Many types of certifications require continued education. Some jobs require it. In many cases even if it is the employer that requires it, the employee has to pay for it. In the fitness industry there are other expenses that the fitness professional must bear in addition to anything it cost to keep their certifications current. One is insurance and there maybe others, but another one that comes to mind is the cost of a business license. I am just bringing this up because I spent a few hours today taking classes for a required re-certification for one of my employers. Since I was busy doing that I didn’t have any time to let my “creative juices” flow in order to come up with a blog post, so I was going to share some of the things I reviewed today. One thing about fitness classes for re-certification it is often a repeat of information, but I usually pick up at least one new thing. Here I am going to just share the training entity’s general idea from one of the classes I took today.
The training was basically saying that it has now been proven and continues to be proven as science delves more into many aspects of the body – that the body needs rest. The body cannot operate efficiently without rest. The idea was “Working In” versus “Working Out”. So working out is what you may typically think of as working out; running, lifting weights, HIIT, a typical cardio dance class. To put it simply, something that gets your heart rate up, stresses the body, and is a big output of energy. The idea of working in is a more relaxed type of exercise, say, Tai Chi, walking, easy yoga, stuff that is more mellow, doesn’t actually stress the body out, and is more about energy moving in.
The thought process is that we have so much stress in our everyday life, there are times when a hard workout is NOT what the body needs. And not just the physical aspect of the body but our mind. Since the body does not know the difference between scary bad stress and exercising stress, it is good to give it a rest. And a rest could be doing nothing or doing their idea of a “work in”.
I think most people know that in order to build a muscle it needs to be stressed, but it also needs to rest. It actually grows during the rest NOT during the period of time when it is under stress. When the muscle does not get rest it will not grow and it cannot strengthen and that is when the risk of injury occurs. So . . . . it seems logical that sometimes the body needs to rest in order for it to be able to work at its best.
The body is so amazing. It can heal itself and adapt. But in order to do both it needs some time to rest.
It is so nice that studies/science are now starting to “prove” this idea because it is so very important. And so many people, cultures even, have known this for so long . . . it is nice that science is finally agreeing so maybe more people will start listening and take advantage of “working in”.
What about you? Do you take “rest days”? Do you do “mellow” workouts – things that might be deemed as “working in”?
So you may know that I teach a cardio dance exercise called Nia. It includes Martial Arts (such as Tae Kwon Do), Dance Arts (such as jazz dance), and Healing Arts (such as yoga). It is body centered. Basically, it has many facets and can explained many different ways, but it is best for one to see for themselves what it really is. So I call it a cardio dance exercise. That lets people know that they will be dancing and getting a cardio workout. It clues them into the fact that if they move, they will sweat. The rest they just have to experience. One thing we do in Nia is we move around the room. It is great to experience the world from other perspectives and just moving away from your regular dance spot in your dance class can help you do that. Sometimes when we move from our regular spots we are moving around the room in FreeDance . . . perhaps taking up as much space as possible, moving about the entire room or dancing in all the corners. Sometimes when we move from our regular spots we dance in a “bundle”. Nia is also about community so this really helps exhibit that. We dance in a group, in a bundle, as a community.
There is a particular kata in which I remember the training DVD to have encouraged us to dance close, as stated, in a bundle. So I always try to get people to get close. I suggest we all move gently in the tight bundle. I ask that everyone move through the middle of the bundle at least once. I also propose that people make eye contact. This is something I usually say to remind myself. I am getting better at doing so. I used to always look down, but now we are eyeing each other.
During one class I stepped outside of the bundle to turn up the music and thought it would be a great time to snap a photo. As you can see our little Nia community is great at doing the Nia Bundle. We always speculate as to what people who might see us would think when we have this large wonderful dance floor and we are all in the middle dancing. We also laugh about elbows and toes, acknowledging that you might run into one and being very careful not to step on the other. I believe the Nia Bundle is one of the things that makes Nia unique.
If you have read some of my other posts before, this one might sound pretty familiar as I wrote about the Nia Bundle in my post Dancing Close. This post pretty much explores the same information, but with this one there are pictures.
Not every Nia routine’s choreography contains a Nia Bundle . . . but a Nia teacher can use a Nia Bundle anytime. Since it is such a fun way to dance in community we might just sneak it in whenever we want. I tend to stick to using it when we dance the particular song that Carlos choreographed the Nia Bundle in . . . .but ya never know, since my students are so good at it, I might start using it more.
I teach a cardio dance exercise called Nia. It is dance, it is exercise, it is a cardio workout. It is done to music. Nia teachers pay a licensing fee and included in that are routines. The Nia Technique creates routines. One part to learning a routine is to listen to the music. I listen to it a lot. Sometimes I have difficulty or I feel I do, if I don’t like the music. But most of the time I like it. But either way, I listen to it a lot. Sometimes I listen to it while I am cleaning, but when I have the vacuum on I can’t hear it so I have been wanting some Bluetooth headphones. I have had my earbuds in with my phone in my pocket or tucked in somewhere when the wire has gotten caught and the earbuds RIPPED out of my ears or out of the phone. Neither one is good. So I thought it would be cool to have a wireless pair. Originally I was looking for headphones. Everything I found was expensive. I didn’t even realize they made wireless earbuds! My husband found some that were affordable. It turned out he liked them and they worked well. Sometimes the affordable things don’t always work well, so it is nice that these did. So I went looking and I found a pair that looked almost exactly like his but were even less expensive. I’m only talking $4.00, but, $4.00 is $4.00. So I got some. And I like ’em. I like mine better than his.
Both pair are over the ear type of wearables. Both pair stick IN your ear. On mine, the earbud part seems to be made of metal whereas his are plastic. Also, the over-the-ear holder on mine seems a little softer more flexible. I liked that a lot better. It made them more comfortable. When I tried his on, one of my ears started to hurt. With the softer holder they might flex more and allow for better movement with my glasses.
Of course, at $13.99 they are from a brand I have never heard of – Parasom. But they work. Who knows if they will keep working. I have experienced many off-brand – or more accurately – not a name brand – product that has stopped working after a couple of months. So we will see.
Mine also had a little clip, which I liked. The control portion of the earbuds on mine is about an inch or so closer to the earbud than his, but that is ok for me. I am not using mine while running like he is, so it is easy for me to stop what I am doing if I need to in order to work the controls. Although they are pretty easy and pretty standard controls.
One button powers it on – and it says, “Power on” and off (it says “Power off”). The same button starts the play of music and pauses it. One button turns the volume up, goes to the previous song, and restarts the song. Another button turns the volume down and advances the music to the next song.
I haven’t used it as a headset for phone calls because the first time I tried it with my hubby’s he said he didn’t like the quality of my voice, so I haven’t bothered trying mine. I know when I am using my regular headset and driving I can’t be on the phone that long because the quality of the caller’s voice is distorted. Probably has to do with the fact that it is only coming through one ear bud.
Anyway, I am always excited when I get a product that I think of as expensive at an affordable price AND it works. So, I like to share. So far, this was at an affordable price, it works, so I am sharing. I would like to point out that I did NOT receive this product for free or at a discounted rate for my unbiased and impartial review. But, hey, how do I do that? I read A LOT of blogs and reviews where the people say that. Sign me up for that!
Anyway . . . if you are looking for an affordable wireless headset the one my husband got is good or mine is – which I think is better.
Have you ever had your earbuds ripped out of your ears because the wire to the phone get caught on something? Have you been thinking about a wireless pair?
What is going on with you? Here? Me? Well, I mentioned that Nia released four new routines at the end of the year. I mentioned I ordered three. Well, I received them and I listened to the music for the one I had planned to learn first and just as I expected. The music for the entire routine is from ONE artist. When I originally noticed that, I thought that might be an issue for me. I thought that it would all sound the same and I wasn’t too excited about that prospect. But the music from the routine I didn’t order was even less appealing. Now, let me explain that we are able to listen to snippets of the songs. Like on iTunes. It only plays for a moment. As you may have found out from listening to snippets on iTunes some times what you hear is not exactly what you get. I mean sometimes a song can change dramatically. The Nia website used to allow us to listen to the entire song, but now we only get a short preview. So . . . having listened to the previews of all the songs for all the routines, I “didn’t like” the music of one routine. That is why I didn’t order it. But I was leery of the “One artist” routine. But the snippets sounded different enough, I thought it would be ok. Turns out . . . not so much. But . . . often times the first “listen through” of a routine’s music reveals an instant “I don’t like”, but that fades or disappears entirely sometimes. So, I have faith it will be fine, but . . . it caused me to decide to work on learning a different routine. So I am in the process of learning a new routine.
I always look at them for the first time and think, “Oh cool. That’s not too hard. I can learn it quick.” But then . . . for me that is not the case. It is one thing to be able to dance to a routine, but it is another to be able to lead it. I could just take it to class and we could play with it, but I like to have a really good handle on it first.
But . . . . somewhat exciting news . . . as is always happening at places that have exercise classes, it seems as if there is going to be a change in the schedule at one of the facilities where I teach. So they are looking to fill a spot, but they don’t really think they want another cardio class, but . . . . I know that it takes time to find the right class and a teacher that can do it, so I offered to do Nia in the meantime. Well, much to my surprise the supervisor took me up on that deal. As in starting next week. The odd thing is – I was already set to sub the class one day, so it is basically like I am taking it over tomorrow.
Another exciting thing is the response I have received from the Nia students that currently attend the other classes I teach. They are excited to have an additional Nia class. Many of them said they would take the class. So . . . we will see. I am secretly –ok, so it is not a secret (!!) hoping that the class will do well and the center will let me keep it. With Group Ex classes we know that nothing is permanent because things sometimes need to change, but there is the “permanent” and we like that. So it could be that I end up taking routines into the classroom sooner than normal if I get to teach four classes a week, regularly!
I am going to go be a student on Saturday. One of the Nia students that used to attend my classes moved to a different area. I am going to visit her. We are going to go to a Nia class she now regularly attends. I think being a student will be a great energizer. I don’t take the time out to be a student as much as I would like. Seems like I am always trying to learn a routine so I don’t take time out from that. But this was planned in advance and it will be perfect.
My hubby and I are still adding to our Goodie Jar. It is looking quite festive with all of the Christmas wrapping paper scraps we are using.
Did I mentioned the Nia Events I have on the calendar for March? There is going to be a Friday evening class and a Saturday playshop? The evening class will be a routine done to 80’s music and the playshop is all about Free Dance. The Nia Teacher that is going to do both is Jason Alan Griffin. I wrote a post about him, First Degree Nia Black Belt Guest Teacher because he brought his Goldfinger routine to the East Bay Area last year.
Whew! So that is what is up with me. Do tell, what is up with you?
One of Nia’s 52 Moves is Head and Eye Movement. Yes, we intentionally and specifically move our head and our eyes in Nia. A long time ago when I first started teaching I had a student who had come to about three classes and after the third class she said something to affect of since starting Nia she actually moves her head to look around while driving. So my first thought was, “Yay! Nia helps make people better drivers.” If people are not moving their heads and then start doing so after Nia – YAY! – especially while driving. Nia really is about full body health and movement. So we don’t do just a cardio workout that works your heart. We don’t do just a dance exercise that moves your legs. We don’t do just some choreography that involves our hands. We involve the whole body. As you may have surmised from the post on Creepy Crawlers. It is very important for people to move their heads.
I see a lot of people with very stiff necks who in fact do not move their heads. There are a lot of reasons. I know some reasons include stiff muscles. They can’t move their head without pain because their muscles are not used to moving or are holding too much stress. I know some people who can’t move their head because it causes them dizziness. I also know some people who rid themselves of stiff necks and dizziness by moving their head. Moving one’s head will not solve everyone’s issues of stiff necks or dizziness, but I do know some people who were helped by it.
In Nia we move our head a lot. We engage our eyes a lot. But as with all of the 52 Moves of Nia there is a specific way to do it. In just practicing Head and Eye Movements you look all around and move your head to match your gaze. Letting the action of your head follow the intent of your eyes.
Just like with Catching Flies, this move requires looking BEFORE moving. So LOOK and then move the head so you are facing the direction you are looking. As I said look in all directions. Look up, then move your head so you are facing up. Look down, then move your head so your chin is at your chest. Look left, then turn your head left. Look right, then turn your head to the right. Look in a different direction then move your head so you are facing that direction. After looking around nod your head “yes”, shake it “no”, roll the head around both directions. Vary the speed at which you do all of this. Be aware of any sensations that come up. Also, if you are not accustomed to moving your head be careful that you don’t get dizzy or too dizzy.
As I mentioned some people get dizzy from lack of moving their head. It is not because of any condition, it is just lack of practice. So, be cautious when you first practice Nia’s Head and Eye Movement. Now, go, look around, move your head.
How do you feel when you move your head? Do you move your head around? Do you have a stiff neck? Do you get dizzy when you move your head?
When a body moves it expends energy. The bigger the movements the more energy expended. The faster the movements the more energy expended. The longer the body is in motion the more energy it expends. I teach Nia. It is not a boot camp where the higher ranked officer is yelling at you to move more, to more bigger to move longer. It is a cardio dance workout where you get to move your body in your own body’s way. You move to your level of movement. You move to the level you want to move at the time you are in the class. The more you move, the more energy you will use up. For some of us, the more we move the more we sweat. Honestly, if you don’t move you will not sweat. A lot of people equate a “good workout” with sweat. Not everyone sweats, but most people do sweat when they move. In Nia we don’t yell at participants to run faster, to reach higher, to go lower, to do more. We use words to help you move in a way that you want to move. Some people cannot move their bodies without being told exactly how to move. Some people just need the time and space and they either know exactly what to do OR they are able to just let go and let their bodies move. I have experienced the type of person that tells me they don’t sweat in Nia and the type that does.
One time, after teaching a class, I was walking out and mopping my face and neck with a towel. I was dripping wet. And a woman approached me and said, “You don’t sweat in Nia, do you?” I just looked at her and said, “No, YOU don’t.” She was the one that stood behind me the entire class and I never saw her body. I never saw her limbs and I never saw her. Now, I am not the smallest of people so it is perfectly feasible that she could hide behind me and me not see her. But it is NOT feasible to MOVE and not be seen standing behind me. If she would have lifted her arm once, I would have seen it. If she would have lifted her leg once, I would have seen it. If she would have MOVED, her body MIGHT have produced some sweat. I cannot tell you why she didn’t move her body except to stand behind me, but I can tell you since she did not she did not get a “good workout.”
Once a woman walked by me and a student talking after Nia class and she asked where the pool was. We were confused. Then we realized we were so wet with sweat we looked as if we had been swimming.
Then more recently, I experienced at participant in a class who, when we were done said, “Wow! I got sweaty.” And I said, “Yes, yes you did.” And that was because she moved. She participated. While she was not standing behind me, I did see her move in her own body’s way to the suggestions such as “dancing big”, “drumming the sky”, “body drum”. She moved in her own way to all of the suggestions even though she had no idea what Nia was when she entered the dance studio. But it was obvious she was there to get a “good workout” so she participated. She moved. She expended energy. She got sweaty.
In Nia, as with ALL workouts, you get out of it what you put in. If you don’t move, you are not going to expend energy. If you don’t expend energy, you probably are not going to sweat. You need to MOVE to get a workout. It is not accurate to say that Nia is not a “good workout” when you do move. If you don’t actually try it you can’t actually say whether it is good or not.
This is what I experience a lot. Remember I am a substitute for other classes besides Nia. So they are not always looking for something new and different. Some are excellent sports and try it. Some are not and so they don’t participate. Again . . . . they get out of of it what they put in.
Have you noticed that you get less of a workout when you move less? Do you agree that you get out of it what you put into it?
This class was held in San Ramon on April 30, 2014!
As you probably know I teach a dance exercise called Nia. It is a cardio workout. If you have read any of my information on Nia you will also be aware that many of the people who practice Nia consider it to be more than JUST a cardio dance exercise. But . . . on the surface that is what I call it, in brief, to let people know what it is. If they are interested then we can discuss some of the other facets of it. Like many exercise disciplines there are star teachers or celebrities. I’ve talked about that before. There is always some people who were there from the beginning and so they have the most experience and often times get categorized into star or celebrity “status”. Yesterday we had a long-time Nia Practitioner and Teacher do a 007 Nia class.
Jason Alan Griffin is one of the first First Degree Black Belts. Nia has created an additional training intensive, they have added a “degree” to the black belt. It is so new that not a lot of information is out regarding that, and I didn’t even think to ask Jason about it. I am Facebook friends with Jason and yesterday was the first time we met in person. Jason likes to travel, so he drives around with his dog River bringing Nia to cities around the United States. He created a routine he called Bond Girls, but recently re-named it to Goldfinger and that is what he is delivering on his current trip. He was in the East Bay last year (I believe) but he packs his travel schedule so tight he doesn’t stay long and so I missed the classes he had. Maybe he was in the North Bay too. I don’t remember. I couldn’t make it. So this trip I was very excited to get to take his class, meet him, and his dog.
Jason is one of those dog daddies that takes his pet parenting seriously and he posts a lot about his dog. So through his Facebook and blog I feel I know both of them a bit so I was happy to finally get to meet him.
Not to use the current happenings in my life as an excuse, but I found myself leaving for the class much later than I intended and also the directions I looked up gave me a different travel time than the day before. I ended up being late for class. And while I felt very bad about that . . . I decided to forgive myself which enabled me to jump right in to his already-started-class. It was so fun.
While the invitation to dress up in something shimmery was there, I completely forgot, but Jason did not disappoint. He had on some shiny silver pants. He led us through many of the 52 Nia moves while we focused on pelvis, chest, head. We used our spear fingers in true James Bond fashion. We danced in our own body’s way and laughed and sang while doing so.
Every time I take a Nia class I realize I am not a Nia student often enough. I love being able to laugh at myself because I don’t get the moves on the first (or how many ever it takes) go around. I love being able to just follow as someone else’s lead. I love being able to learn new pearls and moves. It is so fun. I am so glad that I was able to join the East Bay Nia community while they hosted Jason’s class. It was super fun. I want Jason to come to San Jose to deliver his FreeDance Playshop. 🙂
I hope you jump at the chance to dance with Jason when he is in a city near you. He is really fun to dance with. And if you are lucky, River will sneeze on you!
Thanks, Jason and River. I look forward to your next visit!
Jason leading the class in his silver pants!
Janet and I doing our Bond Girl impressions – with spear finger
Jason and River. River was more interested in the grass than posing!
Nia is a cardio dance exercise . . . . yes, it is much more than that, but that is sometimes where we start. The Nia Technique produces DVDs that teachers use to learn the Nia routines that have been choreographed by the Nia Trainers. The teacher-learning-routines process is similar to many exercise formats that are taught in group exercises classes across the board. Most often the music is adored by my students. They don’t like every song, but I would begin to wonder if they did. Nia uses a large variety and I would think it odd if EVERY SINGLE SONG was liked by every student. Every so often though there is a song that someone asks about. They want to know who sings it. They want to know the words. All of Nia routines are available for purchase as an album*, but sometimes it is just a song. Currently I am teaching a Nia routine with one of those songs.
The song is Shine by Joshua. The lyrics are as follows:
People want freedom in life
People want freedom in life
come seek a, come seek a
People want freedom in life
Verse I
(Shine within)
My sun is blossoming my dreams
aloft amidst the winds and the promises they sing
walking in the stream
lovin’ runs often in my veins
become light
so I breathe softly when it rains
crossing over phases of the moon seas change in a whisper
risen from the chambers inner wisdom
painted with the pigments of a vision(ary)
dancing in the plumage of illuminary
I ruminate the way that newness carries me towards my selfness fragrances in praises form a shelter
waves of vibrations pour over relics saturated in wellness precious moments envelope me so my language is angelic
tell it – like a picture spoken in scripture
listen – to the morning born from hope in the mists of enigmas ocean of rhythms sweet ambrosia of beginnings openness is living
Chorus
People want freedom in life
come seek a
way of living, breathing the light
it’s gonna be the
eve before the dawn song before the rhyme
open up and let your love shine
(love shine)
(repeat)
Verse II
Rays of sun trickle down my throat coated with sounds of growing abound
and hope flutters on a melody telling me to develop these heavenly grounds of mine
*Shine* *Shine*
Soul surfing the divine
nurturing intuitions relearning to visualize the moment’s gift it’s open like an infant’s mind
an intimate design a wish up in the sky wisps by “Spread your wings! Come let your spirit fly!” (fly fly)
Ascending inside levity mending the mind states to befriend a sublime face of a love you always knew and present beside waves of benevolence, rise, bathe and through cleansing your eyes you’ll see:
that love was always you!
flow through the mirror to embrace your destiny it’s beckoning so hold it dearly to your breast and feel the blessings the fibers of your being vibrant reasons to let me be me – free
a love shining to eternity, a love shining to eternity, a love shining to eternity, a love shining to eternity, a love shining to eternity, a love shining to eternity, a love shining to eternity, a love me to . . .
Chorus
Let your light shine, let your light shine Let your dreams shine, let your light shine Let your heart shine Let it all shine, shine, shine Shine now, shine now
(repeat)
Chorus
Heart shine, dreams shine, mind shine
I shine, you shine, we shine… we shine… we shine…
Composed, written, arranged, performed,
produced, and engineered by Joshua Seaman.
I first looked up the words when I heard the part I have in bold. I love that. I hope you enjoy this song. It is a look into some of the music that we dance to in Nia.
What type of music do you like to workout to? Do you have a favorite song that really helps you get your “exercise on”?
You might have read my post about Sounding in Nia. That is what we call it when we make noise in a Nia class — sounding. You might have read my post about Reasons for Sounding in a Nia Class. Even if you did not read that post, I bet you are aware of some of the reasons to make noise in an exercise class. One of the biggest ones is to ensure breathing. If you are making noise you are breathing. Knowing the students are breathing is a HUGE relief to an instructor. Some of the other reasons sounding is good are it can help stabilize your core, it can act as an emotional, spiritual, or physical release, and it can be really fun. Sounding can be noises/words such as HA, HI, HEE, HOO, WAH, WAHOO, etc. Sounding can also be singing. With “Nia Music” sometimes singing is just sounds.
I always invite the Nia participants to sing. Often times I tell them it is really easy because there are no words. I have often wondered how the singer sings. I have often pondered how it is done. Then Nia put out this video*. It is an interview with Carl Tietze whose song Am I The One, is on the Sanjana Album. Sanjana is the first Nia routine I learned. In the interview Carl talks about how he invited a vocalist, Jen Folkner, to listen to the song. He said he put the headphones on her and most of what we hear on the song is from her first time hearing the music.
She is sounding. Granted, she is doing is beautifully. I don’t want to put the pressure on and say this is what we do or need to do in a Nia class. No, not at all. I am just saying that it is fine to MAKE NOISE. I did laugh when I heard this interview because I kind of imagined that songs that have no real words but are just a singer making noise was done like this. I imagined the musicians just saying, “Go!” and the singer just letting her/his voice come out.
I was recently very amazed and in awe of a woman who had never been to a Nia class before – in fact, before class she asked me what it was. So she didn’t even know what type of exercise/workout it was. And yet, while she was moving to moves she had never done, she was singing. The song was one of those songs without words, but she was just making noise in a “singing voice”. It was great! I was very impressed.
Making sounds or singing in a group workout class is not something that comes easy to everyone. Sounding while learning moves doesn’t come easy to people who normally make noise, so it was especially fun to have her in class. Plus she had that much more fun and received the benefits of sounding.
I hope this interview helps give you a glimpse into making sounds. I hope you are able to experience the benefits of making noise while do your cardio dance. You know it is fun.
Do you sing while you dance in your fitness dance class? Don’t you love the way singing and dancing makes you feel?
*Click here to go to Nia’s website to sign up for the monthly newsletter!
Nia is a cardio dance workout. Come to a class, dance, sweat, get a workout. Nia is also a practice, like yoga is a practice. Just like yoga you can go to a class, participate, and get a good workout in and go home. Or you can take some of the ideas and principles with you into your daily life. If you chose, you can decide to apply some of the body mind “stuff” to your daily life. All up to you. Now the reason I explain all that is because – keeping in mind that Nia is a practice (for those that want to take it that far) – there are a lot of things to, well, practice. And Nia HQ is great about creating and supplying continue education for its members. Also, it is great about writing articles to help people learn more about the practice of Nia. One such article that was recently posted is Move Beyond Your Comfort Zone.
It talks about how each individual has different comfort zones so that “moving beyond” would be something different to each individual. It reminds us that moving beyond the place where we feel comfortable is “the best thing to keep the body and brain strong”. It shares a story and gives examples of comfort zones. I do hope you click the link above and pop over to NiaNow to read it.
Here I am going to share other ways that Nia helps us do “the best thing to keep the body and brain strong” by helping us out of our comfort zone. One way is dancing to music we don’t like. I know . . . I can hear a lot of people say, “But WHY?” Well, that is part of moving out of our comfort zone. There seems to be some beats that just call to everyone. That one song that is popular on the radio that gets everyone’s foot tapping and head bobbing. Those songs are easy to dance to. The universal dance song. But the songs that come on that you might find yourself reaching for that tuning knob are great songs to step out of the comfort zone to dance to. They are the ones that your regular, normal, COMFORTABLE dance moves just might not fit with. The song that might have you using different muscles than you are used to. The song that might have you moving in an entirely different way . . . . away and out of your comfort zone. That is one reason why that Nia routine might have one of THOSE songs in it.
Then there is the song you just love. The second it begins to play in class you are so ready to just sink into it, then your teacher says to move in a way that is in COMPLETE contradiction to the tone of the song. “WHAT? You want me to do a strong block to this sweet, sweet melody?” Moving in a way that seems opposite from what the music is “telling” you can be WAY out of some people’s comfort zones. It is a great way to keep the body and brain strong.
Playing with emotions and acting “as if” can be beyond some comfort zones. Allowing yourself to just let go and dance without caring what you look like or if your “form” is perfect can be a big step away from some people’s comfort zones. In one of my posts recently, I wrote about “messing up” . . . . . that can be MILES away from some people’s comfort zones. Sounding can really be a big stretch for some individuals. Not everyone is used to making noises while they workout.
These are just a few examples of what we do in Nia classes to help us step out of our comfort zones. As stated, the reason is to work the brain as well as the body. Moving out of our comfort zone helps mix it up. Keeps the body and brain moving in different ways. So the next time you feel resistance, let go and know you are doing something good for your body and brain.
Terre Pruitt's Blog 