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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Grits

Posted by terrepruitt on July 7, 2023

I posted this picture on Twitter last month but it is on my computer so I keep seeing a reminder of it.  Grits.  I used to eat them with butter, salt, and bacon crumbled in them.  But I haven’t had bacon in a long time.  The last time I bought it and cooked it, it just wasn’t good so I don’t bother any more.  But we usually have Canadian bacon or ham so we have been using that.  Fry it and chop it up.  And now I add cheese.  I don’t eat them often, but they are yummy when I do.  Sharing this for my Friday Photo and posing the question(s) – Do you eat grits?  If so, how do you eat them?

Posted in Food, Friday Photo | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Half Kneeling Psoas Stretch

Posted by terrepruitt on July 3, 2023

I would wager that most of you reading this know that stretching is very beneficial. Daily stretching can do wonders for comfortable movement. Stretching does not have to be a time consuming thing. I may agree that longer sessions of stretching might be more beneficial than shorter ones, but a quick stretch is better than nothing. Also, if done daily a 5 minute stretch session could really help.

And when I say “help” I mean help with moving throughout life more comfortably. Of course, there are many people that have many issues that could be exacerbated by some moves so please keep in mind that I am not giving medical advice and that you need to keep your own body’s situation in mind.

With all of that said here is a great stretch that can reach multiple areas.

Here are quick instructions with * adding more.

-Kneel down and bring one leg out in front, whole foot on the ground.* (Half kneeling.)

-Keep the hip of the “down leg” in alignment above the knee. Activate the glutes by tightening or pushing forward a bit.** Add an “additional” stretch by lifting the arm and bending to the side of the front leg.***

-Remember to lengthen the spine and keep the “up” arm shoulder relaxed.

*Stability can be obtained by moving the front leg away from the midline of the body, by turning the foot of the front leg in, or by pulling the front leg’s knee in toward the body. Also one could use a block, furniture, or a wall to stabilize.

The foot of the “down” knee can be flat (top of foot on the floor) or with toes “curled”.

**The stretch is happening in the front of the body of the kneeling leg. I say “front” of the body because it is not just in the leg, but also it is not really the “front” of the body it more of an internal stretch through the psoas.
***When you lift the arm the stretch also goes through the side of the body.

It targets multiple areas that can really benefit from being flexible.  The main area being stretched is the psoas, hip flexors, the side body, and the ankle.  If you curl the toes (of the down leg) then you would be stretching through the bottom of the foot (like in a toe squat).

We do this often in my classes.  Do you stretch? 

Posted in Misc, stretching | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Hardy Yellow Roses

Posted by terrepruitt on June 30, 2023

I have posted about these roses a few times.  In a quick search I came up with three posts (1, 2, 3), there could be more. I am always amazed because this was one of those tiny rose rose plants and it has survived 15 years (in the ground).  And the roses are not always so tiny. And they are pretty hardy. I may be posting another picture of some that came from the bush if I took a picture of them, because it was a stem of multiple roses and they are going on two weeks.  I don’t know if I took a picture though.  So here is a past small bunch for my Friday Photo.

 

Posted in Friday Photo | Tagged: , , , , | 2 Comments »

Which Yoga Blocks To Get

Posted by terrepruitt on June 28, 2023

Recently I was asked about yoga blocks, someone was asking about which ones to get. Yoga blocks are a prop used in yoga for different things. In many cases they “bring up the floor”. I did a post showing some of the ways yoga blocks can be used. To me the first thing to think about when considering which yoga blocks to buy is how are you going to use them?

If you are not going to be putting a lot of weight on them and requiring them for stability and you don’t need them to be very sturdy the foam ones are probably sufficient. The foam ones may be more comfortable if you are going to be sitting on them. I believe foam yoga blocks are less expensive than cork yoga blocks. So that can always be a factor when deciding to purchase something.

I opted for cork yoga blocks because I use them in one of my favorite poses – half moon – and I prefer the solid feeling and stability in a cork block. Also at the time of purchase, I was practicing a pose where I was standing on the blocks and again, I like the firm solid support of a cork block. I also opted for cork for its antibacterial properties.

I am sure there are some very solid and firm foam blocks available, but at the time, I had not experienced any.

There are also different size yoga blocks so if you are shopping online be sure that you are getting the size you want. When I bought mine they came in two sizes 9X6X3 and 9X6X4. Either way it allows you to use three different heights.

Yoga blocks are like yoga mats and yoga clothes. It really depends on what you want and what you like. I prefer the cork yoga blocks, but every once in awhile I wish I had a set of foam ones but not often enough to want to get some.

Do you use yoga blocks in your practice? Which kind do you prefer?

Posted in Yoga/PiYo/Pilates | Tagged: , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Neighborhood Plants

Posted by terrepruitt on June 23, 2023

I still have a couple of photos from my walk months ago.  I really like flowers.  I feel like they bring a big of joy into the world.  Since I post so many pictures of flowers, I bet you kind of had a feeling I liked them.  Happy Summer!

How do you feel about flowers (and succulents)?

 

 

Posted in Friday Photo | Tagged: , , | 2 Comments »

The Nia “Energy Allies”

Posted by terrepruitt on June 21, 2023

The Nia “Energy Allies” are a bit different now. The Energy Allies when I learned them in 2008 were more closely aligned with The Four Agreements. In 2022 Nia reinvented the Allies a little bit because they were so similar to the Four Agreements but that is not where they originated from. According to the “Art of Sensation” the Nia Energy Allies were based on the Toltec Principles of the Nagual after Carlos AyaRosas had attended a workshop in the 1990’s. But the ideas remain somewhat the same. I feel like #2 and #3 of the “old” ones have been swapped in this new version.

Instead of:

*Speak with impeccability* it is being called “MINDFUL SPEECH”, with different bullet points with one similar to “I communication” stating “speak about your experience” but there is no mention of staying on “task” which I feel is very important in a training situation because often things get take way off track and can take away from the training.

*Don’t assume anything* number 2 is now “EMOTIONAL RESILIENCE” which I feel is more akin to “OPEN-MINDED” when I read the bullet points that mention calmness and composure.

*Don’t take anything personally* or the new three which is “OPEN-MINDED” with one bullet point being “Assume Nothing”

*Always do your best* is now “AUTHENTIC SELF” with “do your best” as a bullet point

My original intent of sharing these when I posted about them in 2010 was to give examples of how the Nia training was conducted. I appreciated that the stage was set to keep us on topic so that we could have a chance to learn the material. That we were reminded not to make up stories and again . . . go off on tangents. Also to keep in mind that things were not being said and/or done to attack us. And lastly to remind us to do our best even if that changed day to day. Since the Allies have been changed or clarified to (I believe) be uniquely Nia I want to give you the opportunity – should you decide to take any Nia training – to learn them yourself so I am not sharing all the information here.

Are you familiar with the Principles of the Nagual and/or the Four Agreements?

Posted in Nia | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Amaryllis 2023

Posted by terrepruitt on June 16, 2023

I looked at the amaryllis this year and thought they were very light.  I hadn’t remembered them ever being light . . . certainly not this light.  But my hubby said they had been light before.  And when I did a search on my blog for “flowers” I realized I don’t always add that when it is a Friday Photo post.  And in trying to do so I did spot a very light one in 2021.  Here is my annual amaryllis post.  Such a lovely reminder.

Posted in Flowers, Friday Photo | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

Nia Is Nia

Posted by terrepruitt on June 14, 2023

I originally started my blog as a way to share information about Nia and movement. While I post about things “in the realm of health, wellness, fitness, and the like, or whatever inspires me” I do tend to daydream that people will see posts about Nia and learn there is such a thing. I became a Nia teacher about 15 years ago and have done a few posts about it. Nia is always changing and updating so, as I stated in my last post, I am going to share a bit about those updates as I learn about them. But first off as a reminder when Debbie Rosas first started exploring the new movement form – the new style was described as non-impact aerobics. “But intuiting there was more to it, Debbie began her learning journey. This led to the name NIA, an acronym for Neuromuscular Integrated Action. About 20 years later, NIA became Nia – a word that simply means Nia.”*

So, it is not NIA, it is not an acronym it is Nia. Nia is just the name just like any other practice.

Photograph provided by Nia Technique, Inc.

*From the Art of Sensation

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Nia Changes – 2023

Posted by terrepruitt on June 12, 2023

I have said many times that Nia is constantly changing and evolving. In the past I have felt that Nia has remained BASICALLY the same, but has moved forward when new knowledge has come to light, I recently saw something on FB that had me looking at some of the new material and I realized I should probably do some updating to my information. I am hoping to discover that I won’t need to change too much, but we will see. We will also see how far I get as it seems that other things tend to pull my attention away.

I don’t have the desire to update every single post that I have ever written regarding Nia but in the quick look I did, I saw some things that I would like to update.

For awhile I have felt that Nia is trying to tap into more of a “self-improvement” or “self-development” type of market. When I took my White Belt in 2008 they were at the start of re-vamping the training with triads and new verbiage, but I still felt there was a strong emphasis on teaching the participants how to tap into movement sensation in order to teach. In subsequent years, I remember having conversations with White Belt graduates about some of the teaching techniques I was taught and the graduates were not familiar. Then when I took it again in 2020 there wasn’t that much emphasis on teaching the teacher.

In 2022 Debbie Rosas, one of the founders of Nia, hosted an online event called “the global Nia Wisdom Summit”. She wanted to “explore Nia White Belt Principles from a new perspective.” She was looking to change the Nia White Belt training into something other than a teacher training. And after the meeting Nia has revamped the Nia White Belt training into “Nia Art of Sensation”, saying it is somatic movement education. So things are a little different. The principles look like they have been rearranged a bit and the verbiage throughout the “Art of Sensation” manual is – to me – more complicated and less user friendly. At first glance it looks like a lot more bells and whistles with more graphics and pictures of people moving. But as always it is evident that a lot goes into Nia training material so we will see.

I am going to try to go through it and hopefully update a few things. Stay tuned.

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May 2023 Yard Rose

Posted by terrepruitt on June 9, 2023

So this is a rose from our yard (in May).  This is a rose from our originally white bush.  The roses used to be pure white.  It is very pretty, not white, but beautiful.  Yard Rose for today’s Friday Photo!

Posted in Flowers, Friday Photo | Tagged: , , | 2 Comments »

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