Posted by terrepruitt on February 16, 2010
You can look up “core muscles” and find that different people include different muscles in the group considered the “core muscle group”. But unless you are going to get that specific and train just one muscle in the group then you really don’t need to figure out which person is right. It would serve you just as well to do a variety of exercises that strengthen your “core” and more than likely you are going to be working the various different sets that the different people are including in the “core muscle group”. What can help is to think of the “core” not just as the abdominals. That is very limiting. If you think of the core as center from which you need to be strong and stable then you will possibly have a larger picture of what the core is and understand that it is more than just your abdominals.
You need a strong center to be stable and balanced while you are manipulating your limbs. If you keep that in mind you might realize that it is the back of your body as well as the front AND extending further down your legs than you first might have realized.
Doing a variety of crunches and sit-ups, including V-sit-ups and side crunches, will work your abdominals. Wood chops help with the entire trunk area. Push-ups are great because they require you to keep your abs tight for a great workout of them.
Bridges (lying on the floor and pushing your pelvis up), work the lower back muscles as well as the hips and glutes.
Lunges are great because they work your quadriceps and glutes. If you put some trunk twist into it with or without a weight you are adding another dimension to it and getting your trunk area.
Squats can help as they get the quads and glutes too.
Exercises that require you to balance yourself are going to help you with all those stabilizing muscles. These will strengthen your “core” as well as keeping it trained and at the ready for you when you need them to stabilize you.
So, do you really need to know that in a squat you are using your multifidus and quadratus lumborum (among other muscles) or does it just help to know that if you do them you are strengthening muscles that will assist you in having a strong a stable core? I believe it is good just to think about the “core muscles” as being the groups and groupings of muscles from the top of your chest down to your knees, front and back.
Posted in Core Muscles, Muscles | Tagged: abdominals, balance exercises, bridges, core muscle group, Core Muscles, cunches, glutes, hips, lower back muscles, lunges, push-ups, quardriceps, sit ups, stabilizers | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on February 13, 2010
We have a certain expectation of things in the United States. We have the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) that regulates Biologics, Cosmetics, Drugs, Foods (except meat and poultry), Medical Devices, and Veterinary Products so we expect a level of safety. Did you know that supplements are NOT required to be tested and/or approved by the FDA? There are NO “clinical trials” or safety inspection administered by the FDA that a supplement is required to pass. Most supplements aren’t even required to be so much as registered.
An Act was signed into law back in 1984 by President Clinton, the Dietary Supplemental Health and Education Act (DSHEA) that makes the supplement manufacture responsible for self regulation. The supplement manufacture is to make sure the product is safe and pure, with NO policing. No one checks on them. This is a $27 Billion business (it could be more that figure is the only one I could find and it is from 2007–three years old).
There are rules about the labeling and so they are “supposed” to be truthful in their labeling. The FDA steps in where there is a problem (as in reported deaths or mass illnesses), but there is no testing done by the FDA to ensure anything about the supplement before it is marketed and used by the public.
I just find that so amazing. I wanted to share it with you because even though I know this, I still forget. I would think that if you are concerned enough about your health and wellness that you want to take a supplement, I would check with your doctor to see if you really even need to be taking a supplement. They are expensive and you might be getting all the nutrition you need from your diet. That is actually the best way, but I understand that it not always possible. I would advise people to be careful. I would suggest that one way to be careful would be to buy supplements that are manufactured by trusted companies. I like to think that a well known, well trusted company is going to produce a safe quality product.
Posted in Misc | Tagged: diet, dietary supplements, FDA, health, nutrition, nutrition supplement, President Clinton, supplements, wellness | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on February 11, 2010
Nia has been around for 26 years now, and I believe it is a company and a practice that will be around for a long time to come. Companies that survive they survive by changing, by growing and by adjusting. Nia is in a big adjustment phase right now.
They have adjusted the Nia White Belt Principle #11 from “Business and Marketing” to “Creating A Sacred Livelihood”. This adjustment is to help principle number 11 be more in alignment with the body centeredness that is the core of the White Belt.
But even though the name might sound a little different than other current courses of business that have surfaced recently, its not. It is pretty much in keeping with the trend that is right now. That is one thing I love about Nia. It really is not anything new, so it is not as if you are having to accept a handful of new ideas and “woo-woo” thinking, it is pretty much the same stuff that all “authentic” “live your truth” marketing people are preaching at this time.
Ya know, have a philosophy and a purpose. Know that your purpose is alive so that is will be allowed to flex, change, and grow.
In addition there is the “social purpose enterprise” aspect . . . believing that we are contributing to a higher purpose.
Its the way Nia packages things is that help make it unique. With this adjustment to the principle we are taking “Business and Marketing” and making it more personal. The woman that came up with this, Karri Winn, spent over 4 years doing so. And from the video* made of the presentation it is evident. She is so comfortable talking about it and sharing it, you can tell she has lived with it for a while. She connected business to “me”, which assist with goes right back to the body centeredness, as I mentioned. Making it about “me” as in my life is an extension of my body is how it relates to the body-centeredness. Then using Nia to help us achieve our purpose. And with all of that together we will be able to create a livelihood.
Pretty exciting stuff!
As I said in my last post, for me, Nia is a journey.
Here is an article on the Nia Now site regarding Creating A Sacred Livelihood. (The article is no longer available on the Nia site.)
Posted in Nia, Nia White Belt Principles | Tagged: body centered, Business and Marketing, Livelihood, Nia, Nia White Belt, Sacred Livelihood | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on February 9, 2010
Nia is a workout, and a great one at that. It is fun and interesting. We get to play and move our bodies and work our muscles. Our exercise consists of all types of movements.
Presently I teach at two facilities. I teach in San Jose at a dance studio where I rent time by the hour. And I teach at a city recreation department. Here is a picture of my class. This is my San Carlos City Park and Recreation class. This is not all of them, but the ones that were there a few minutes before class.
I took this picture because I wanted to document this. I am posting it on my blog because I want to document this and share it.
For me, Nia is a workout, but it is more. It is a journey. I am learning a lot with these ladies. I am learning a lot with this space. I am learning a lot on this particular path of my journey and I wanted to have record of it.
I asked for permission to post this, but I didn’t get anything signed so I will not be naming anyone, but we are having fun. These ladies are on a Nia journey with me too.
We are starting a new session next week, and I have agreed to do more after that, but this one is special because it is the first one. The first one for me, the first one for San Carlos, and the first one for a lot of these women. I have been contacted by some men and hope to have them in our future sessions, but for now it is just us girls.
I am posting this to remember and honor these wonderful women who are on a wonderful journey with me. Cheers to us!
Posted in Nia | Tagged: muscle exercise, Nia, Nia class, Nia exercise, Nia journey, Nia San Jose, Nia studio, Nia workout, San Carlos, San Carlos Workout, San Jose Dance Studio, San Jose Nia, San Jose Nia class, San Jose Workout, teach Nia | 4 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on February 6, 2010
Nia is a technique that starts with fitness and ends with comprehensive healing of the body, mind, spirit, and emotions.
Nia is to exercise what holistic medicine is to health care. It has many different components that help many different conditions such as asthma, depression, and pregnancy. Nia is movement as medicine.
Nia is an advanced form of fusion fitness—the combining of classic movement forms. It encompasses the martial arts. The healing arts (including yoga), and dance. The combination creates a synergy that no isolated technique can match.
Nia is a cardiovascular program that uses whole-body, expressive, grounded movement, rather than repetitive jogging or lifting.
Nia is adaptable to every level of fitness, every age and type of body, even those with special limitations.
Nia is a worldwide fitness movement with more than twenty six years of technical advancement.
Nia is a non intimidating way of appreciating your body—indeed yourself—in class, or in the privacy of your own home.
Nia is effective and fun.
Nia is the Body’s Way, a new way of being and living in your body.
This information is taken from The Nia Technique book authored by Debbie Rosas and Carlos Rosas
Posted in Nia | Tagged: body's way, Body-mind, dance, health care, holistic exercise, Nia, Nia Dance, Nia fitness, Nia Technique, Yoga | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on February 4, 2010
I always get questions about the Nia Routines. Are teachers given the routines? Do teachers make up their own routines? How many routines are there? And more. In this post I’ll just cover those three questions.
At the time of this writing there are 18 Nia routines showing on the teacher website for purchase. I know in the 26 years that Nia has been around there have been a lot more. I believe back when Nia started having routines, music rights and all that big business part of music was not an issue. Now, I think, that portion of life has affected Nia and the routines. I think they had to remove some from sale.
A routine is group of songs. I think 8 to 10 is the average, but it depends on the length of the songs. An average Nia workout class is about 55 minutes, give or take a few minutes. At the time of this post Carlos and Debbie were the creators of the routines.
As a teacher, we purchase a routine which includes a DVD disc, a music CD, and an information pamphlet. It is an amazing piece of educational material. This post is not about the fabulous package of material we receive or about learning the routine, it is just general information about Nia routines. But whenever I talk about the Nia routine packages I feel compelled to exclaim how wonderful they are. I will save the explanation of them for another post.
Teachers are encouraged to use their own creativity when leading a routine. Nia routines are very well thought out and put together. It is my understanding that with higher belt levels choreography is discussed, but with White Belts, Nia encourages them to use the routines that Nia has created. But at the same time we are encouraged to do the katas to different music than we are given.
With the encouragement of using our own creativity, I believe comes the impression that we can do things in Natural Time and to me, that means we can adjust routines. A kata might be less aerobic, but if we want to help make it more so we can add cha-cha-chas in place of a regular step, or just do fast side steps instead of a grapevine.
In addition to changing simple steps we are empowered with all of the different Movement Forms. When we employ the energies of the different movement forms they can change the routine dramatically.
I do mix up the katas from various routines to “create” new routines. To me this gives the participants a feeling of doing something new, yet at the same time they are moving to familiar patterns. Or once, I had an out of town friend attending my classes, after the first class, she admitted she couldn’t do turns. Well, if she were going to be my student for any length of time, you know I would put those in and work with her on them, but since she was only going to be in one more class, I put together katas that didn’t have turns so she would enjoy her workout more.
When I do mix it up, I make certain I adhere to the seven cycles of Nia. I also try to make it a well-rounded routine. I love it when I put something together and afterwards the class says, “Ahhh, I really liked that routine, what was it?”
I hope this helped to answer some of the questions about Nia routines. Please let me know if you have other question.
I am going to continue to you invite you, my reader to a Nia class. If you are ever visiting the San Jose/South Bay Area or you are local to me, please, come to one of mine :-). If you are not local, look up a class near you and try Nia in your area.
Posted in Nia | Tagged: aerobic class, aerobic exercise, Carlos AyaRosas, Carlos Rosas, Debbie Rosas, kata, Natural Time, Nia Belts, Nia choreography, Nia class, Nia Natural Time, Nia routines, Nia San Jose, Nia teachers, Nia White Belt, Nia workout, Nia workout class, San Jose Nia, San Jose Nia class, San Jose Workout, seven cycles of Nia, White Belt, workout class in San Jose | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on February 2, 2010
Weighted Hand Gloves from Beachbody
I have heard people ask about this a few times. Sometimes people want to wear ankle weights or wrist weights while in a Nia class. I personally would strongly recommend against this. Nia is not like other types of movement forms, where you can wear weights. In Turbo Jam for example, Chalene Johnson is wearing weights in one of the workouts. And her crew is wearing them in other workouts but the movements in the Turbo Jam workouts are different. They are very linear. When you move in lines the chance of injury is less. Chalene’s workouts are designed to be done with weights and even then she cautions on using the correct weight and using them carefully. In Nia we move in spirals, circles, we bend, we stretch, we practice falling off balance in order to practice catching ourselves. With weights added to that it could be dangerous.
In Nia we do have punches and kicks which are linear and could possibly be done with weights, but in our routines right after a punching sequence we might have a spiral spinal movement where we use our hands to help activate our spine and this is the type of movement that could easily lead to injury if there were extra weight on our hands/wrists.
I also think since Nia is so body centered weights would interfere with the connection to the body. While you could sense the sensation of weight on your wrist it does not seem the same as connecting to your own body without the added weight. I believe one of the purposes of Nia or one of the exciting aspects of Nia is that we strive to learn to sense what our body’s messages are. What does our body FEEL like . . . not our feelings, but our sensations. And if we add weights to that is could be distracting. It could keep us from being able to truly sense the different energies that we are bringing into the workout.
As an example, and I have stated something like this before, if you move your arm gently you could say it is energize with Duncan Dance or Modern Dance. If you do the same movement, but apply the energies from one of the Martial Arts the sensation would be entirely different. Yet with a weight attached to your wrist it might be difficult to go back and forth between the gentle and the strong. The message being transmitted from the limb would be very different with a weight attached. To me it would seem as if the connection was to the weight and not my body.
So, my conclusion and recommendation when it comes to using weights and Nia is: don’t do it. The risk of injury is too great, plus, I believe you would miss out on one of the fundamentals of Nia and that is connecting to the body . . . . YOUR body.
Posted in Nia | Tagged: ankle weights, body centered, Chalene Johnson, Dance Workout, Duncan Dance, martial arts, modern dance, Nia, Nia class, Nia workouts, Turbo Jam, Turbo Jam workouts, weights, wrist weights | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on January 30, 2010
One thing about a blog on WordPress, I can see search terms. My blog statistics show me terms used in a search that led people to my blog. One thing I noticed was bow stance came up a lot in the search terms. People want to know what it is, how to do it, what is it for, etc.
So I thought I would post another post on the Bow Stance. I am familiar with the stance from other exercises and other exercise classes. It is not unique to Nia, but Nia includes it in the Nia 52 Moves. I feel it can be compared to a lunge.
The bow stance is one leg bent with the foot flat on the ground, the other leg is bent and out behind with the heel lifted and the ball of the foot on the ground. The feet are not aligned, so if you were to bring your back foot forward it would not collide with the foot in front. Can you picture it? It is kind of like a lunge.
The Nia Technique book states that the benefits are conditioning for walking and dealing with changing levels as the body’s center moves up and down.
My feelings about the bow stance are that it is great for working out the lower body and for practicing balance.
The bow stance can be done with many variations. The typical bow stance is that described above, but, when the feet are place wider apart as if on two railroad ties the stance actually becomes more stable, but if you add moving arms to that it become less stable. If you were to raise and lower your entire body, it changes the dynamics yet again. If you were to add motion to the hips, it changes it again. If you were to place the back foot further back it changes it again. Another way to challenge the muscles is to change which foot holds the weight, leaning the weight to the front or to the back.
This stance is used a lot in Nia routines and I imagine that is because it is such a great exercise and it can be used so many different ways. It fits into many different songs and adds to the dance. Sometimes we move in and out of it quickly, sometimes we stay and play. It is a great movement.
Previously I mentioned it being good for the lower body that is because you can see how it is very good for the feet and ankles too. When the back foot it resting on the ball of the foot, it helps with both strength and flexibility of the foot. When movement is added to the stance it helps with both strength and flexibility of the ankle.
So we answered the question originally stated:
—the bow stance is somewhat like a lunge
—one foot is in front flat on the ground, the other is in back with the heel up, both legs are bent
—it helps with strength, balance, and flexibilty
I hope that helps. If you have anything to add or ask, please do so. And, as always thank you for stopping by. If you want to see how the bow stances is added to a dance workout and you want to try it yourself, join me in a class.
Posted in 52 Moves (of Nia), Nia | Tagged: balance exercise, Bow Stance, Dance Workout, exercise class, flexibility exercise strength exercise, Nia, Nia class, Nia exercise class, Nia routines, stability exercise, The Nia Technique, Wordpress blog, workout class | 8 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on January 28, 2010
I am not a Twitter expert. I’ve said that before. I learn something everyday. I have learned a few things and I thought I would share them with you since some of the people that read this are actually new to Twitter.
Twitter allows 140 characters. My advice:
1—When you tweet a link to something, give a little explanation of what readers will find once they click that link. If not a description, some words that might give them a clue as to what kind of link it is. As an example, “I love animal videos.” or “Don’t you love dance videos?” or “Here’s an article on fitness.”
2—If you want to type something along with your link you might want to use something that shortens the link. I use TinyURL.com or bit.ly. The link can be copied into the site and the site shortens it for you, and you copy and past it into your tweet.
Some programs like HootSuite and TweetDeck have “shorten links” built into them. On HootSuite you have to copy the link into the field (highlighted in the picture in pink) and click “Shrink It’. With TweetDeck you can opt to have links shorten automatically (see the little box next to “Auto Shorten URLs?”).
HootSuite
TweetDeck
Which brings me to #3.
3—Sometimes you might not want to shorten a link. Sometimes I don’t like to shorten the link because the link itself helps explain what the user will see when they click on it. Or I want people to see the name of my blog (http://terrepruitt.com) or the name of my website (http://www.helpyouwell.com/). I think it is good to put the names out there so people can remember it.
I believe there are reasons to shorten and reason not to, but, if you never knew you could shorten you wouldn’t be making a decision for yourself, right? So I am sharing with you here.
4—Don’t send auto DMs* when someone follows you. Even when you try to make them look personal, they are not. Everyone knows it. Especially when you are following the person because they followed you first, then you get a DM that says, “I’ll follow you back.” Uh, yeah, right.
Anyway, these are just a couple of things that have come up recently with new Twitter users so I thought I would share it with you. What URL shortening program or site do you use? Are you an auto DMer? Thanks for stopping by.
*DM = Direct Message
Posted in Twitter | Tagged: animal videos, Auto DMs, dance, dance fitness, Direct Message, fitness, Help You Well, helpyouwell.com, Hootsuite, Terre Pruitt, TerrePruitt.com, TweetDeck, Twitter, Twitter expert | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on January 26, 2010
Edamame. I first learned of edamame about 25 years ago. I was working at a mortgage company and one of the secretaries (that’s what they were called back then) introduced us. I can’t even remember where we had it whether it was a restaurant or if she made it, but I have loved it ever since. And that was before I knew it was a complete protein* or that it has isoflavones**.
I like it served warm, salted, and in the pods so you can pop the soybeans out into your mouth. It is fun.
I stopped by sushi restaurant tonight for a friend’s birthday on my way home from my San Carlos Nia class and since I don’t eat sushi I had a whole bowl of edamame. Yum. Perfect for after teaching.
I don’t really think of edamame as low in fat, but I do think of it as high in protein.
A 1/2 cup of in-the-pod edamame is about 75 calories, 7 grams of carbohydrates, 6 grams of protein, and 2 grams of fat and 3 grams of fiber.
I don’t often think of eating them on salads, but when I get a salad that has the soybeans on them, I really like it. Once I had a vegetable dish with them in it. I really liked that, but forget to do it myself. I usually just eat them out of the pods. But there are so many other ways you can eat them. I need to remember to add them to salads or put them in with other vegetables to make a vegetable medley.
Do you like edamame? Do you like it served hot or cold? What do you do with edamame, do you add it to other dishes? Do you have edamame recipes?
Writing about it makes me want more.
*complete protein -contains all eight essential amino acids in appropriate quantity
**isoflavones – antioxidants that are believed to have health benefits
Posted in Food, Vegetables | Tagged: antioxidants, complete protein, edamame, edamame recipes, isoflavones, Nia, Nia class, San Carlos Nia | 4 Comments »
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