Posted by terrepruitt on March 21, 2009
I took my first Zumba class recently in Willow Glen (San Jose). I want to say it was fun. The instructor was awesome, just fabulous. She would do the move at least once slow so that we could learn it, then she would crank it up! Now don’t let that scare you. If you have been thinking about taking Zumba, but have been intimidated, don’t worry, it is very similar to Jazzercise, except it is to Latin music. Once you get the “Jazzercise part” down, then you can Zumba it up with all the moves that make it Zumba, like the hip gyrations, the Latin motion, the “Orange Julius”, the shimmy, the shake, the hip bumps, and all the things that make it Latin.
Since I have taken Jazzercise in my past and I am currently practicing Nia, I think I did well. Nia has actually helped me find the confidence to just go into a class and shimmy, shake, and gyrate!
The music is club-pumping loud, but the instructor either shouts above it or uses hand motions to try to get you going the right direction. I honestly hadn’t thought about blogging about it so I wasn’t paying attention to the other participants that much—aside from giving them enough space and trying not to run into them–so I can’t report much there, except they were having a good time. I was so intent on the instructor AND trying to make sure that I was doing it in “my body’s way” that I didn’t focus much on the others. Even though I was in a Zumba class doing Zumba I still wanted to make sure that I was doing what my body needed. So I have to say that the three minute cool down was not enough for me and that I didn’t follow it because I needed to stretch in different ways in order to properly facilitate my cool down and recovery.
As for the rest of the class, it is a great sweat inducing cardio workout. But I didn’t feel as if any of my muscles or my core got any work, but I did get very sweaty jumping around to the music. I want to get two for the price of one, so I want a workout to make me feel as if I have worked my muscles and did some cardio. So, it’s not what I am looking for in a regular workout, but I will probably make it to a class every-once-in-awhile to throw some change into my workout regimen. And like I always say, find something you like and do it. Zumba might be right for you.
Posted in Exercise and Working Out | Tagged: body's way, cardio workout, core, Jazzercise, Latin motion, Latin music, muscle, Muscles, Nia, Nia San Jose, San Jose, Willow Glen, Zumba | 4 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on March 7, 2009
I want to talk to you about Nia™. I was looking for a different form of exercise when somehow (in the vastness that is the internet) I came across Nia. I had never heard of it. It has been around for 25 years. At one point it was known as Non-Impact Aerobics, then it was called Neuromuscular Integrative Action, then at one point it was the Nia Technique, now it is just Nia.
Debbie Rosas and Carlos Rosas created it in the early 1980s from a need and a desire to help people exercise. When I read the book and listen to Carlos, I believe that they wanted more than just traditional exercise because they really wanted to help people feel good. They were being drawn towards something that addresses the whole body.
Nia is a teacher led dance workout that allows you the freedom to get exactly the workout that your body needs. Nia is really awesome because it is done in bare feet to all kinds of music. With the absences of shoes, we are reminded that we do not have to have harsh impact to get a great work out. With Nia, the level of intensity is regulated by the participant. A workout includes movements of all of the 13 major joints and I believe that this is one of the key factors that make people feel so good after they do a Nia workout. Throughout our day we don’t always move each joint as it was built to move, so sometimes they can become stiff. In a Nia class you move them throughout the routine and it helps the balance in the body’s systems.
Nia is similar to Jazzercise in the sense that there are segments or cycles to the routine: warm-up, cardio, strength, floor, and a cool down.
A lot of people just want to go to a workout class and be told what to do, I am going to be honest with you because I want you to enjoy your experience, you need to concentrate a little. What you are concentrating on is not so much what the teacher is doing, but more what you are sensing. You are encouraged to listen to your own body and do what it is telling you it needs. It might not need what the teacher is doing. And with Nia, that is fine.
In a Nia class there is no judgment if you cannot bend, stretch, jump, kick, shout, shimmy, shake, punch, chop, cha-cha-cha, hula, jazz square, modern dance, or anything like your teacher or neighboring participant, because it is all about YOU and whatever you can do. You must seek your own Body’s Way and what gives it pleasure. With Nia you can get a great workout at the same time.
Does your present workout invite you to seek pleasure during your workout?
Posted in Nia | Tagged: bend, body's way, cardio, Carlos Rosas, cha-cha-cha, chop, cool down, cycles, dance, Debbie Rosas, encouraged, exercise, hula, impact, intensity, jazz square, Jazzercise, Jazzercise San Jose, joints, jump, kick, levels, modern dance, Nia, Nia class, Nia Technique, Non-Impact Aerobics, pleasure, punch, segments, shake, shimmy, shout, stiff, stretch, warm-up, workout | 2 Comments »
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