Posted by terrepruitt on February 8, 2014
One of my Blue Belt Sisters (a woman I attended the Nia Blue Belt Intensive with) posted a link on Facebook to an article about 5 reasons to do a full squat. I love when I see information like that . . . information about why it is good to do “something”, something we do in Nia. I love that. I love when people confirm and promote Nia movement. As you know, if you have read some of my Nia posts, Nia is not new. Nia has been around for 30 years. Nia incorporates moves and ideals from different modalities so most of it is not new. HOW they incorporate it is often unique, but we use a lot of movements used in other exercise and workout programs. Which is a great thing. Not that just because something is done commonly makes it good, but since Nia is based on how the body was designed to move it makes sense that we do movements done in other practices and vice versa. So I was excited to see an article talk about something we do in Nia. Nia knows the benefits of squats.
I posted about the Garland Pose and I posted about what Nia 5 Stages calls “standing“. Here I am going to touch upon some benefits of doing full squats. A few of mine are different than the 5 mentioned, so check that out too. First, the article reminds us that children squat to reach for things on the ground and will get into that position when playing on the ground. Many things that children do we understand to be beneficial yet we no longer do them as adults. In addition to the many physical benefits of a full squat, it can possibly help us remember that child-like position of play. A Nia workout includes “exercising” the BMES (Body, Mind, Emotion, and Spirit) and many people claim that the play we do in Nia is great for their spirit. Squat like a kid!
Small children have all that yummy flexibility. Their bodies have not yet sat in chairs for years or worn shoes that either keep their ankles from moving in a full range of motion or even keep their foot in one position, possibly even shortening their calf muscles. So they can easily squat with both feet fully on the ground, and their legs folded, and their chest to their thighs with their bum low to the ground. So a squat allows for all of that. Mobility and flexibility in the ankles. Flexibility in the knee. And balance. Being able to squat with flat feet and stay stable is proof of good balance. Think of all those muscles you use to stay tush down and upright . . . (if you need help “thinking”, do it now and just sense all of that).
If you are doing the “Garland” type squat with the wide knees you are really opening the hips and groin area. It is important to have flexibility and mobility in the hips because those things help make walking more comfortable. A body is able to stand more upright when the hip flexors aren’t tight. So squatting can help the body allow for good posture. The squat also helps with stretching the back of the legs. Squats target the hamstrings and the glutes.
And if you push up to standing you are using your glutes, so standing up from a squat is a good bum strengthener/toner. Sometimes we move into a deep squat position in Nia as part of a Nia routine. We do squats as part of the Nia 5 Stages and we push up into a walk. So as I said Nia knows the benefits of squatting. What about you?
Are you a squatter? Do you find yourself squatting during the day? Is the squat something your body needs practice doing?
Posted in Nia | Tagged: BMES, child play, Facebook, flexibility, Garland Pose, good posture, Mobility, Nia, Nia 30 year anniversary, Nia 5 Stages, Nia Benefits, Nia Blue Belt, Nia Blue Belt Intensive, Nia exercise, Nia Movement, Nia posts, Nia Practice, Nia sister, Nia workout, squat, workout programs, Yoga Pose | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on October 29, 2011
Who designed airline seats? Someone who knew the psychology of crowd control? Think about it. No better yet let’s do a little exercise. Sit in your chair. Sit tall. Allow your eyes – better yet, set your gaze forward. Reach the top of your head to the sky, allowing the energy from above to assist in the lengthening of your spine. Imagine space between each vertebrae. Establish distance between your shoulders and your ears, creating a long neck. Pull your shoulders back (shoulder blades in your pants pockets). Sense your posture. Sense the placement of your arm bones. Let your arm bones hang straight down from your shoulders. Now feel. How do you feel? Take a few moments to acknowledge and recognize what you feel and what you sense with your confident posture.
Now imagine you are on an airplane sitting in the typical (coach) airline seat. I know many of us probably vary in height. But just imagine for a moment that you are seated on a plane. Let your lower back round out toward the chair. What happens to the rest of your body? What do you sense? How do you feel? Do you feel subdued? Do you feel controllable? Maybe just in comparison to the other posture? When I push my lower back into the seat my postures becomes a slump, my shoulders round, my belly pushes out, and my head goes down. I have always wondered about airplane seats. I think they are very uncomfortable. I could never understand why they were designed to be the opposite of the human spine. I could never understand why they were designed to be so absolutely uncomfortable. I think they are very bad for the human body. I really think they are not designed at all for comfort. Now after having been on a few planes after not having been on them for a long time, I think I might understand why. I might actually sense why. If I am in a state of mind where I feel I need to just comply it is easy for me to just do what I am told. If my postures is “slumped” my head is already down and my shoulders are rounded, I can’t even take a full and proper breath, why not just sit there and be a blob. I don’t want to think, I just want to get my free drink and get the ride over with. I can see why people don’t want to make eye contact and be social. It is almost as if our will has been sucked out of us.
Airline seats make me feel like a blob. That is all I truly have room to be. It just occurred to me on this past trip that this could be the feeling and the mentality that airlines are going after. It is a lot easier to control 300+ people when they don’t feel very confident or very human for that matter. I would think that people will just do what they are told when they can’t even take a full breath. Since it is just for a short while and we “need” to be on the airplane we just put up with it. With the advent of all the portable electronics it makes it even easier for us to just sit there like blobs all slumped over and compliant.
It is amazing how posture can affect attitude. So the next time you aren’t feeling as chipper as you would like, check your posture. Or if you are in a situation where you know you might get a little down, try sitting up or walking taller. And when you are on a plane try to find a way to sit where your back can be straight, your posture good, and you can breathe fully. I put my jacket in the small of my back so that I can sit up and not slumped over. How about you?
Posted in Just stuff, Misc | Tagged: airline seats, airplane seats, crowd control, good posture, lengthening your spine, sense your body, uncomfortable sets | 8 Comments »
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