Terre Pruitt's Blog

In the realm of health, wellness, fitness, and the like, or whatever inspires me.

  • I teach yoga, Nia, and stretch online!

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December 30 Minute Movement Challenge – Day #13

Posted by terrepruitt on December 13, 2012

Wow!  Thirteen days in.  Even though these check in posts are short.  It is time consuming writing and posting every day.  I don’t know how people do it.  I mean, I can easily think of stuff to blab about every day, but sitting down and writing it . . . . way too much.  But some people are so much better at writing.  Writing takes me a long time.  But so does reading AND doing your 30 minutes.  And here you are checking it.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE!!!!!

I’ll be back.  I have to do my 30 minutes “early” because I am subbing with Nia tonight!

Posted in December 2012 30 Minute Movement Challenge | Tagged: , , | 5 Comments »

December 30 Minute Movement Challenge – Day #12

Posted by terrepruitt on December 12, 2012

Yay!  Here it is day 12!  Thank you for being here.  I know it is a busy month.  I know it is a busy time of the year.  Even if Christmas is not YOUR thing there are others who are off doing theirs so you might be busy because of other people taking vacations and time off.  So getting that 30 minutes in is a challenge.  The reason I called it a challenge is because I know it is a busy time.  But it is so worth it.  So, again, thank you for participating and being here.

I am teaching Nia this morning.  Then with nothing else on my schedule, I am going to do more Nia.  I want to review a routine I have been doing for four years and finish learning one that I am in the middle of learning.  I am presently teaching two different routines.  In my morning classes we are ready to move on.  Nia routines are so rich it is easy to keep learning with them.  So that will be my 30 minutes.

I will be back to check in.

Posted in December 2012 30 Minute Movement Challenge | Tagged: , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

Pearls And The Realms, Part Of Nia Blue Belt Principle #3

Posted by terrepruitt on December 11, 2012

Nia Blue Belt Principle #3 – Awareness, Insight, Clarity – Pearls and the Realms, is an exciting principle.  I found it really exciting because there are things that Nia teachers are supposed to do in Nia class that I really wanted to learn to do better.  There is a particular way we are supposed to teach or more accurately there is a tool that we have available to us to use while we teach.  The “tool” is called a pearl.  When I go to other Nia classes I often find myself wanting to stop moving and just write down what the other teachers are saying.  I often find their verbiage, their wording for something to be just what the move is about and so I want to use that in my class.  Since I don’t REALLY want to stop dancing I repeat it in my head while I am dancing and sometimes I can even convince myself that I will remember what they said.  Sometimes I do remember and sometimes I don’t.  Sometimes I have a vague recollection that leads to a pearl of my own that works out fine.  These pearls are what we use to enhance the class.  They are words that allow the participant to connect to a move, the music, a feeling, a sensation, almost anything . . . . and this in turn allows for a better experience.  Part of the Nia Blue Belt Principle #3 – Awareness, Insight, Clarity, was a lesson on how to come up with pearls.  It was insight into where they can come from.

As a reminder, in these first posts about the Nia Blue Belt Principles I am just writing quick about what I initially got out of it.  I am just sharing and getting it down in print as a tool to help processes it.  This principle has a lot more to it than just assist with what to say and how to describe things in a Nia class.  As I said the principle is Awareness, Insight, Clarity, with a tag line of Pearls and the Realms.  And it is the pearls that I have been longing to learn more about.  So that is what I gleaned most about this principle.  As I go back and read the manual I am sure I will even get more.  As I continue to teach even more will be revealed.

Have I mentioned before that the manual is 276 pages?  Yeah.  It is intense.  It is a lot of information.  It is amazing.

Anyway . . . this principle gives us the place that the pearls come from.  It helps categorize them.  In knowing where they come from it is easier to allow them to come.  In the categories or realms a Nia teacher can decide to utilize pears from all realms.  To me this can help balance a class.An example of pearls we could use for each realm in a class would be:

Everybody sense your ankle.  This would be from the physical realm.
Everybody feel lonely.  This would be from the emotional realm.
Everybody imagine you are a dog.  This would be from the mental realm.
Everybody wiggle and jiggle.  This would be from the spirit realm.

I was so excited to learn the different type of pearls.  Part of my excitement came from confirming pearls don’t have to be physical and part of it came from realizing I did use pearls more than I thought.  I thought I used them a lot less, so it was nice to learn I use them, I just didn’t know it.

So the pearl portion of Nia Blue Belt Principle #3 – Awareness, Insight, Clarity was a great eye-opening.  And, of course, you really can’t have the pearls without awareness, insight, and clarity, right?  I didn’t explain that here, but it’s true.  This post jumped right to the middle.  I may or may not do a post explaining about the first part.  I really think I should leave somethings for you to learn when you do your Blue Belt Intensive.  😉

Do you get excited when you think you are not doing something you are supposed to be doing but you find out you are doing it?

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December 30 Minute Movement Challenge – Day #11

Posted by terrepruitt on December 11, 2012

WOW!  Here we are fourteen days until Christmas, eleven days into our 31 day challenge.  How is it going?  Do you care to share any of the things you are doing in your 30 minutes?

Today is Tuesday, I’ll be back here after I teach my Nia class and get my (extra–ha, ha, ha) 30 minutes in.

LOVE that you are here.  Thank you for participating in the challenge!  YEAHHHHH!

Posted in December 2012 30 Minute Movement Challenge | Tagged: , , | 3 Comments »

December 30 Minute Movement Challenge – Day #10

Posted by terrepruitt on December 10, 2012

WAHOOOOOO!  Day #10!!!  How are you feeling about completing 10 days?  Good?  It is always nice to have done something good for yourself for 10 consecutive days. So yay!!  Let’s keep going.  I have one friend already talking about making this 30 minutes a day thing a permanent habit.  That is really a great idea.  🙂  Thirty minutes really isn’t that long.

Today is Monday, I’ll be back here after I teach my 9 am Nia class.  This month I am subbing a Yoga class while the regular teacher is on maternity leave.  I am teaching Nia and the yoga students love it.

Thank you so much for being here and for participating in the challenge!  WAHOOO!

Posted in December 2012 30 Minute Movement Challenge | Tagged: , , , | 6 Comments »

December 30 Minute Movement Challenge – Day #9

Posted by terrepruitt on December 9, 2012

Day #9!!!  Yay!!  Keep going.  Thirty minutes really isn’t that long you could probably even move for longer . . . .why not?  It’s Sunday.  Squeeze in a few more minutes!  Could be 10 minutes here, and 10 minutes there.  Maybe 5 minutes while you are waiting for your coffee to brew?  Whatever . . . . I am sure you can find 30 minutes to get some movement and exercise in.

I have a date with some friends.  We are doing our Christmas thing this year.  It is bittersweet because while we are happy to still be gathering we are sad because we miss one of our four.  (Hello, Michele!  We love and miss you!) I better get my 30 minutes in early!

I’ll be back.  What about you?

Posted in December 2012 30 Minute Movement Challenge | Tagged: , , , | 3 Comments »

Nia’s Blue Belt Principle #2 Connection To Nia’s Energy Allies

Posted by terrepruitt on December 8, 2012

Off the top of my head, Nia’s Blue Belt Principle #2 – The Power of Two makes me think of Nia’s Energy Allies or the more commonly known four agreements.  The tag line for this principle is Communication.  The details involve a transmitter and a receiver.  So to me it is a perfect connection to the energy allies.  To me to be a clear transmitter one must speak with impeccability.  One must stay on task of what the idea is that is being communicated.  It is the job of the transmitter to be clear so that the receiver can understand what is being conveyed.  To add to that the transmitter doesn’t assume the receiver knows what is being said, another reason to be impeccable.  To be a pure receiver, the receiver shouldn’t be assuming they know what the transmitter is saying.  The receiver shouldn’t be making up stories in his/her head as the transmitter is speaking.  The receiver should be quietly listening, with no inner dialog happening.  Also there is the added mission of not taking anything personally.  This can be more easily accomplished if the third person — the one in the receiver’s head — is quiet.  Both the transmitter and the receiver always strive to do their best.  That is how I connect Nia’s Energy Allies to Nia’s Blue Belt Principle #2.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, ZumbaSince communication can be thought of as the exchange of energy between two, this principle and its details can easily be applied to everyday life.  The exchange of energy can be between people or  things.  The exchange is a giving and a receiving.  It does not have to be verbal, the exchange, the communication, could be a touch, a gesture, or any of the other ways things are communicated.  So you might be able to see how within the scope of life it can be applied to more than just communicating with another person.

As a Nia teacher we can apply it to our Nia practice.   There is a transmitter and a receiver with our bodies’ movements.  There is a transmitter and a receiver with the music.  There is a transmitter and a receiver with a Nia routine and the choreography.  There is definitely a transmitter and a receiver in a Nia class and the transmitter is not always the teacher.

With the principle being The POWER of TWO, I can’t help but connect it the Nia Energy Allies when thinking of the communication between people.  My connecting probably stems from the fact that I truly feel I need to strengthen my relationship with all FOUR allies in order to allow the POWER of two to shine through.

This is just my immediate thoughts on Nia’s Blue Belt Principle #2.  As I live with it longer and read the manual and process it, I am certain I will come up with more.  My relationship with will become stronger.   Nia has a “craft” for working with this principle, but I am still determining my relationship with that idea.  We will see if a post ever becomes of their idea.

Are you familiar with Nina’s Energy Allies (or the four agreements)?  Can you see how they can be instrumental in communication?  Can you see how the Allies could assist in making two powerful?

Posted in Blue Belt, Nia | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

December 30 Minute Movement Challenge – Day #8

Posted by terrepruitt on December 8, 2012

It is Saturday and it is day number 8 of the 30 Minutes of Movement for 31 Days in December 2012.  Since it is Saturday I am sure you have a lot of things you have to get done.  Be sure to get your 30 minutes in.  You know you will feel great about it, so do it.  Either you are here to check in or you are here for encouragement and a reminder to do it!

Do it!  It will make the rest of your day awesome.  It will only take a mere 1800 seconds . . . . . so do it.  And comment here when you have.  YAY you!!!!!

Posted in December 2012 30 Minute Movement Challenge | Tagged: , | 7 Comments »

December 30 Minute Movement Challenge – Day #7

Posted by terrepruitt on December 7, 2012

YAY YOU FOR BEING HERE!!!  Still trucking, I see.  I had to look that phrase up.

According to Wordwizard, there are several references listed that state it means “to carry on”.  Some references refer to truck driving as in driving through the night and some refer to a marathon dance contests of the 1930s; “or with the type of lively dancing known as truckin’ (from a song of the same name, written in the mid-1930s).”  The site goes onto say it didn’t come from trucking but had to do with railroads, and on to say, that some people believe it came from the Grateful Dead.  The post ends with:

“So, the origin could have been from the marathon dance contests of the 1930s with the image of trucks driving through the night, or from the dance and song, which might have come from the image of the long-haul truck or from the baggage trucks used in railroad stations. Or the expression could have come from a jazz dance step, that was used for exiting a stage, which was based on the image of . . . . and which might or might not have been related to the popular dance step, . . . . and which was slang for sexual intercourse . . . . . . . . ,”

Sigh.  Who knows, huh?  All I know is we are still doing our movement on day six!  Yay.  I’ll be back.

Posted in December 2012 30 Minute Movement Challenge | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Why Is It So Hard To Slow Down?

Posted by terrepruitt on December 6, 2012

Do you move fast?  Do you do five things at once?  Do you have more than one project going on?  Are you doing one thing while your mind is thinking about another?  It is hard to slow down, huh?  I think part of it is technology.  We have cell phones that can do so many things we get instant gratification so we don’t have to wait for anything.  We can call someone while we are doing something else.  We can look up something on the internet while we are talking to someone all the while doing something else.  Multi-tasking is expected.  We must be productive and in order to do so we have to do more than one thing.  I posted about multi-tasking in September 2009.  I actually attempted to stop and only do one thing at a time.  It proved to not be possible for me.  As an example, when cooking dinner I have to do more than one thing at a time.  Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, ZumbaIt is not feasible to cook the pasta, then the meat, then make the salad — or any order of that.  More than one thing has to be going on at a time.  So I realized that multi-tasking is necessary, but there are ways I can be more aware of what I am doing.  There are some tasks that I can do without doing something else.  Part of this for me is just slowing down.  I need to have patience to get through one task before I move onto the next.

I have been thinking about this a lot this week as I have been decorating the house for Christmas.  I love to have it look like Christmas every where you look.  It doesn’t have to be Griswald-y, but an ornament here, a candle there—just SOMETHING.  While I have been doing this I have been using a ladder.  In our garage it is a bit tricky.  We park both of our cars in the garage so the “edges” tend to get a little cluttered.  We also have bicycles hanging from the rafters near where the Christmas boxes are stored.  All this week I have been having to tell myself, “Slow down.”  Literally.  I want to get it done quickly — plus I am excited because I just love all this stuff.  So I would bolt up the ladder and realize once I was up there that I couldn’t move freely, I had to think about the fact that I was on a ladder, the fact that I was wearing floppy shoes, that there was a bike an inch from my head, back, butt (depending on where I was on the ladder).  I had to think about how I was going to move once I got the box in my hands.  I had to think how I was going to climb down the ladder with a box in my hand and a handle bar at my shoulder.

It is not easy for me to do some things slowly and I have been pondering that this week.  I think that being more patient is part of it.  If I were more patient with getting some of the things done I want to get done then I wouldn’t be rushing through what I have to do.  Part of it is also because there is going to be some work done involving the house at the end of this week and I was rushing to get things done before that deadline.  Also, I wanted it all done before I my Nia Class on Thursday evening!  But still . . . . it is not easy to slow down.

I want to say that I HAVE been JUST brushing my teeth.  I have made a conscious effort.  But it wasn’t since September 2009, it has been more recent!

Do you find rushing to be the case?  Do you rush through things just to get to another thing to rush through?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

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