Do you take advantage of the free song that they offer on iTunes. It is a weekly song, but I am not sure when they post it, if it is Monday or Sunday. I don’t always remember to get it, do you? I just now set my calendar to remind me.
I actually haven’t remember that often, I have less than 40 songs, but of those 40 I have six that I absolutely love and listen to over and over. There are more out of the 40 that I like but there are 6 that I think are worth mentioning. And they range across the board and I like them for various reasons. Here they are in no particular order:
Song: Artist:
Neo Violence The Tough Alliance
Mr. Hurricane Beast
Already Home Ha-Ash
Cheater, Cheater Joey & Rory
The Stoop Little Jackie
Wonderful Gary Go
I actually bought the entire Beast CD. It is very moving, I mean, for me, it makes me get up and dance. But not like bounce on your toes disco dance, more like pound-the-ground-get-up-get-down tribal dance or something.
I throw Neo Violence into my Nia routines because it has a very dicernible beat. Very catchy tune. Easy to dance, exercise, and workout too. (So is music from the Beast, but . . . the words might be a bit distracting in a Nia class.)
And the latest is Wonderful by Gary Go, kind of sounds like a lot artists out there now, but I love the words. “Say: ‘I am wonderful.’ You are a miracle.” “Don’t Stop to let it pass you by you gotta look yourself in the eye and say, I am wonderful!” “We are all miracles . . . .we are incredible.” Oh, I just love that!
So, what great find have you downloaded for free off of iTunes? Any you love? Any you would like to tell us about?
Everyone can pretty much go out there and look at all the videos that are posted regarding the Google Wave, but since I have a previous post regarding it, I thought I would add some additional information on my blog that I have since learned. Plus I will link to some of the videos that I have seen.
The first video created by EpipheoStudios.com is a great little explanation of what the wave is. The video is cute. It also sounds like a plea to get an invitation. (Which after watching the Google Wave Overview, I can’t really blame him for begging.)
The next video is from Google and it is almost 8 minutes, but if you watch it, it will have you going, “WHOOOOOAAAAA!”
Here I’ve typed up a summary in case you don’t want to watch the video, but I included a time stamp for each point in case you want to zap to it to see what it is about.
E-mail is 40 years old. Google is trying to “update it”. An e-mail sent is somewhat like a letter. If you send an e-mail to five people there are five copies of the “letter”. But a wave is a “hosted conversation”. There is only one copy and it is in one place. So when people comment on it the comments are stored on one wave and there are not multiple copies floating about. (Time stamp 0:30 of the Google video)
One use could be: You can open a wave to plan a party (Time stamp 0:58). Adding your contacts to the wave allows people to see and comment. You can add a gadget to use it as an invite to a party (Time stamp 1:47) and your invitees can RSVP in the wave. While in the wave you can click on your address which will pop a google map right into your wave (Time stamp 2:19).
After your party, everyone can drag and drop their pictures into the wave (Time stamp 2:39).
You can embed a wave into your blog (Time stamp 3:20)! In an embedded wave comments can be on the blog or the wave (Time stamp 3:35). (UI*)
There is a feature called “Playback” that allows you to see the wave in order of how it was created. So you can see comments added in order even if they were added after a new blip (comment). (Time stamp 4:35)
“Robots” can be added to a wave (Time stamp 5:06). You can tweet and see the people you follow from a wave using a “Robot” (Time stamp 5:25). The video says “Robots can be used to interface with other systems–anything with an API.” (Time stamp 6:41)
There is translation in a wave using Rosy the robot. You can type in English and your contact can receive it in his/her language. (Time stamp 6:49)
*UI = User Interface
Well, if you watched the video, I bet you can see some of the possibilites that the Google Wave has to offer. As the video begins the 80 minute video is mentioned so I am sure that you can imagine there are a lot of other things that wave can do. I will learn about them a little at a time. I am excited about the possibilites.
When I first heard about this I filed it away under “good for big companies”, but as I was watching the video I had some ideas on how I could use it to help grow my business and to help get the word out about Nia. Using the internet to market a local business is very different than using it to market a business where product is shipped or can be downloaded. So this would be a valuable tool . . . . . I can see that now. I am ready to catch the wave!
It really just might be the wave of the future. It is a real time communication tool. Right now it is preview mode – maybe what used to be called beta. You actually have to get an invitation from Google in order to have access to the preview.
Oh, don’t be all jealous, I didn’t get an invitation, I don’t actually have access. I can’t give you first hand screen shots or pictures (which you KNOW I love to do). All I can tell you is that I watched two of their videos and I saw it in action. (SOMEONE I know has it.) I didn’t get to play with it, and that is how I really learn, so bear with me when I try to give you a glimpse of the future wave that is about to wash over us . . . .
This is beyond e-mail and beyond chat. It is beyond whatever type of work sharing program that I have ever seen. It is cool . . . .I think . . . I still need to get my hands on it to see for myself, but the IDEA sounds cool. Well, more accurately, it seems very cool for work situations. I can see how this would have really been awesome when I had a corporate job, but I want to see how it works in the non-corporate-every-day-world.
What is it? Well, from what I understand, it is cloud computing*. The information is stored on a server that people (your contacts) have access to. So instead of e-mail that is downloaded to your computer and instead of web based e-mail which has to be sent and retrieved, it is a bit like chat. Real time. Except with this you can put videos, documents, maps, photos, and text in the “wave”. While you are typing your contact can see it. And, unlike, chat it is recorded, like a . . . .I am not sure what to call it because it can contain documents, videos, text, photos, and maps, so it is recorded like a record of the “meeting” that you had.
Because it is more than a conversation, because like I said (it warrants repeating) it can contain documents, videos, text, photos, and map it can’t really just be called a conversation or an e-mail.
So for example let’s say, you open a wave with a contact and you can start chatting. If you need to you can add a document or whatever. Then you realize that you should have included another contact so you add that person. Well, that person missed half the “conversation”, but . . . . (whoa!) he can go back and re-play it. And it will appear on his computer as it happened. He will see the first portion of the wave, all the way through to the last. If he misses something or wants to jump ahead, there is a scrub bar.
So it can be real time communication and collaboration or people can play it when they need to catch up. It is like an e-mail but organized so it actually makes sense. And to properly use it people could add their two cents into it right where they needed to, or add a document or a video or a photo right in the middle where it might actually make sense, and then there wouldn’t be that annoying forgetting to “reply to all” that we all have either done ourselves or been the non/recipient of.
Whew. It does so much and it is difficult to explain. When it was first explained to me, I was not having any of it. Then when I saw it in action I changed my mind. But I still want to try it as a “layman”, I am not corporate so I am not convinced it has its uses for those of use that don’t have jobs and “teams” to collaborate with.
I am way over my self-imposed word limit and I didn’t even get to tell you some of what I learned. Sigh . . . another blog perhaps.
*Cloud computing is the provision of dynamically scalable and often virtualised resources as a service over the Internet on a utility basis.
Recently I had a friend over and she made me laugh so hard. I was making popcorn for us and she kept saying things like, “If this works . . . .” “I can’t wait to see if this works.” “Are you sure this is going to work out?” It made me laugh. I had a pot and I made a HUGE bowl of popcorn. I didn’t take pictures at the time because I didn’t think I would blog about it, but then I made some more the other day and it reminded me that popcorn can be a healthy snack.
Ever cooked it on the stove?
I use a pot that will net me as much popcorn as I want. Remember a little pot will still net you a lot of popcorn. Since I use different size pots I don’t measure per se.
Pour enough olive oil in the bottom of the pot to cover from 1/2 to 3/4 of the bottom. You don’t want so much oil that the whole bottom of the pot is covered, then you will just end up with oily popcorn.
Let the oil get hot. Then pour enough popcorn in to fill the bottom. I usually let it make about two “layers”. Then put the lid on.
I realized that I was not good at making popcorn in a pot until I got pots and pans with glass lids. I always wanted to SEE if the popcorn is popping, so I would lift the lid. And that would take the heat out of the pot and the popcorn would burn before it popped. But with a glass lid I can let all the heat build up in the pot, which allows the heat to build up in the kernel and then POP!
I DO move the pot around, shaking it. I have a glasstop so I lift the pot up to shake it, but if you have a stove that you can move your pot around while it is still on the heat that is even better.
HAVE A BOWL READY! Because once the pot gets full and the popcorn starts pushing the lid off you need to start pouring. So just keep putting the popcorn in the bowl, return the pot to the stove, let more popped corn fill the pot, pour, pop, pour, pop. You might be able to turn the stove off in between that, it all depends on your stove and your pot, but you will get the hang of it after a couple of times.
Re-reading this before I post makes me want popcorn. Do you like popcorn? How do you cook it?
After I am done, I just salt it, I don’t use butter. But if you do, you can just melt it in the pot you just used to cook the popcorn. And if you do use butter, the calories and the fat content of the snack does go up. But, I think that butter is better than the “butter” they use at the theater. What is that stuff? Ewww.
Know what a BOSU is? It is a piece of exercise equipment. Picture a stability ball, you know those round ones full of air that you can sit on? Picture that cut in half with a plastic “cap” on the flat side. It is very versatile. It can be used for a variety of exercises and it can be used on either side. The flat side can be placed on the ground so you are working on the rounded side or you can place the rounded side on the ground and do your work on the flat side.
Either way–depending on what you are doing–you are going to be challenging your stabilizing muscles in addition to the muscles you are exercising. That is a great way to get more muscles working during your workout, burn more calories, and make you a more strong and stable body.
You can stand on either side (the flat side or the rounded side) and do dumbbell work: biceps curls, shoulder presses, upright rows, lateral and rear deltoid raises, bent over rows, etc.
You can lie on either side (the flat side or the rounded side) and do dumbbell chest presses, supine triceps extensions, curls, crunches, and sit-ups to name just a few.
Using either side you can do push-ups, mountain climbers, or add it to your burpee.
With push-ups you can either put your feet on it or hold it with your hands.They can also be used for cardio work. They can be jumped on and off of, they can be used for lunges, or as I mentioned before, they can be used for mountain climbers and burpees.
I think they might be a favorite of personal trainers because there is so much you can do with it.
To me they are a little easier to store than a stability ball because they take up less space, but unlike a ball they won’t really challenge your muscles just by sitting on them. But as I mentioned above you can use them for a lot of different exercises and they will add an additional challenge to almost any workout routine. I think I have see them in the Target by my house in San Jose, so I am sure you can buy them at Targets or stores where they sell sports equipment/exercise equipment.
As with any exercise equipment you use and as with any exercise you do–caution is required.
Here is the bow stance. Now there are a lot of practices and movement arts that do the bow stance—at least I knew it before I came to Nia, so . . . please keep in mind that I am presenting it as one of the Nia 52 Moves because we do it in Nia and that is what I teach primarily.
I consider this somewhat of a deep bow. One does not need to come down this low. Usually with the bow stance we are placing a leg back, placing the ball of our foot on the ground and leaving the heel up. But there are times when we will step forward into a bow stance. Even if we are stepping forward into the bow stance, we are leaving the heel of the foot that is in the back off the ground. It is somewhat like a lunge, but the back foot remains on the ball of the foot.
The bow stance can be deep or not, and it can be a stance that we move quickly into or out of or a stance where we settle in and move our arms. It all depends on the music and the workout routine. It is great exercise for increasing balance and strength in the core and lower body.
Keep in mind that the feet are not in line. There is stability by keep the apart, at least hip joint distance apart.
A friend recently sent me this via e-mail. There are serveral sites that have it. This is not new or original, but I thought it was cool, so I wanted to share it.
I know it has nothing to do with Nia, or working out, or exercise, or even health but I thought it was cool. I like stuff like this.
Step back from your monitor to see Marilyn Monroe.
When I was getting the picture I was adjusting the size and I found out the bigger the picture the further away you have to stand.
I like this. Do you?
In case you would like to know*:
Albert Einstein
• Born: 14 March 1879
• Birthplace: Ulm, Germany
• Died: 18 April 1955 (heart failure)
• Best Known As: Creator of the theory of relativity
Marilyn Monroe
• Born: 1 June 1926
• Birthplace: Los Angeles, California
• Died: 4 August 1962 (drug overdose)
• Best Known As: Hollywood’s most famous blonde sex symbol
I always say that people need to find an exercise they like and do it. This is really important because if you like it, you are more likely to do it consistently. Hopefully your favorite exercise is aerobic. If it is not, and you are interested in being healthy, then you have to buck up and do something aerobic anyway, whether you like it or not. The heart is a muscle and it needs exercise just like all of our other muscles. Our respiratory system benefits from aerobic exercise.
From the American Heart Association website:
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the No. 1 killer in America.
Lack of physical activity is a risk factor for coronary heart disease.
An aerobic activity or what is now being called “cardio” is required for cardiorespiratory fitness. Cardiorespiratory fitness is the most important factor when it comes to living a long and high quality life. How well your lungs and heart function affects everything you do. The better your lungs and heart are at getting oxygen rich blood to the parts of your body that need it, the better you will feel and be able to move.
And according to Science News:
Persons with higher levels of cardiorespiratory fitness have a lower risk of all-cause death
And this post kind of ties in with my previous 30 Minutes Per Day post, but I am trying to emphasize getting your heart pumping. I also wanted to point out that doing so — getting your heart pumping — does not require jumping or impact of any kind. You can get your heart rate up by just bending down at the knees and coming back up fast enough and long enough to get your heart working. Impact is not required, but intensity is.
A lot of people don’t like to do “cardio” because it is boring or uncomfortable, but it does not have to be . . . again . . . find something you like. There is all kinds of stuff out there. If you are reading this and are wanting something new or different to try in the area of cardio and you want some ideas, contact me and we can do some brainstorming. There is something out there that you will love.
From the healing arts, we use moves and ideals from Yoga. As with all the movement forms incorporated into Nia, Nia does not claim to be practicing Yoga. It is understood that years of studying and practice can be involved in the practice of Yoga, and Nia respects that, that is why I say that we “use move and ideals”. Nia recognizes the benefits that can result from Yoga and with that does its best to utilize some of its amazing power. Nia calls Yoga “The Conscious Dance of Alignment”.* It helps with the proper alignment of the bones. It also assists in increasing flexibility for all fitness levels.
We use the aspects of Yoga to help find balance in the body. In Nia we can also call upon the focus that is evident in Yoga.
The White Belt Manual 3/2001 V3 states:
Witness the value this form provides to increasing and restoring the natural flow of energy throughout the entire body. Recognize the specific principles that help to clear and calm the mind, bring balance to the nervous system, improve breath and posturing, and strengthen specific body parts. Acknowledge the way Yoga unifies the body, mind, spirit, and emotional being, and how the internal, core body becomes soft and supple to provide real “energy” strength from the inside out.
So we might do some exercises of twists, bends, and poses in our workout, it is to help increase strength, flexibility, alignment and our conscious connection.
The breathing in Nia reminds me more of Pilates than to Yoga. We inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth, often times sounding. I have not participated in a Yoga class that does chanting or is vocal so that is why I am reminded more of Pilates than Yoga.
Many of Nia’s teachers are also Yoga instructors or they attend Yoga classes. I sometimes attend a Yoga class in San Jose. The two forms of movement are a great compliment to each other.
***V3 of The Nia Technique – White Belt Manual by Debbie Rosas and Carlos Rosas
I believe that I cannot say it enough. Nia can be a lot of things. It can be a workout where you just go to class to move, dance, and have fun or it can be a practice, like Yoga. In the practice you can look at some of the elements that make up Nia and work and play with them. One of the movement practices of Nia is the Nia 5 Stages.
I think of the Nia 5 Stages as a practice because you can do it as often as you like and each time you do it you will sense improvement where your body can use improvement or “self-healing“. And you can even do the 5 Stages with an actual focus on improving something. I am experimenting with it. Since I recently just took the training and want to share it with others in a class format and in one-on-one sessions, I am experimenting with multiple aspects of it. In addition to the DVD and CD that was part of my training, I am using my iPhone to assist me in my experimentation.
I have two applications on my iPhone that I am using. The first one is iDicto. It is a simple recording application. In teaching the Nia 5 Stages we use voice, language, and imagery to allow the participants to move through the stages in their own way. By recording my scripts into my iPhone I am able to do a lot of things, two of which are:
—–I am able to check all of the different points of my speaking that I need to learn and work on, for instance the timing of my speaking
—–I am able to play back my recordings and use them just as I do the CD and the DVD that I received with my training, as if I were taking a Nia 5 stages class
The other application I use is Chronology. First of all let me remind you that I am experimenting with the 5 Stages. So I am doing it different ways. One way is to do each stage until your body tells you to move onto the next stage. Another way is to do each stage for a minute. Now, while I am doing the 5 Stages I don’t want to be looking at the clock and I am not good at sensing when a minute is up, so that is where I LOVE Chronology. It allows me to set up six different timers. I set one up for six minutes, one for five minutes, one for four minutes, one for three minutes, one for two minutes, and one for one minute.
Then I start them all and I begin my practice by just just relaxing. After a minute, the timer goes off and I move into the first stage, then went the next time goes off, I move into the next stage and so on. This way I know that am spending a minute in each stage. After doing each stage for a minute, I can adjust each timer for any amount of time I would like.
This is just ONE way of doing it. It is up to you if you want to do a timed stage or do it more naturally and move from one stage to the next when you are ready. As I said, I am experimenting and trying all different ways to do it. I think when I do it without a timer I spend more time on the first stage. But I don’t know, I am not being timed. 🙂
What really makes me laugh is I do find myself thinking, “There really IS an (iPhone) application for everything.”
This is just one way to do the Nia 5 Stages. When I acquired these applications they were free. Looks like Chronology is $2.99 now, but I bet you can find one for free that does the same thing. It needs to be able to allow you to set up multiple timers (at least 5) and run them all at once. And I did a search for iDicto and I don’t see it at all, but there are a lot of recording applications. And I am sure you can find one that is perfect for you.
If you are interested in learning more about the Nia 5 Stages please let me know. I am very excited to share this easy to do “exercise” that will allow you to move with ease and grace.
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