Archive for the ‘Nia’ Category
Posted by terrepruitt on September 16, 2014
There is a Nia Routine called Miracle. It is fun routine. Like many Nia Routines it has form and freedom. There are two songs in which the foot work is pretty much the same throughout each song (form), but within the sameness you have the freedom to switch it up and add your own style. The choreography gives you the steps, the area where your feet are to be in dancing to the music, but you can decide how to get there and how your foot will be placed into that area. Form and Freedom. There is also something in this routine that Carlos Rosas (NKA, Carlos Aya-Rosas) calls the “Nia Bundle”. It is basically where the entire class gets very close together and dances. This is not easy for people to do. Why? There are at least as many reasons why this challenges people as there are people. But there are many benefits to dancing in a “bundle” and as a group.
One benefit of dancing in a close bundle is to practice our proprioception. In close proximity to other Nia Dancers we want to be aware of where our arms are, where are feet are, where are hands are. Are our limbs close to our body or are they out as far as they can go? Are we going to step on someone’s toes? Are we going to bump into someone? While the goal is not to step on nor bump into anyone, it is understood there might be some contact . . . but not often. For those in my classes that participate in the Nia bundles we do a good job being aware and moving in a close group.
Also dancing so close to each other helps us be aware of each other. Not just the physical presence of the other students, but there is eye contact, there is giggling, there is connection and a sense of community when you are brought really close together. No one is in their own space, we are sharing space. We move as one in space. We move as individuals in a shared space. We learn to dance together.
Another benefit could be that we – as individuals are pressed into moving in different ways. Finding a new way to move our body in dance because we are so close to someone. How can we move our elbows without elbowing someone? How can we dance to the music and express our spirit in such close proximity to others? Ahh . . . yes . . . new-to-your-body-moves just might be discovered.
I always laugh at the thought of someone looking in the dance studio at the community center and seeing all of the space with 12+ of us all clumped together in the middle or in a corner. I imagine them thinking that odd. I imagine them thinking, “WHAT are they doing?” Then we throw our hands up in the air and sing. It is quite fun!
So despite some people’s misgivings about dancing really close in a Nia bundle there are those who join in with gusto and reap the benefits. Does your dance exercise class have a bundle? What would you think if you were to peek in a class and see it? Would you be a bundle dancer?
Posted in Nia | Tagged: benefits of dancing, Carlos Aya Rosas, Carlos Rosas, community center, dance class, dance exercise, Dance Workout, Dancing, foot work, Form and Freedom, fun routine, miracle, Nia Bundle, Nia choreography, Nia dancers, Nia Music, Nia Practice, Nia routine, Nia songs, Proprioception | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on September 9, 2014
I am not sure many websites have Site Maps any longer. Websites now-a-days are so full of bells and whistles not many have site maps. Not many just have a place where you can go to one page to see a list of everything that is on the site. I find sometimes when I am on a website, I am just going in circles trying to find the information I want and I think it would be nice if there was that one page . . . that site map . . . that showed me the list of pages so that I could click on the page I want instead of getting dizzy clicking around. I think I have a lot of information on my site so I know that one might get a little overwhelmed. I know that some of my pages repeat information on other pages. I do that because when I am on a website sometimes I don’t see the information if it is only on one page, but the more it is repeated the better chance that I will see it. But I do have a site map for my site. I have a lot of information so I wanted to have a list that people can look at in case they wanted an idea of what the whole site contained.
Since I teach at several different places and I have both a FIXED (on-going) schedule and one that changes all the time it can be a bit much for people to keep track of. In addition to my teaching schedule, I have information regarding Nia on the site because I want to educate people on the classes they can take from me. So, yeah, there is a lot on there. So here is what I have created to help.
What’s on www.HelpYouWell.com at a glance! The BOLD indicates the links you see at the left, the others are in the drop down menu if you put your mouse over the links at the left. And, you can just click the link from this site map.
Hopefully this helps people navigate the site. The site map is a list of all the pages on the site with hot links so you can click on the page you want to visit. What do you think? Do you ever get “lost” on a website? It seems as if you are just going in circles? Do you find many websites with site maps?
Posted in Nia | Tagged: dance exercise classes, gentle yoga, Group Ex, Group Exercise classes, Helen Terry, ia Class Cycles, Nia, Nia 5 Stages, Nia at the YMCA, Nia Belts, Nia Classes, Nia for the City of San Jose, Nia FreeDance, Nia in San Jose, Nia in the San Francisco Bay Area, Nia schedule of classes, San Jose Nia Clases, Site maps, teaching Nia, Terre Pruitt, The Nia Technique book, www.HelpYouWell.com, YMCA Silicon Valley Classes, Zumba | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on September 2, 2014
If you have read more than one post on my blog you know (probably) that I teach a movement class called Nia. Nia is very much about “dancing” and moving to the music. The training required in order to teach is called the Nia White Belt Intensive. The training is over 50 hours long. Believe it or not there is hardly anytime in that 50 hours learning a routine. In fact, I don’t remember learning any part of a routine in my White Belt. But I know people who have taken the training more recently and they said they did review a song. I remember when I first arrived at the training I literally had NO IDEA what it was going to be like. I signed up rather late and if there was any pre-training at that time, I didn’t get it. I had thought I would walk out of the training ready to teach. Ha. Nope. I was given tools to help me be ready to teach. There might be people who are ready to teach when they walk out of the first training . . . but I wasn’t. I wasn’t that familiar with Nia to begin with so the way we were taught to learn a routine was very new to me. As you may know we were taught to map our music by “barring” the music.
I know that Nia is making an effort to make things easier on teachers. Nia Headquarters actually documents the choreography on the bars now. So, I feel that the focus has shifted a bit away from barring the music the way I was taught. I think the way I was taught was very cool. I love the way Nia had at one time had us learning the music. But I also understand the need to learn quickly or to have tools available to allow people to do things faster. That is just the way our society is. Things need to be done fast.
I also understand that we all learn differently. We all have our own ways of doing things. I honestly don’t do EVERY step that I was taught to do. I also mix it up and I don’t always do each routine EXACTLY the same. But pretty much.
For all the routines so far, I do bar the music myself. Sometimes I have trouble with some of the songs so I might rely on the bars from HQ a little more than with other songs. But I bar the music and I document the choreography myself. I “fix” any discrepancies I might see on the DVD. But I do this in steps. First I bar the music. I count the music and I dress my bars. I have found the more detailed I am with the dressing the better it is for me. I put as much detail as I want on there. I don’t just put the sound I hear for the cue for the Nia routine. I put the music on the page. Then I scan the paper into my computer. Now I have barred music. So what I can do with that the barred page — without the Nia choreography on it — is use it for whatever I want. I can add my own choreography. I don’t just have the places marked where I would do or cue the already-created-Nia kata, I have sounds that I am familiar with document. So noting my own choreography to the page is easy.
Then, on my paper I just scanned, I add the Nia choreography. Once I do that then I scan my sheet again. So now I have an electronic image of my complete and final bars. I always know where it is. I admit to taking my sheets of barred music with me either to teach or around the house, then I misplace them. Or I mixed routines up so I have one song in with another routine. Then after a year when I go to do a routine, I am missing a song. I am pretty particular so I will look for it, but sometimes I let go and just look at my electronic copy. I know that eventually I will find the hard copy so I just use the one I know where it is.
I am so happy though because I finally got a HANGING file system. So much easier to file my routines that way. I used to have them in a pile on a shelf in a cabinet. So in order to get to them I had to take out the entire pile and go through it to find the routine I wanted. Or to put one away . . . that is why I would end up with “lost” songs because I didn’t always want to take the time to take out the stack and deal with it. But now, it is so much easier with them hanging! Yay.
So, if you teach a dance class, how do you document your moves? How do you note your choreography? How do you store your notes?
Posted in Nia | Tagged: barring music, dance class, dance exercise, mapping music, movement class, Nia, Nia choreography, Nia class, Nia Dance, Nia Music, Nia Teacher, Nia training, Nia White Belt Intensive, scanning your bars | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on July 31, 2014
One of Nia’s 52 Moves is Head and Eye Movement. Yes, we intentionally and specifically move our head and our eyes in Nia. A long time ago when I first started teaching I had a student who had come to about three classes and after the third class she said something to affect of since starting Nia she actually moves her head to look around while driving. So my first thought was, “Yay! Nia helps make people better drivers.” If people are not moving their heads and then start doing so after Nia – YAY! – especially while driving. Nia really is about full body health and movement. So we don’t do just a cardio workout that works your heart. We don’t do just a dance exercise that moves your legs. We don’t do just some choreography that involves our hands. We involve the whole body. As you may have surmised from the post on Creepy Crawlers. It is very important for people to move their heads.
I see a lot of people with very stiff necks who in fact do not move their heads. There are a lot of reasons. I know some reasons include stiff muscles. They can’t move their head without pain because their muscles are not used to moving or are holding too much stress. I know some people who can’t move their head because it causes them dizziness. I also know some people who rid themselves of stiff necks and dizziness by moving their head. Moving one’s head will not solve everyone’s issues of stiff necks or dizziness, but I do know some people who were helped by it.
In Nia we move our head a lot. We engage our eyes a lot. But as with all of the 52 Moves of Nia there is a specific way to do it. In just practicing Head and Eye Movements you look all around and move your head to match your gaze. Letting the action of your head follow the intent of your eyes.
Just like with Catching Flies, this move requires looking BEFORE moving. So LOOK and then move the head so you are facing the direction you are looking. As I said look in all directions. Look up, then move your head so you are facing up. Look down, then move your head so your chin is at your chest. Look left, then turn your head left. Look right, then turn your head to the right. Look in a different direction then move your head so you are facing that direction. After looking around nod your head “yes”, shake it “no”, roll the head around both directions. Vary the speed at which you do all of this. Be aware of any sensations that come up. Also, if you are not accustomed to moving your head be careful that you don’t get dizzy or too dizzy.
As I mentioned some people get dizzy from lack of moving their head. It is not because of any condition, it is just lack of practice. So, be cautious when you first practice Nia’s Head and Eye Movement. Now, go, look around, move your head.
How do you feel when you move your head? Do you move your head around? Do you have a stiff neck? Do you get dizzy when you move your head?
Posted in 52 Moves (of Nia), Nia | Tagged: action follows intent, cardio dance, cardio workout, dance exercise, ease neck pain, ease neck tension, Head and Eye Movement, health and movement, Nia, Nia choreography, Nia class, Nia student, Nia Teacher, Nia's 52 Moves, San Jose Group Ex class, teaching Nia, whole body workout Creepy Crawlers | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on July 26, 2014
We do! Today in the group exercise class I was subbing, I did a Nia class. Our focus was the knee, with the intent of bringing awareness to the main muscles that help move the knee. So with that intent we were thinking about the quadriceps and the hamstrings. There are other muscles involved in the knee’s movement and stability, but we were keeping it simple and just focusing on those two sets of muscles. There are four muscles that make up the quadriceps and three that make up the hamstrings. The quadriceps are on the “front” of the thigh and the hamstrings are on the back of the thigh. To see my brief post on the Quadriceps click here. To see my brief post on the Hamstrings click here. The muscles of the quadriceps help straighten the leg. So they extends it. They pull the lower leg forward. The muscles of the hamstrings pull the lower leg back, what we call bending the knee. The knee gets straightened and bent a lot in a Nia dance exercise class, but there might not always be awareness of the muscles that are doing it. Today we brought awareness to the knee bending and straightening muscles.
Bringing awareness to muscles can be done in many ways. Often time the choreography of a Nia Routine has us doing specific steps and arm movements. In the first few songs of the routine I am doing I did not have the class do any touching of our legs. I just suggested that the class think about their legs, while, in the first song we moved our chest down and lowered our hips. Everyone moves to their own depth so not all of us were in a bend with chest on our thighs, but we were still able to bring awareness to our thighs with knees bent. The next few songs have us aware of our knees as we sink a bit to activate hips and move with front, back, and diagonal steps.
When we were at a song that is a free dance we wiggled our knees, we knocked them, we straightened them. We touched the front of our thighs while we moved our legs, opening and closing the knee joint. We kicked forward and back. While we danced we touched the back of our thighs. The act of touching allows us to sense the muscles as it moves the leg, extending and flexing. The act of touching helps us bring awareness to the muscles as we use them.
While we do a punching and blocking sequence we are aware of the stability we have in the wide stance with the knees slightly bent. This pose allows the opportunity for awareness of the full thigh activation. Even while standing still we are sensing the dance of strength and stability.
I love that Nia incorporates a focus and an intent as one of the workout cycles. This gives us a chance to focus on many things. In this case the movement of the knee. This is a great way to keep both the body and mind active while bringing awareness of how the body moves into our dance exercise class.
Do YOU think about your knees? Do you think about how your leg bends?
Posted in Nia | Tagged: Awareness, dance exercise class, focus and intent, group exercise class, Hamstrings, knee movement, knee's movement and stability, knees, Nia class, Nia dance exercise class, Nia routine, punching and blocking, Quadriceps, thighs and knees, Workout cycles | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on July 24, 2014
Recently someone asked me about the Nia Belt system. I pointed him to my original post on Nia’s Belt System. The one where I mentioned having seen many articles back then (in 2009) talking about the belt levels as if people had to progress through them in order to participate in Nia. That is not the case. Nia is a dance exercise. It is a workout. You can go to a Nia class just like you can go to a Zumba Fitness Class, a Jazzercize class, a UJAM class, a Hip-Hop class, a yoga class or any other class where you just walk in and do it. You can just walk in and do Nia. No strings (or belts — tee hee!) attached. Just move your body to the music and enjoy the sensation. Get a workout. Get some exercise in. Dance. The belts are for people who want to learn more.
Nia has a “self discovery” program. I don’t want to say self-improvement because some people might think, “I don’t need improving.” and you would be right. The intensives are workshops of about 50 hours that show you how to experience movement in your body, show you how to relate to things. The intensives show you many different things. Each intensive is labeled with a belt color to help distinguish it from the others. I also pointed him to my website which has the belt colors and the focuses of each belt. But I was reminded that the information on my site, from 2012, is not the current information. Nia is always updated herself. She is like the co-creator, Debbie Rosas, she like to be current. Below is the information from 2012. I want to make record of it. Plus I wanted to keep it available in case anyone was interested in remember it and/or comparing it to the newly worded focuses. You can go to my site at Nia Belt Levels and Focuses to see the newly worded focuses and intents for each belt.
In 2012 when I put the information on my site there was a White Belt, a Blue Belt, a Brown Belt, and a Black Belt available to anyone. There is now a 1st Degree Black Belt. There is a Green Belt for people who are teaching and have a Nia Livelihood Membership.
“Each of the four belts mentioned has a separate set of principles. There are 13 principles for each belt, each belt also has a focus.
The focus for a White Belt is physical sensation. (Terre earned her White Belt in December 2008.)
The focus for a Blue Belt is communication, relationship and intimacy. (Terre earned her Blue Belt in November 2012.)
The focus for Brown Belt is sensing and perceiving energy.
The focus for Black Belt is unlimited creativity.
As I said, there is an intensive, Green Belt, that is just for Nia teachers, the focus for a Green Belt is the craft of teaching Nia. This is an optional intensive.” **
When I originally took my White Belt in 2012, the Green Belt was just being created and the original thought was Nia was going to have White Belts that are teaching take it next, before blue. But by the time I had enough money saved up to take my next belt (yes, it took FOUR years) they had relaxed that requirement and now allow people to take the Green Belt when and if they want. I want to take it. However there was a Blue Belt Intensive that was closer and did not require air travel and hotel expenses. So I took the Blue Belt Training prior to the Green Belt Training.
Except for the Green Belt there is no testing as in a martial arts type of setting. And the Green Belt test is written. There IS 50+ hours of movement, lectures, thinking, sensing, learning, agreeing, disagreeing, discovering, connecting dots, ah-has, oh-nos, and ooo-ahs. It is incredible and intense. The training that Nia delivers is excellent.
My posts about the principles of the White Belt and the Blue Belt can help give you a better idea of what we study in the intensives (at least those two), but it is really something one has to experience for oneself.
I hope you click over to my site to see the new verbiage for the focuses and the added intents.
**The belt information was taken from the Nia Now website on November 14, 2012.
Posted in Nia | Tagged: a Hip-Hop class, a Jazzercize class, a UJAM class, a yoga class, dance, dance exercise, Dance Workout, Debbie Rosas, Nia, Nia 1st Degree Black Belt, Nia Belt system, Nia Black Belt, Nia Blue Belt, Nia Brown Belt, Nia class, Nia Green Belt, Nia Intensive, Nia Music, Nia White Belt, self discovery program, self-improvement program, Zumba Fitness Class | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on July 22, 2014
When a body moves it expends energy. The bigger the movements the more energy expended. The faster the movements the more energy expended. The longer the body is in motion the more energy it expends. I teach Nia. It is not a boot camp where the higher ranked officer is yelling at you to move more, to more bigger to move longer. It is a cardio dance workout where you get to move your body in your own body’s way. You move to your level of movement. You move to the level you want to move at the time you are in the class. The more you move, the more energy you will use up. For some of us, the more we move the more we sweat. Honestly, if you don’t move you will not sweat. A lot of people equate a “good workout” with sweat. Not everyone sweats, but most people do sweat when they move. In Nia we don’t yell at participants to run faster, to reach higher, to go lower, to do more. We use words to help you move in a way that you want to move. Some people cannot move their bodies without being told exactly how to move. Some people just need the time and space and they either know exactly what to do OR they are able to just let go and let their bodies move. I have experienced the type of person that tells me they don’t sweat in Nia and the type that does.
One time, after teaching a class, I was walking out and mopping my face and neck with a towel. I was dripping wet. And a woman approached me and said, “You don’t sweat in Nia, do you?” I just looked at her and said, “No, YOU don’t.” She was the one that stood behind me the entire class and I never saw her body. I never saw her limbs and I never saw her. Now, I am not the smallest of people so it is perfectly feasible that she could hide behind me and me not see her. But it is NOT feasible to MOVE and not be seen standing behind me. If she would have lifted her arm once, I would have seen it. If she would have lifted her leg once, I would have seen it. If she would have MOVED, her body MIGHT have produced some sweat. I cannot tell you why she didn’t move her body except to stand behind me, but I can tell you since she did not she did not get a “good workout.”
Once a woman walked by me and a student talking after Nia class and she asked where the pool was. We were confused. Then we realized we were so wet with sweat we looked as if we had been swimming.
Then more recently, I experienced at participant in a class who, when we were done said, “Wow! I got sweaty.” And I said, “Yes, yes you did.” And that was because she moved. She participated. While she was not standing behind me, I did see her move in her own body’s way to the suggestions such as “dancing big”, “drumming the sky”, “body drum”. She moved in her own way to all of the suggestions even though she had no idea what Nia was when she entered the dance studio. But it was obvious she was there to get a “good workout” so she participated. She moved. She expended energy. She got sweaty.
In Nia, as with ALL workouts, you get out of it what you put in. If you don’t move, you are not going to expend energy. If you don’t expend energy, you probably are not going to sweat. You need to MOVE to get a workout. It is not accurate to say that Nia is not a “good workout” when you do move. If you don’t actually try it you can’t actually say whether it is good or not.
This is what I experience a lot. Remember I am a substitute for other classes besides Nia. So they are not always looking for something new and different. Some are excellent sports and try it. Some are not and so they don’t participate. Again . . . . they get out of of it what they put in.
Have you noticed that you get less of a workout when you move less? Do you agree that you get out of it what you put into it?
Posted in Nia | Tagged: body drum, Boot Camp, cardio dance, cardio workout, dance exercise, dance studio, Dance Workout, expending energy, good workout, Nia, Nia class, sweaty workout | 6 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on July 19, 2014
One of Nia’s 52 Moves is a nice move. It can be done easily, it can be used in almost any dance, and it has numerous benefits, but the name is one I get crawly skin saying. I don’t like to say it. It is worse than Creepy Crawlers. When we do this move I often start out using the actual Nia name, but then explain how I would rather not and I would rather do something else. The move is fantastic though because it has many uses, but the name. I mean, what do you feel when I say, “Catching Flies“? I prefer not to.
But the move itself is a great move and very important to keep our hands, arms, eyes, and brain active. When we “Catch Flies” in Nia we open the hands then we make a loose fist to “catch” and hold the “flies. Ewwww. Just thinking about it . . . I mean . . . really thinking about it grosses me out. Thank God, I don’t think too much about it when I am teaching. I do think enough to change it. There is one routine I teach where I change it to “catching your dreams”. It goes along with the whole sequence of moves before and after. So I will often start out with “catching flies” then change it to “catch your dreams”.
Part of the move is to LOOK before you grab. So we are not just randomly grabbing in the air. We are looking as if we really were going to catch a fly. Since most of us are not like cats — do you know what I mean? Have you ever been playing with a toy with a cat and they won’t even be looking and they just reach out their arm and snatch the toy out of thin air? (Crazy!) Most of us are not like that, we need to look. So we LOOK before we grab at the “flies”. We engage our eyes and our brain — THEN we grab. We are also engaging our neck and spine because we are catching FLIES after all. See, the image makes sense. It is a “good” one, but an icky one. But since it is good and it makes sense, I will start out saying “catching flies” so people get the idea. Then I can change it if I want.
I think I got catching fairies from another Nia class. A Nia teacher said it and I was thrilled, so I use that one. Sometimes I say catching joy. Or perhaps grabbing some energy. There are many things to say after the initial move is understood and the Nia name is announced.
The Nia Technique book explains the benefits very well:
Practicing Catching Flies increases brain activity. This move neurologically connects your hands, your head, and your eyes, and engenders manual dexterity and speed. Emotionally, you can use the is move to express aggression, determination, anger, frustrations, playfulness, and achievement.
I am sure you can use it to express a lot more emotions. When we practice this move we add variety. There can be fast flies, slow flies, they can be flying high, they can be flying low, they can be flying right in front of us, they can be flying behind us, you get the idea. The flies can be all over so it can be quite and active move.
It is like the Locust pose in yoga — GREAT MOVE, not so great name.
What do you think? Do you want to catch flies? Would you rather catch fairies? Would you rather catch joy? Can you understand what a great move it is?
Posted in 52 Moves (of Nia), Nia | Tagged: cat reflexes, Catching flies, Creepy Crawlers, increases brain activity, neurologically connects, Nia class, Nia Dance, Nia routine, Nia teachers, Nia's 52 Moves | 6 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on July 15, 2014
I teach Nia at Community Centers in San Jose. One of the things about community centers is they are for the community. During the summer that means that they are kid central. It is amazing all of the programs they have for kids during the summer. It is so great to see the centers doing so much to keep the kids learning and active during the summer. What a full community center sometimes translates to is regularly scheduled classes get shuffled around. I was given about six months notice for this summer’s shuffle. So our Nia class was prepared. I had been telling them since January. Then I put up a notice in June. So we were aware. It is a huge blessing that we just get moved to another room and not to a different time or cancelled altogether. I am grateful that we still get to have a class while all these summer camps and kid fun is going on. It is working out to be one week a month. Last month the room we were moved to had the portable mirrors in the closet so we were able to roll them out and use them. Today the closet was full of tables and chairs. The mirrors were nowhere to be found. The center is on what used to be a high school campus. So it is very large and spread out. I wasn’t certain that 25 minutes would be enough time to let someone know about the situation, find the mirrors, and move them all the way across the campus. So we did Nia without mirrors today, using the opportunity to focus inward.
I have done Nia without mirrors before. In fact I posted about it in my post Nia In The Mirror when I was teaching in San Carlos. That is one reason when I started working at the San Jose Community Centers I was so impressed with their portable mirrors. In fact I thought I did a post about them because they are sooooo cool. (Well, I don’t see one, so that will probably be my next post!)
In a Nia class the teacher stands with her/his back to the students. One way we connect with our students is eye contact in the mirror. A Nia teacher can turn and face the students. In fact, it is recommended at times to do so to change things up and to connect in another way to the students. We even practiced it in the Blue Belt Intensive. So it is up to the teacher to teach facing whichever way s/he wants. Generally though we face away from the students.
Facing away makes it easier for some people to follow since we are moving the same side of the body and going in the same direction as opposed to the mirror image as was (and possibly still is) done in Jazzercise. What I find is that I learn the routine SAYING it as if I am teaching with my back towards the students so for me to turn around I would be saying go left as I move left and we would not be dancing in mirror image. So to turn and face the students while we are doing a dance that moves front or back or laterally is a challenge for me. Especially when it is a new routine. And right now, I am somewhat learning a routine. In a routine there is usually a song or two where we are not moving left or right so we often face each other than. I was able to do that today, but some I did with my back to them.
I think dancing without a mirror every once in a while is a good thing. It helps the students dance with themselves. The moment I found out we didn’t have mirrors I knew our intent and focus. I set the focus to be the Conscious Personal Trainer, with the intent of being fully aware of and sensing your own body’s movements. Without the mirror to distract us I thought it would be a great opportunity to focus more on one’s own body. Without the mirror we don’t see ourselves nor the other people. Without a mirror the possibility to draw ones attention in and keep it in seems better.
So, of course, I was very happy when one of my students said that dancing without the mirrors made it different. It did allow her to focus more on her movements. She said she was less distracted with the other students. Yay! I like that it worked for her. I like that we were able to do it different, but we still danced and had fun. I am very blessed to have such great students that can just go with the flow and DO Nia! It is nice to have “no mirrors” give us the opportunity for something different.
When you take a lead-follow exercise class do you prefer the instructor FACE your or face away from you?
Posted in Nia | Tagged: Conscious Personal Trainer, dance exercise, Dance Workout, focus and intent, Jazzercise, kids camps, Nia, Nia Classes, Nia dancing, Nia in San Jose, Nia students, Nia Teacher, portable mirrors, San Jose City Community Centers, San Jose Nia, summer camps | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on June 10, 2014
We have sounding in Nia . . . where we make sounds as we are dancing. Plus people are always invited and . . . in my class . . . encouraged to sing. I’ve written several posts about sounding and put them in their own category under Nia. (Click here for the link to those posts) Although I do not think of making sounds as being regulated to Nia, I just have them as a sub-category under the category Nia. I think sounds are appropriate to make during other exercises and workouts. One that always comes to mind when people seem to need convincing of making noises and exercising is martial arts. Once I remind them that “Hi-Ya!” is a common sound, they seem to relax into the idea a bit. As I probably have mentioned before, I remember it being an unspoken rule that you didn’t make noise while you are doing Jazzercise, lifting weights, or working out at the Lady Spa. Could have been ideal that it was unladylike to make noise. I don’t know, because I never remember being told NOT to make a sound, I just know that no one did it. It was almost as if even breathing heavy was taboo! One reason I love Nia: breathing and making sounds are encouraged. But I think of these sounds as helping with the flow of oxygen and energy. I think of them as stress relieving and joy bringing. So when I was flipping through Yoga Journal and came across an article titled “How To Be Fearless” I thought, “Huh? Interesting.” Mark Moliterno, an opera singer and yoga instructor has paired yoga with voice to create YogaVoice.
This reminded me of one of Nia’s instructors who created Kivo® The Kinetic Voice . . . which is – according to her website – “a vocal practice that uses the whole body. It is designed to harness the power of vocal vibration and movement as transformational tools that unlock energy, activate your true radiance and empower you to go out and create the life you were born to live.” So . . . back to the article when I looked at the chart within the article I realized that the pairings were for more than just overcoming public speaking jitters as the subtitle read. It was for a list of different areas.
Just as we know certain sounds to be related to certain chakras and feelings, you probably also know poses are related to certain chakras and feelings. When sounds and asanas are paired up they can be very beneficial. I would bet many of you are familiar with “OM” as a yoga chant. Different sounds and different mantras can be used. The information on the YogaVoice websites leads me to believe this is different from chanting while doing yoga, there are indications that it goes beyond that.
I just love that more sounding is coming into the workout. Since I believe there is a lot more to sounding — a lot more benefits can be reaped than just breathing — I love movement forms that stem from sounding or that incorporate it.
Do you believe the is benefits to making noises while working out? Do you make noises while exercising?
Posted in Nia, Sounding, Yoga/PiYo/Pilates | Tagged: Jazzercise, Kivo, Lady Spa, Lifting Weights, Mark Moliterno, martial arts, moving sound, Nia, Nia class, Nia instructor, Nia sounding, Nia Teacher, sound and movement, working out noises, Yoga, yoga asanas, Yoga Journal, yoga magazine, yoga poses, YogaVoice | 2 Comments »
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