Posted by terrepruitt on December 6, 2012
I am so glad you are here. As we get closer to Christmas it might become more of a challenge to keep going, but six days in . . . . YOU CAN DO IT! So can I, right? I am here to GET support as much as give support. I have a few things going on this weekend and I need to get stuff done. I could easily skip 30 minutes, especially since I am going to teach a Nia class tonight. With my class I will be getting in my aerobic exercise. But I will be back to let you know I did my 30 minutes. It might end up being practice for tonight.
What about you?
Posted in December 2012 30 Minute Movement Challenge | Tagged: aerobic exercise, Christmas, Day #6, December 30 Minute Movement Challenge, evening Nia class, Nia, Nia class | 5 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on December 5, 2012
Yay! Day five! How are you doing? Feeling good, huh? You’ve done five days and you are gonna keep on trucking! (Remember that term? Where did that come from?)
Post a comment to let me know you are done. I will be back to let you know. I have to teach my Nia class and then run some errands, but I will be back with to comment with my 30 minute done!
Thank you for being here!!!
Posted in December 2012 30 Minute Movement Challenge | Tagged: Day #5, December 30 Minute Movement Challenge, keep on trucking, Nia, Nia class, Nia Teacher, teach Nia | 5 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on December 4, 2012
I posted about me having attended a Nia Blue Belt Intensive in the beginning of November. I am still processing that. I am reading the manual here and there. I am thinking about the principles. I think a lot about Principle #1 – The Joy of Being In Relationship. I think I understand it and then I feel I don’t. I think I got it, then I lose it. One day last week I was walking up my stairs and as my foot landed on the last step I thought, “I got it! I know why I think I don’t understand it!” I even replied to a comment on my blog from a Nia Black Belt that I would be writing more about it. At that point I thought I had it. What I decided as I was walking up the stairs is that I feel as if the principle is elusive to me because I am looking for something new. I have been told a new principle so I am looking to experience something new. But my trek up my stairs had me thinking that I AM in relationship with and I have been. As I was walking up my stairs something was aching (I can’t remember whether it was my hip or my knee) and as I was taking steps I was listening to my knee. I was checking in with my knee. We were in an exchange. Both my knee and I decided that it was not truly my knee that was the issue, but my foot. But I was in relationship with. I was not just sensing, as I picture The Joy of Movement (Nia White Belt Principle #1), I was in the Joy of Being In Relationship. It was an exchange, it was relationship with.
With The Joy of Movement there is the tweaking, sustaining, and increasing all for sensation. With Nia Blue Belt Principle #1 – The Joy of Being In Relationship the tweaking, sustaining, and increasing is for relationship. I think that ever since I injured a toe on my right foot I have been in relationship with, but I have never really thought of it like that. I am discovering the joy portion. I feel as if I am practiced at this principle in regards to my body. It is different “others” that I am eager to connect with.
Now that I feel that I have a better idea of it, I can practice it on “others”. It is not something entirely new that I couldn’t grasp, it was something I had a hold of already. In my first post about the Nia Blue Belt Principles I stated that it was new, but now I see it is not. Now I can just apply it elsewhere. The other principles can help with principle #1. The principles are not necessary things that have to be worked on individually. In fact they probably all work better together. And as I have stated the principles are not necessarily new (to me) ideas. The way they are applied to Nia could be new to me. We will see. It is all a very exciting process!
So . . . here I am sharing about Nia and processing it out loud on my blog. ANY thoughts and comments are welcome. Especially information from Nia Blue Belt Graduates.
Posted in Blue Belt, Nia | Tagged: increasing, Nia Black Belt, Nia Blue Belt Graduates, Nia Blue Belt Intensive, Nia Blue Belt Principle, Nia manual, Nia principles, Nia White Belt Principle #1, sensation, sustaining, the joy of being in relationship, the joy of movement, tweaking | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on December 4, 2012
It is day four and here is our check in post. You check in (you early birds and people in earlier time zones) and I’ll be back!
Thank you for joining the December 30 Minute Movement Challenge.
Posted in December 2012 30 Minute Movement Challenge | Tagged: day 4, December 2012, movement challenge | 11 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on December 3, 2012
It is day three. You can do it!!!
Let us know you did your 30 minutes! I myself will be back to check in after I have done at least 30 minutes of moving! I have not yet (at midnight) gotten my “exercise on!” Thank you for joining the December 30 Minute Movement Challenge.
Posted in December 2012 30 Minute Movement Challenge | Tagged: day 3, December 2012, movement challenge | 7 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on December 2, 2012
So did you do it? Let us know! I myself will be back to check in after I have done at least 30 minutes of moving! Wahooo! Thanks for joining the December 30 Minute Movement Challenge. This is day two!
Posted in December 2012 30 Minute Movement Challenge | Tagged: day 2, December 2012, December 2012 30 Minute Movement Challenge, movement challenge | 5 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on December 1, 2012
So today is the first day of the December 2012 30 Minute Movement Challenge. There are so many things you can do, you know that right? On the days I am teaching a Nia Class I will obviously get in 30 minutes of movement, but at this point, right off the bat, I don’t want to count that as my 30 minutes. I would count Nia as my 30 minutes if I am doing it as a student. Being a teacher and being a student are different, so I am going to count them differently. I will be back today to check in with my 30 minutes completed. But first some ideas on what you can do, yes? You can walk. Walking for 30 minutes is a great exercise. If you walk fast enough and get your heart rate up it can be an aerobic exercise. With your challenge you decide whether your 30 minutes will be aerobic or resistance training. You can also add to it. Moving for longer than 30 minutes. Just make certain you are moving (in an exercise-y type of way) for at least 30 minutes.
There are so many things you can do. I already mentioned walking. There is my ten minute workout. You can do that for 30 minutes consecutively or do three different 10 minute sessions. If you have a device that allows you to create playlist of music you can make up a great playlist and dance for 30 minutes. You could do 30 different exercises for a minute each. Some examples: squats, bicep curls, lunges, triceps kick backs, donkey kicks, push ups, inner thigh lifts, sit ups, triceps dips, frogs, hamstring kick backs, lateral flies, knee lifts, rows, reverse curls . . . . . . and 15 more.
The key is to get AT LEAST 30 minutes in. The thirty minute time length was originally brought up to help people STAY healthy. Many people need more than that to GET healthy in the first place. But we are just doing a challenge for the month of December to make sure we are moving EVERY DAY. With all that is going on during this season it is easy to skip the workout. So committing to 30 minutes EVERY DAY will help.
Keeping to a schedule helps a lot. Committing to a goal, also helps. We also know that sometimes things do come up and even though we have a schedule and made a commitment there might be a day where we just didn’t get the 3o minutes in. To help ensure you get it in I recommend doing it first thing in the morning. I know that when I put things off for later in the day sometimes they don’t get done. The things I do first thing always get done . . . . funny how that works huh? If you happen to miss a day, that is fine, just pick it right back up the next day.
Remember you don’t even have to comment about what you did, just comment that you DID move/exercise/workout for at least 30 minutes! So . . . . what do you think? Do you have a plan? Are you done with your 30 minutes?
Posted in December 2012 30 Minute Movement Challenge | Tagged: 30 Minute Movement Challenge, 30 Minutes In December 2012, 30 minutes of exercise, dance exercise, Dance Workout, December 2012 30 Minute Movement Challenge, lunges, Nia, Nia class, Nia Dance, Nia student, Nia Teacher, Nia workout, running, squats | 6 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on November 29, 2012
In two days it will be December 2012. Wow! The end of the year really seemed to go fast. Like that last half of tank of gas. 🙂 This is the busy time of the year for many of us. There are holiday obligations that might include work and family. There is the weather you might be dealing with. There is all of the days off. There is a lot to deal with. And two things often fall by the wayside during this season. One is eating healthy. With all of the holiday treats around and so much more of food in general, eating more than we might normally and eating differently that we might normally is too easy to do. I say be aware. Don’t graze at the party because it is there and you are not paying attention. Don’t eat something that you normally wouldn’t just because “Tis the Season.” The second thing that gets put away for the month sometimes is exercise or working out. The month is so busy and it is so cold. It is easier to bundle up and sit by the fire. It is easier not to get out of bed early to get some movement in. But let’s not allow that to happen. Let’s make a pact with each other. Let’s move for 30 minutes EVERY DAY in December. My ideal is 30 consecutive minutes, and for you, personally, I would like to have the 30 minutes be consecutive minutes, but I am not going to be picky. It can be 15 and 15 or 10, 10, 10. Just get in 30 minutes. It can be walking, dancing, lifting weights . . . .whatever, just make it MOVING.
Let’s start Saturday, December 1, 2012. Let’s do a challenge, let’s make a pact. Let’s check in here every day. I will schedule a post for midnight Pacific Standard Time. And you all (yes ALL OF YOU!) can just post a quick, “I did my 30!” If you want to tell us WHAT you did great? But let’s just keep moving throughout the entire month. Let’s be a team. A support group. Let’s not let our exercise and workouts and just moving fall down the cracks because it is “that time of year.” Yes, we are all busy, but this is really important. You know exercise actually helps relieve stress yet it is usually one of the first things to get crossed of the schedule where there are a lot of things to do. Let’s not do that this year. Let’s ban together and keep moving.
Two of my regularly scheduled San Jose Nia classes are on Monday and Wednesdays. So we will be doing Nia on Monday, December 24, 2012, Christmas Eve and Wednesday, December 26, 2012, the day after Christmas. AND there is Nia on Monday, December 31, 2012, New Year’s Eve and Wednesday, January 2, 2013! PLUS I just agreed to teach Nia as a substitute class on Mondays AND Thursdays from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm. So I am keeping my regular Nia Class schedule during the Holidays and have added more, so we can keep on dancing. Be sure to check my website for all the dates I will be teaching because when I teach for they City there are center closures. For instance, my Tuesday Nia class is with the City and they are closed on Christmas Day so I won’t be having that class. Do whatever it is you like to do. Do it for 30 minutes. Every day!
What do you say? Who is in?
Posted in December 2012 30 Minute Movement Challenge, Exercise and Working Out | Tagged: 30 minutes a day, Christams 2012, Dancing, December 2012, December challenge, Holidays 2012, Nia, Nia class, support team, walking, weight training | 8 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on November 27, 2012
The Nia Blue Belt has 13 principles as does the Nia White Belt, Nia Brown Belt, and Nia Black Belt. The principles for the Blue Belt were created to layer onto or weave through the Nia White Belt Principles. The 13 Nia Blue Belt Principles are:
1. The Joy of Being In Relationship
2. The Power of Two
3. Awareness, Insight, Clarity
4. Developmental Anatomy
5. The Power of Three
6. Split, Ellipt, Blend
7. Nia Class Format
8. The Power of Silence & Sound
9. Form and Freedom
10. FloorPlay
11. Music, Movement, Magic
12. Observe, Listen, Guide
13. Vertical Routines
Even though I have been introduced to 13 new principles, I can still work with the 13 Nia White Belt Principles. I still have a lot I can learn through them. Nia actually made practicing them easy by creating the Blue Belt principles to weave into the White Belt Principles. The Nia White Belt Principle #1 is The Joy of Movement. 
When Nia creates the principles they create catch phrases and other things to help explain what the principle is about and help people remember the principle and what it is about. One of the things they use as a tool is a triad with words or phrases. The triad for principle #1 in the Nia White Belt is the same as the triad for principle #1 in the Nia Blue Belt. The triad is choose, sensation, and universal joy.
The Nia Blue Belt Principle #1, The Joy of Being In Relationship, the catch phrase is “with”, so you choose, sense the sensation, experience universal joy. You are in relationship with all three in addition to “the other” you are in relationship with. The “other” does not have to be a person, it can be a movement, a body part, a person, a thought, an idea . . . . anything. As an example, you can be in relationship with your hips as they move when you walk. You are not just aware of them, but you are in relationship with. There is communication going on. It is not just you moving them, you are listening, sensing, aware . . . in relationship with. They move and you receive information from them. Maybe you sense them tilting forward. Why? What is that the result of? Can you move them so they are not tilting forward? You ask. They say yes. You move in a way that adjust them. You move on. Energy and information going back and forth between you and “the other”. This is applied to dancing Nia. This is applied to teaching Nia. This is applied to everything. This is applied to life. We choose. We sense. We have the opportunity to experience Universal Joy. We have the opportunity to be in relationship with.
So this is a new idea for me. This is how I am perceiving it today. This is how I am understanding it today. I welcome others who have taken the Blue Belt Intensive to comment. I believe this principle is one of the things that takes practice. It is something that can be played with and experienced. And I actually feel as if my relationship with this principle changes. So, yeah, there will probably more on this as I explore the Joy of Being In Relationship With!
Do you somewhat understand how you can be in relationship with?
Posted in Blue Belt, Nia | Tagged: 13 principles, Awareness, Blend, Clarity, Developmental Anatomy, Ellipt, floorplay, Form and Freedom, Insight, Joy of Movement, Magic, movement, Music, Nia Black Belt, Nia Blue Belt, Nia Brown Belt, Nia class, Nia Class Format, Nia Intensive, Nia relationship, Nia training, Nia White Belt, Split, the joy of being in relationship, Vertical Routines | 7 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on November 24, 2012
Sometimes I don’t even have to try a recipe to be able to use a portion of it. Sometimes I do try the recipe and even though I might not use it again, I gain something from it. A tip, a tactic, a procedure, a trick, ya know . . . . something. Sometimes the process explained in the recipe makes what I am actually doing escape me. What am I talking about, right? Well, I love macaroni and cheese. I don’t eat it often because, well, it is not high on the health-o-meter. I will admit that I love the boxed stuff. I have a box in my pantry for those nights when I just don’t have time to figure out what to eat or I just can’t muster a good healthy answer to: “What am I going to cook for dinner?” Usually I restrict the making of the box of macaroni and cheese to when I have a bell pepper or some broccoli. I add a vegetable to help bring up the nutrients, which is necessary because there really isn’t anything nutritious in that box. I love Kraft’s Three Cheese and Annie’s White Cheddar. I actually can’t tell you when I last had the Kraft one. It does have a lot more chemical’s than Annie’s. Anyway, I was browsing on My Sister’s Pantry when I saw this: “Instant Mac & Cheese Without The Box” I was excited thinking I could have that same taste but without the box.
So I made it. And it doesn’t taste like the boxed kind. It really shouldn’t because it is made with better ingredients and it is fresh, but I was kinda hoping for that familiar box taste. Crazy, I know. The macaroni and cheese from the recipe was good. Both my husband and I loved it, but it is basically a mac and cheese with a roux base. Which I didn’t even THINK about until I tasted it. Yes, I did make it. Yes, I know most people would recognize it as a roux as they were making it, but I didn’t. I was thrown off by the shaking of the milk and the flour. And the shaking (mixing) that is my take away from this recipe.
Mixing the flour and milk in a container. AWESOME shake and pour. No more lumps! Ever! I mean, I can make a roux without lumps but sometimes I am in a hurry or trying to do a few other things and so my roux suffers. I am blessed with a husband who is just happy to have dinner made for him so he never complains about my lumpy white sauce (good boy!). But the flour and milk in a shakable container — brilliant.
I made soup recently in my slow cooker and the recipe was created for a much bigger crock pot. Even though I cut back on some of the ingredients, I still ended up with a way-too-full crock pot. At the last 30 minutes of cooking mark the recipe calls for two cups of milk and a half a cup of flour to be stirred into the pot. And of course, you need to stir until the lumps are gone. I could barely stir much less stir lumps out. I was so happy to have the shake-it-up trick from the mac and cheese recipe. It works so well, I am going to use it for every milk/flour recipe! So even though I probably won’t make that mac and cheese recipe again I have a new trick. Yay!
Do you have any tricks that you use all the time that you learned from a recipe?
Posted in Food | Tagged: Annie's macaroni and cheese, Annie's White Cheddar, crock pot, Instant Mac & Cheese Without The Box, Kraft's macaroni and cheese, lumpy sauce, mac n cheese, macaroni and cheese, My Sister’s Pantry, Recipe Tips, Recipe Tricks, roux, slow cooker | 2 Comments »
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