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: Art of Sensation, Authentic Self, Carlos AyaRosas, Do Your Best, Four Agreements, Nia, Nia 2023, Nia Energy Allies, Nia training, Principles of the Nagual, speak with impeccability | Leave a Comment »
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
Posted in Nia | Tagged: aerobics exercise class, Art of Sensation, barefoot exerise, Debbie Rosas, Neuromuscular Integrated Action, Nia, Non-Impact Aerobics, Practice | Leave a Comment »
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.
Posted in Nia | Tagged: Art of Sensation, Debbie Rosas, Facebook, marketing, new material, Nia, Nia posts, Nia training, Nia White Belt, Nia White Belt Principles, self development, self development business, self improvement, somatic movement, teacher training, training manual, Triads | Leave a Comment »
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