and stimulated.
I love that the Nia participants that come to my Nia classes are so willing to try new things. I love that they like to play and experiment. This had opened some new doors for me. It will allow us to have more fun!
In order to keep my post from being really long – I personally like to read short posts . . . I started this story in my last post and I am finishing it up here. In my last post I talked about the ways classes are led. I talked about how Nia was designed to be a lead and follow, with cueing at a specific point, and even certain types of cues (pearls). I also mentioned how Nia is about keeping things fun and new . . . always challenging the body, mind, emotions, and spirit (BMES). With that in mind sometimes Nia teachers might teach classes without cueing. Now the “cueing” is up for interpretation. What we did was NO VERBAL CUEING. I decided to clap to indicate that a change was coming. And it ended up that, during two songs I pointed to indicate direction at a couple of areas in each song.
After the class, I asked what they observed. One student said she like it. I pressed a bit because I wanted to know WHY she liked it. I wanted to know what she noticed about it. Because I noticed things too. So I wanted to know what SHE noticed. She said that she felt as if she could do what she wanted more without the verbal cues. She felt she could dance more. Some others agreed. A couple of people said they felt more connected to their bodies. And it is my opinion that having a deeper connection with your body is one of the reasons why we play with no cueing. However, what I observed was really interesting . . . I thought. I noticed that the class was more synchronized. They were all doing the moves together more than I have ever seen.
There is this one part in this routine that people always “jump the gun” on. There is always someone doing the “big” move before the big move. But during the non-verbal cueing class . . . they all did it perfectly. This synchronization struck me as I watched it, and then again when one of the students said she felt she could do what she wanted more without instruction. Apparently they all want to dance perfectly in unison and my “interfering” as we call it, is keeping them from doing that.
When instructing a small group it seems as if there is less of a need to guide people. In larger groups there seems as if the odds are someone seems to look as if they could use a cue. And as a teacher, I want to help, so I might count, or repeat the instructions of the move. In smaller groups there are less people so less opportunity for that.
This silent class had a fewer people than we have been having.
Some people expressed the opinion that they didn’t feel as much joy and/or energy in this silent class. They shared they really like verbally cued classes better. They were relieved to hear that this is not the norm or where my Nia classes are headed. This was just play. This was just a way to experience Nia different. This was just an experiment with the body and dance.
It was fun. But, at one point I put my fingers to my lips because I wanted to say something so badly, but I didn’t want to break the silence. We did sound because that was the mood we wanted. We wanted the energy and the play of sounding, but we wanted the introspectiveness of no verbal cueing.
We will be doing it again. In fact, we have been dancing another routine I was thinking about trying it with so we will see.
Nia is so fun and so interesting. Have you been to a Nia class yet?
Have you taken a silent Nia class? What did you think?
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