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!
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