Last night we had a visiting Nia teacher come to Campbell and present a routine that he has created. Jason Alan Griffin is a First Degree Nia Black Belt and he created a routine he calls Frankie Say Nia. He travels around to different places with his dog River and he brings Nia with him. He has routines he has created and playshops. Friday night was the Nia class where he did his 80’s Alternative New Wave music routine. People were invited to dress in 80’s style – bright clothes, animal prints, whatever they think of as 80’s fashion. It is difficult – for me – to think of dressing up at the same times as wearing clothes I can workout and move comfortably in. Jason was wearing shorts that reminded me of Saint Patrick’s Day and I was wearing animal print with my hair up in a silly pony. That was as far as I was able to take my dressing up. I’ll have to check with Jason about the shorts. I forgot to ask him about them today. The dressing up and the clothes were not what makes it fun or 80’s, it was the music.
Jason had us dancing to many familiar tunes. I was happy to hear all of them that I knew. I knew all of them until we arrived at the Floorplay portion of the Nia class and then I was just mystified. I kept thinking I would eventually recognize it, but it was out of my scope of knowledge. And I don’t even remember what it was. I believe there was mention of a bar. It was odd to me. And, later it was indicated that I had a look on my face (odd) matching what I was thinking. As I said, I kept waiting to hear something that would spark some sort of little hint that I had ever heard the song before, but nothing came.
Jason’s playfulness and ability to match movements to music is so evident in his routines. And they are just fun. I can say that we all had a great time because every commented on having one! His choreography and the music made for a great time.
I was very happy that he had some FreeDances in the routine because I was looking forward to gleaning some tools from them as he taught. And I did. Then the next day he took it to the next level with the FreeDance Playshop. That has to be a post all of its own. Perhaps more than one. We will see. I am still processing.
As I have recommended before to you, Dear Readers, if Jason comes to your town you should go to his class. That is, if you like to have a great time while you are getting your dance workout in. You can always check out his schedule on his blog.
I have included some pictures. As I have said before, it is not easy to get pictures of moving bodies. I had help from my hubby. We had at least three devices taking pictures and videos.
Can you tell from the pictures that we are having a good time?
A lot of movement forms, from different dances to different types of exercise regimes, use chest isolations. One of Nia’s 52 Moves. See, as I have said over and over, not unique to Nia, but something that we use in our routines. Something we can say and people know what the move is. Even if they can’t do it, they know what it is. This move moves the chest so – as with a lot of moves that involve the movement of the chest – some people are hesitant to do it. Some people think of moves that move the chest as moves that moves the breasts and for some people this creates a lot of issues. As a woman, there are some moves that are just going to move the breasts but that is not the focus. Often times when I encourage people to focus on what is actually the focus of the movement, they can release any feelings or ideas that might be blocking the movement. I mentioned this in my post about the Shimmy. I have seen relief or understanding pass over people’s faces when they take the focus off of what is part of the front of the body/chest and onto the back when it comes to the shimmy. The same with the chest isolations. Your chest is moving that means everything connected to it, but the focus is on the muscles and the bones.
The movement of the spine, the ribs, the sternum, and even the collar bones is a chest isolations. See, even though it might feel like you are move the front (breasts) the focus is on all the other things. The back muscles help move the spine side to side allowing the ribs to slide from side to side over the hips. The sternum floats to different places over the hips. The collar bones stay level. You can just also press your ribs forward and pull them back. Your arms are out to the side or you can place your hands on your hips to help ensure there is no movement in the hips. You can make your ribs move in circles.
With the side to side motion I used to reference a typewriter carriage. Remember those? They would slide to one side of the machine and kind of hang over then you would use the return arm to get it to slide back. That is a GREAT visual and I actually see some people replicate it. But then I see others in class who don’t even know what a typewriter is. And if they do it was certainly the electric version that didn’t have a visible moving carriage with a return arm-dohicky. So we just focus on the slide.
The chest isolations help keep you spine flexible and mobile. It also helps you use those muscle that are inside, the intrinsic muscles. The little ones that help with balance. While you are doing the chest isolation movement you can focus on the and sense them.
Another way to isolate the chest is you can do a more front-back movement. If you are doing the front back portion of the move it is as if you are closing your chest and opening your back. And then opening your chest and closing your back. Arms can help. Bring your elbows back and draw them together to help open the chest and close the back. Then bring them forward to open the back and close the chest.
This is one of those moves you can do anywhere. You can do it in your car while you are stopped at a traffic light. Don’t worry, other people don’t look up from their cell phones they will never notice you sliding your ribs around. Enjoy the relaxed sensation and flexibility.
Are you familiar with chest isolations? Do you do them in your current dance class? Do you do them in your exercise program?
Have I ever told you that one of my students is a Naturopathic Doctor? Yeah, I have, I looked it up. I told you in the post about messing up, Messing Up Is Fun. I told you about how she had been my student for years before I even knew she was a doctor. Before class I am busy setting up — because there are things that need to be done — just normal things like taking off my socks and shoes, turning on the music, greeting new students, moving things away from the mirror, sweeping the floor, etc. Sometimes even deciding what to teach. Often times reviewing in my head what I am going to teach. And then after there is the cleaning up . . . putting on my socks and shoes, and PAYING ATTENTION to where I put my phone and just the general wrapping up of class, I don’t always get in on the conversations. Not only do I not get to be a part of them, but often times other students miss out on good stuff, too. I had always wanted to gather as a group after class, but when I learned she was a Naturopathic Doctor and I hadn’t know for years then I decided we all HAD to meet after. So there is a day for each of the venues that I teach at where we meet for coffee.
For the Wednesday class in the area of San Jose called Willow Glen we meet on the second to the last Wednesday of the month. We meet at a Peet’s coffee shop down the street from the studio. Period. I always tell my friends and students that is where we will be. They can join us whether they come to class or not. And we have had people do that. It is very nice. There are many reasons why people can’t make it to class, but some have stopped by.
For the Thursday classes we meet on the last Thursday of the month. We meet at a Peet’s coffee shop around the corner from the community center. It was really cool today because we had ten people. That is awesome. That is a big group to have visiting for coffee. More than half the class came to coffee! While we were there, a person we all know showed up because she was planning on meeting someone else at that very spot. She showed up a few minutes early to meet us because she knew we would be there. So the ten turned into twelve for a bit. It was fabulous. So fun.
Not only do I learn about my students and their personal lives, I also get feedback from them. It could DIRECT feedback or just something I pick up from the conversation. Sometimes they mention something that they might not know about Nia and I love that I can take the time to explain it. It is not always possible to get out all the information that can be shared about Nia WHILE you are teaching. So I love to be able to explain. Also, it reminds me that if the person talking doesn’t know that other people probably don’t know either so I can try to find away to let them know in class.
Often times it could be that people didn’t hear what I said, during class. There can be a lot going on in an exercise class, as you may be aware. Sometimes there is a fan in the room that might make it difficult for some to hear. Or there might be people outside that distract us. Or there might be someone walking through class just as I am explaining about something. Could be that one is just so involved in their own dance that they miss something. It is all fine. But I love the opportunity to be able to provide some clarification during our visits.I also really love to hear what is doing on with them. So many stories out there.
It is great to have NiaNow.com because I get a lot of people who are visiting the are that come to my classes. I love that. I always encourage ALL Nia teachers to put their classes on the site. A lot of people like to keep up their movement routine while they are traveling so it is nice for people to be able to find a class near where they are staying. I have a out of town student dancing with us now . . . she came to coffee with us. So fun to experience this!
I have always wanted to have visits after my classes and today I was just so amazed to have such a large group! I am so happy to be so blessed to have such great people in my classes as Nia students. They are definitely people you want to have coffee with.
Do you ever just dance? You might be one to turn on the music and start dancing. Perhaps you have a favorite song you like to dance to? Or you might be one who breaks into dance spontaneously. You could be in the house and a song comes on and you don’t even really think about it, next think you know you are moving to the music. Perhaps you are one that is so gusty or you just don’t care so you dance in the aisle at the grocery store. Music moves us. It is easy to dance to a song we like. Sometimes we “can’t help it”. We just burst into a dance. But dancing without choreography in a dance exercise class? No one telling you exactly how to move? Just move to the music? Without having consumed any alcohol? It is a concept not easily grasped by many. It is a concept that we practice often in a Nia class. We call it Nia FreeDance.
As I mentioned dancing without choreography in an exercise class is a new concept to many. Moving without having a structured plan doesn’t sound like exercise to many people. Some people are very resistant to Nia FreeDance because of this reason. Some people cannot understand how you can “get a good workout” without having a structured plan, without moving the same way over and over again. The way we have been programmed to exercise includes repetition and structure. It includes traveling in a straight line from point a to point b, it includes being told how to move. So just moving without any idea of what comes after the present movement is vastly alien to some.
Yet, I have people who actually let go and try it. Those who push beyond their own skepticism and doubt come up to me and say, “Wow! I am sweating.” Those who let the music move their bodies without thinking about it have said, “Who would have thought that I would have gotten such a great workout?” Some realize, “I might be sore tomorrow.” They MIGHT be sore the next day because they moved their bodies in ways that their bodies are not accustom to moving.
Nia FreeDance is there to help stimulate movement creativity. So if you do it with full abandon you might end up with muscles that talk to you the next day. Your body will have moved in new and different ways. So Nia FreeDance is not the dancing you would do at a club or a dance lesson. It is just free movement. Yes, some of those cool club moves or patterns you learned in dance class sneak in because we dance what we know. We think about it and move in that way. But there really is more to FreeDancing. It might have a pattern for a moment, it might have structure for a moment, but it moves away and comes back. It is free.
To assist with FreeDance and to deepen the practice there are eight stages that can be a guide, because as I said, it is not necessarily an easy thing to do.
The catch phrases have changed slightly since I participated in the Nia White Belt Intensive in 2008, but it is all basically the same. The catch phrases give you a clue as to what the stage is for. All the stages help you to FreeDance. You can dance each stage separately or combine them in any fashion. The idea is just to give you something to help get you moving and then give you something to keep you moving. Moving in new and different ways. The new and different active body, mind, emotions, and spirit. FreeDance is one of the key things that makes Nia unique. If you click on the stages above you will go to the post that I have posted for each stage.
I am very excited about the Special Nia Class and Nia Free Dance Playshop that I am producing next month. So I have been thinking a lot about FreeDance and how great it is. This post is a result of my excitement and my attempt at getting people excited and curious about FreeDance. Reading about it is one thing, but getting up and actually DOING it is another. These are the stages used to deepen your practice, but they are not what we will be covering in the Playshop. As the flyer states, we will be learning Jason’s tools for FreeDance! I hope you will join us!
Are you a dancer? Do you break into dance? What is the current hit that you can’t help but dance to?
More often than not in my Nia classes we have a physical focus. A focus and an intent in an exercise class is not easy for some people. So having a focus that is physical seems, for many, to be easier than a focus that is not. I know I have mentioned this before because I know I have talked about focuses before. Today, as always, I asked my class if “they had anything”. Usually someone comes up with a physical thing . . . sore neck, tight hamstrings, aching back, tight shoulders . . . ya know, something physical. Today someone said, “Unstuck.” I had overheard her mention something about being “stuck” while I was getting ready to teach, and I thought that would be a great focus, but I wasn’t sure how to do that. So I said, “Yeah, I heard you mention that, but I am not sure how to do that.” Someone else piped in about being stuck, too. And I laughed and commented that if I knew how to get “unstuck” I wouldn’t ever be stuck. And the “stuck” we were talking about was a feeling of being stuck either in an emotion or a situation or just the feeling of being stuck! So we focused on getting “unstuck”.
The person that originally mentioned feeling stuck was happy to hear that others sometimes felt that way. That is something I learned about feelings they are like questions . . . if one person has it (the feeling or the question) there is at least one other person that does too. There are no stupid feelings. Now, I do believe there are no stupid feelings, but I will admit to being guilty of thinking and sometimes even saying that as a knee-jerk reaction to someone I love saying something I think of as not nice about themselves. If one were to say, “I feel ugly.” “I feel like a bad person.” My automatic reaction is “that’s stupid you aren’t . . . ” But if they FEEL that way that is not stupid. So I am still learning to curb that reaction. But I digress . . . back to getting unstuck.
As I said, I wasn’t sure how to dance “unstuck”. I wasn’t sure how to make that a focus, but then I decided . . . . because I believe . . . that sometimes just thinking about it can help things move along. So my thoughts were that if you were feeling stuck, just acknowledging it and moving with it could be enough to unstick it. Or it could be enough to think of an idea on how to “unstick” it. Or it could just open you up to an idea that is going to come later. Just all types of stuff. We agreed that dancing with the focus of getting unstuck and the intent of being open to that and whatever it meant and however we could achieve that would be our focus and intent for the class.
One person mentioned not getting “too unstuck” which gave me the opportunity to remind people that we are dancing our own interpretation. When I suggest people move as if they are floating in water, everyone moves in their own way. They imagine their own “floating in water”. The same with getting “unstuck”. One can get as “unstuck” as they feel they need to be. The person that mentioned this left early so I didn’t get to delve into what she meant . . . because it could mean so many things.
After class, I actually felt better and a little less stuck. “Unstuck” could relate to letting go or being loose. It is one of those things that if you are feeling anything related and you focus on it with the intent of acknowledging it or relieving it, it can just happen.
For those that are challenged with focusing on things that are not strictly physical “unstuck” works for that because one could have a tight muscle that is “stuck”. Or a joint that might need some loosening because it feels “stuck”. So dancing to “unstick” is really a great focus.
I am always amazed at how my class comes up with such great things to focus on. I am further amazed at how so often what they come up with is something I am feeling the same need for. Getting “unstuck” is great.
Do you ever feel “stuck”? In what way? What do you do to get “unstuck”?
I have been teaching Nia since 2009. Just now, this year, this month, I decided to send a monthly e-mail. I HAVE sent e-mails in the past, but I have never done it on a schedule. I have never sent an e-mail on a MONTHLY basis. In the past I have sent e-mails when I had an announcement or when I wanted to wish my students a happy holiday or when I felt I needed to remind them of something. But I just decided in the middle of last month that I was going to send a monthly e-mail. It somewhat came about when I wanted to promote the Nia Class and Playshop I am producing in March. It also came about when a group of us were talking about people that we have not seen in a long time. I was asking the group of Nia participants if they saw so-and-so. Because sometimes the people could stop coming to the Nia classes but still attend other classes. The people I was asking about, I was told, had not been seen at other classes either. So then we started talking about being able to contact them. It has been suggested in the past that the venues should give me people’s information. I am not comfortable with third party hand-offs. Of course, no one is under any type of obligation whatsoever to tell me where they are and what they are doing when they stop coming to a class. But I – we, the other students and I would like to let people know that they are missed. So I decided to ask for people’s e-mail address so I could have a way to contact them. The classes for which I rent the studio, I have always requested a e-mail addresses. But requesting them in this type of setting is new for me.
There are a lot of reasons someone might stop attending a class. And honestly, it is not necessarily my business, I don’t need to know why you stopped coming. But I really do have a desire to let you know that we noticed and we miss you. When someone lets me know they are thinking about me, it makes me happy. So I think it would be nice to let someone know that we are still holding class and we miss their energy or style they used to bring.
I asked my students what they wanted to received: monthly e-mails, special e-mails, love notes. They all said, “What are love notes?” And I replied, “E-mails tell you I love you.” Some of them had quizzical looks in response. Some were completely ok with that. I did explain that sometimes I just wanted to say thank you or let them know I was thinking about them. Or sometimes I might inquire as to their status. And I mentioned some of our fellow participants that are no longer here and they nodded. The monthly e-mails are going to consist of announcements, tidbits, and links to my blog posts.
This monthly e-mail format is flexible, it might change. I might not have anything to announce one month so I might use that space as a reminder. The tidbits will be little bits about Nia, exercising, nutrition, a quote, etc. It will be a short e-mail and it will be skimmable. Recipients will be able to skim it quickly. There will be links to information in case you want more.
I am so blessed to have such great students. We have fun.
I am excited about this new thing. I know that many people send out monthly e-mails, I get them. I know this is something I probably should have been doing since the beginning, but I didn’t, I am doing it NOW.
Would you like to receive the monthly e-mail? If so indicate that in the comment. You enter your e-mail address when leaving a comment. So that is the one I will use if you ask to be added. No one else sees that information. Do you receive any e-mails monthly?
I did not intend to write a blog post on all of the 52 Moves in Nia. My intent was to post a few and entice you into buying The Nia Technique Book. It seems as if I just might get to all of Nia’s 52 Moves on my blog. It so happens that sometimes I am at a loss as to what to post, so I turn to a move on the list of 52 Moves. Or sometimes I am intrigued by one the moves because it is in a routine that I am currently dancing with my students. Or I am intrigued by of the moves that it is in a Nia Routine that I danced with another Nia teacher. OR I am intrigued by of the moves even though it is NOT in a Nia Routine – as in, it is not part of the original choreography, but we do it anyway. That is the fun thing about Nia Routines and the 52 Moves. You can kind of put them in anywhere. And, I will say it again, because I think it is important to state that the moves that Nia includes on their list are not unique to Nia. Nia is not claiming to have created them. Also, it is nice to know that you will experience moves in Nia that you have experienced before. The moves are on the lists and included in Nia Routines because there are benefits to doing them. Some of them are so simple the benefits could be overlooked. Some of them might seem odd to have included on a list of moves done in a dance exercise class. But they have benefits. One move that is simple and might seem random to have in an exercise class is Finger Flicks.
Yeah, you read that right, Finger Flicks. Flicking your fingers. This move can be done so many different ways. Fast, slow, high, low, fingers up, fingers down, with an emotion, without an emotion, with the music, against the music, so many possibilities. The benefits of this move include conditioning the muscles of the forearms and hands. If you really use your thumb to resist the fingers the move contracts the forearm muscles and makes your fingers work! The Nia Technique Book states that this move helps rid the hands of tension.
The how-to is simple enough. I bet you know it already. You form a loose fist with your hand, keeping the thumb on the outside of the fingers. Then push with all four fingers against the thumb. Allow your thumb to resist. Then let your fingers push through. Practice this move with your hand at different levels-as in high above your shoulders, at the same level as your shoulder, below your shoulders. Let your arms hang, hold them out . . . in other words flick your fingers all over. Use one hand, then the other, then both. Just flick, flick, flick, flick. Try doing it how I mentioned, fast, slow, high, low, fingers up, fingers down, with an emotion, without an emotion, with the music, against the music, play with the possibilities.
You can practice this move while dancing around your home. You probably do this move without even thinking about it after washing your hands. You could probably check the mirrors above the sink to verify it.
As you may know if you have perused my blog or website, Nia has moves called the 52 Moves of Nia or Nia’s 52 Moves. Moves concentrated and focused on. Generally moves included in all of the routines. Not all the moves are included in all of the routines, but the routines are jam-packed with most of the moves. The moves on the list have physical benefits. Some are fun or silly so they can have mental or spiritual benefits. And in this case I am talking about your spirit or inner child, the part of you that likes to have fun, the part of you that you might not get to display in your regular everyday work life. So not the religious type of spirit but the kind of spirit that you think of when you say or hear “school spirit” or inner child. The fun playful side of you. To me, one of those moves is Claw Hand.
Claw Hand is a great move. It is super easy. It can be done all on its own. You can just stand or sit and do claw hand. You can add it to some foot work. You can add it to some complicated choreography. You can make it soft or hard. You can do it fast or slow. It is very versatile.
You can even make noises when you do it. You can growl like a big cat or a bear. You can meow like a kitty-cat. You can make any noise you want. It is fun stuff.
As I said you can do it standing or sitting and this moves gets done in to all the stances and steps in the Nia Routines. The Nia Technique Book (by Debbie and Carlos Rosas) recommends it be practiced in all the stances and steps. And that is a great idea since we use it with all of them. The routine I am doing now even add it to blocks. We block in with claw hand and we block out with claw hand. Why not?
You can probably figure out what this move is from the description but I tell you what the book says:
“Mimic a claw with your finger and claw the air, as if you were in a cat fight. Keep your wrists relaxed, and sound a cat’s hisses as you do the move. Use both hands.”
The benefits can include strengthening your fingers and hands.
In addition to keeping a relaxed wrist I like to use the claw shape to bring tension into my entire arm. I imagine I am really clawing something. I figure I would need strength to do that so I put my entire arm into it. You can use one had to “claw” and the other hand to feel the muscles in your arm (forearm and upper arm) contract.
The book states that this move can increase your sense of power. When I am doing it with muscles contracted as if I am REALLY clawing something I do have a sense of power. I imagine that is how an animal feels when they wield their claw.
This move allows you to practice bending your fingers too. That helps with the mobility of the joints. I like this move. I like to add sounding to it.
Ok, so stop and try it? What sound do you like to do best with your Claw Hand?
I have said it many, many times, but I am going to say it again. Nia has 52 Moves which we incorporate into the Nia routines. These moves have a specific way to be done. But the way they are done is adjusted, like many things, when you are doing them in a routine. There is or was a debate about one of the moves called the bow stance. The debate is or was about how the weight of the body should be distributed. The reason I am saying “is or was” is because I don’t know if the debate was ever settled. The discussion regarding it — at least one that I had seen — was on Facebook and it was a long discussion. I don’t know what the end result was or what the “official” decree is because to me, I want to teach balance, so if I am JUST doing a bow stance then I would instruct people to have their weight evenly distributed. Usually I am not doing JUST a bow stance. If I am showing people the bow stance it is because it is in the routine and there are other steps prior to or after it and with other moves on either side the weight gets distributed according to the need. So, in other words, we adjust the move to fit the dance and choreography. So that is what my class and I are experiencing right now with the Nia 52 Move called Rock Around the Clock.
If you read my original post about it, the one that explains what it is, the instructions state to start the rock on the heels. But in the routine I am leading my class through currently we start the rock on the toes. Then we roll (or rock) to either the left or the right. We actually go both ways and like many things, the different “sides” or directions are very different in regards to sensation and difficulty level. One side is easier than the other . . . at least that is the consensus with my students. So it is very beneficial to practice “rocking” both ways.
With this post I am doing two things; 1) I am reminding you to practice moves going both directions. Just like we do both sides. If we are doing a move with the left side we do it with the right. We – trainers – often say to keep the body even and it really is to work both sides of the body AND the brain! 2) Share with you a different or additional WAY to practice Rocking Around the Clock.
My original post says something about this being an example of an easy move. It is not necessarily “easy”, what I probably should have said was the Rock Around the Clock was not a high intensity move. So for those that are really starting out learning this move you might even want to sit down and do it. Since feet are in shoes for a large part of the day and those shoes might not allow for a lot of ankle mobility, it could be that your ankles just don’t want to move in the way that is required with this move. So it is a great idea to sit down and allow the ankles to loosen up.
For me, my feet want move opposite of each other. So each foot wants to be on the opposite edge, so training my feet and my brain to be on the same edge it interesting. Sitting in a chair while doing this move allows my feet and brain to understand that this move is “same edge”. Once you get your feet and brain on the same page, then you can stand up. (FYI: Sitting and practicing this move is very different from trying to take pictures of your feet while sitting and practicing this move. But hopefully you will get the idea from the pictures even though they are not very good.)
When you are standing you can use something to hold onto like a counter, table, chair, wall, something that is sturdy and can assist you in balancing. Having something to steady you while your feet get used to supporting your weight on the edges is nice. The support also allows you to really exaggerate your foot movements to help get the movement into your muscle memory.
This move helps build strength in the ankles and the feet. This is also a very “mental move”. It is one of those moves you might have to really think about in order to do it correctly. Then, with practice, it will become one of those moves you can do without thinking so much about. And your feet and ankles will benefit greatly.
So have you tried it? Can you do it sitting down? Can you do it standing up? Can you see how it is an interesting move?
Years back I created policies for the classes I teach. There are always different people and different circumstances, so it is important to have polices in place. So, I had these policies in place, but, like I said – people, circumstances – so once when I encountered “people – circumstances” I allowed something against my policy. Then I was upset. I thought about it for days. I was sad, I was mad, I was annoyed. I was upset. I was upset that this person asked me to break my policy. I was upset that I allowed it. I was upset that I took time to think long and hard about my policies and that I took the time, the effort, and the money to print and post disclosure of said polices. I was upset because when someone attends my Nia class at the studio I rent they sign a sign-in sheet stating they agree to the policies. I was upset that I felt unfair to everyone else that complies to the policy and doesn’t even ask to break the policy. I was so grumpy. I resented the entire situation — FOR DAYS! Then I realized, I let it happen. In trying to be nice and allowing the person to break my policy I ended up being REALLY upset. I created something I didn’t enforce. When I do something nice I love the feeling it gives me. I feel nice. I feel as if I am spreading joy. And this nice thing I did, did not make me feel nice. It made me feel stupid. I put all this effort into polices and then I just disregarded them. I learned my lesson. There are polices for a reason. Recently I enforced my polices and I found myself wanting validation. So in sharing my story with a friend she told me, “Don’t resent what you allow.”
See? That is what I figured out long ago. I was so resentful that I allowed a break in policy. I realized that in order to not be resentful I have to stick to my policy. So when I shared with a friend the fact that I just stuck to my polices because I hadn’t once before then I was upset, she said it in this succinct way and told me the story of how she learned it and who told her. She said her friend had told her this when she was having an issue with something she allowed to happen.
Obviously you CAN resent something you allow, but the idea is to avoid that. If you are going to resent it, don’t allow it. So even though I didn’t say it that way, I learned it. I was visiting with a different friend today and we happened upon this same subject. We shared some stories. I was not certain about posting this but then when the subject came up again today, on the day I need to post, I decided it was serendipity.
One huge part in helping me stick to my policies is fairness. If one person asks for an exception and I allow it, then when that same situation happens with someone else in order to be fair I would need to pass on the same exception. But that is not a wise business practice. Policies are made for a reason. In the case of class passes there are multiple reasons. When a class pass is purchased in advance it helps the teacher with business expenses, like licensing, insurance, and rental fees. But first and foremost is it supposed to help motivate the student to attend class. The idea is “you already paid for it, you might as well go to class.” It is encouragement to stick to your fitness routine. So often times, having the policies broken cheats you, too. Because why do you need to go to class to use the pass before it will expire if you know that the expiration will just be extended?
When policies are in place and they are clearly disclosed everyone feels better because they know what is expected.
So that is my story with “Don’t resent what you allow.” Even though I learned the saying AFTER I learned the lesson, I still like it.
What about you? Do you know what I am talking about? Do you resent some things you allow? Is there some changes that you could – would like to – make, in order to be less resentful?
Last night we had a visiting Nia teacher come to Campbell and present a routine that he has created. Jason Alan Griffin is a First Degree Nia Black Belt and he created a routine he calls Frankie Say Nia. He travels around to different places with his dog River and he brings Nia with him. He has routines he has created and playshops. Friday night was the Nia class where he did his 80’s Alternative New Wave music routine. People were invited to dress in 80’s style – bright clothes, animal prints, whatever they think of as 80’s fashion. It is difficult – for me – to think of dressing up at the same times as wearing clothes I can workout and move comfortably in. Jason was wearing shorts that reminded me of Saint Patrick’s Day and I was wearing animal print with my hair up in a silly pony. That was as far as I was able to take my dressing up. I’ll have to check with Jason about the shorts. I forgot to ask him about them today. The dressing up and the clothes were not what makes it fun or 80’s, it was the music.
Jason had us dancing to many familiar tunes. I was happy to hear all of them that I knew. I knew all of them until we arrived at the Floorplay portion of the Nia class and then I was just mystified. I kept thinking I would eventually recognize it, but it was out of my scope of knowledge. And I don’t even remember what it was. I believe there was mention of a bar. It was odd to me. And, later it was indicated that I had a look on my face (odd) matching what I was thinking. As I said, I kept waiting to hear something that would spark some sort of little hint that I had ever heard the song before, but nothing came.
Jason’s playfulness and ability to match movements to music is so evident in his routines. And they are just fun. I can say that we all had a great time because every commented on having one! His choreography and the music made for a great time.
I hope one day we will be able to dance together!
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