Posts Tagged ‘Los Gatos Workout’
Posted by terrepruitt on September 5, 2009
Twitter is interesting. Twitter is nothing to be afraid of. Twitter is a tool to be used as one sees fit. Unlike a hammer that basically has a specific use, Twitter can be used in different ways. I have some friends that use it as a main source of instant communication: “Hey, ya wanna go to lunch today?”, “Meet me at . . .”, “I am in front of the fountain.” And other people just pump out their business information with no conversation at all. I think that however you want to use it is fine. It all works. Everyone is different, do what you want. I use twitter to meet new people, to connect with people, learn things, introduce people to Nia, get the word out about my business, and make kissy faces at my husband.
So that last part doesn’t really fall under what I think of as my “business account” but it sneaks in every once in awhile. (Shrug!) That is what is so great about it. It is MY account and I can use it like I want.
I do actually try to manage my account, and here again, people can manage their accounts all different ways.
I use TweetDeck to see stuff all at once: tweets of people I am following, mentions, DMs, and other columns I have set up. Then I use Twitter.com to look at my list of new followers and look at their profiles. I also use Twitter.com sometimes because DMs and “mentions” come to it faster than TweetDeck. Also, I look at my tweets from Twitter.com. I try NOT to tweet a bunch of tweets in a row especially if they are “general” tweets. Sometimes I am having a conversation and so they are in rapid succession. Twitter.com allows me to see them all in a stream and when I am sending out Nia information or business announcements I try to space them out.
TweetDeck allows you to do some of these things too, but I like Twitter.com for some things.
I also use Mr. Tweet to see who that system recommends.
I use FriendorFollow.com to see who I am following but who is not following me (“following”). It also shows you who is following you that you are not following (“fans”) and it shows you who you are following that is following you (“friends”).
I also use Twittergrader to sometimes check who is following me. Friendorfollow is not always accurate. I also use Twittergrader to see who I can follow in my area. One of my goals of being on Twitter, as I mentioned, is to expose people to Nia and along with that I want to obtain students for my Nia exercise classes. So I try to follow people in San Jose, Los Gatos, Milpitas, Mountain View, and basically the Bay Area, so that I can see local tweets and maybe they will follow me back. Sometimes that works out.
As you can see if you know anything about any of these programs this is a very rough overview. If you don’t know anything about anything I have just mentioned then—perfect, I told you something new hopefully without confusing and overwhelming you. Just go to these sites and check it out. I promise you can’t break them nor the internet! From these sites you can work on managing your twitter account or get information on your account.
There are so many systems and programs to use. It is amazing and overwhelming. Just try it. Don’t be afraid of it. Have fun. Be safe.
If you already use different sites and programs, what do you use? How do you use it? Please leave a comment and share with me and my readers because I am not an expert. I am just learning and I love to hear about all the other stuff out there.
Posted in Twitter | Tagged: Bay Area Exercise, Bay Area Nia, Bay Area Nia classes, Bay Area Workout, business on twitter, Friendorfollow.com, Los Gatos Exercise, Los Gatos exercise classes, Los Gatos Nia, Los Gatos Workout, Milpitas classes, Milpitas exercise, Milpitas Nia, Milpitas workout, Mountain View exercise, Mountain View Nia, Mountain View Nia classes, Mountain View workout, Mr. Tweet, Nia Classes, Nia exercise, Nia information, Nia workouts, San Jose exercise, San Jose Nia, San Jose Nia classes, San Jose Workout, TweetDeck, tweets, Twitter, twitter business, twitter help, twitter programs, twitter sites, Twitter.com, Twittergrader.com, workout Nia | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on August 18, 2009
You will notice that the numbers are not sequential, that is because this is just a few of the sixteen main benefits of Nia stated in the Nia Technique Book by Debbie Rosas and Carlos Rosas.
1. Nia increases the pleasure of living in your body.
2. Nia creates weight loss and proper weight maintenance.
6. Nia increases grace and flexibility.
10. Nia enhances sensory awareness.
11. Nia heightens sexual function.
12. Nia builds reservoirs of chi.
14. Nia improves circulation of blood and improves lymphatic drainage.
Please remember that these are benefits that people practicing Nia have had. I invite you to share your experiences and tell me what benefits you have gained from Nia. You can post a comment here or send me information through my site (you can scroll down the drop down menu to “share my benefit(s) of Nia”).
Nia is a journey where you are invited to discover the wonders of your own Body.
Nia is practiced in the Bay Area (San Jose, Mountain View, Cupertino, Los Gatos, etc.) and the East Bay (San Ramon, Oakland, Walnut Creek, etc.).
Posted in Exercise and Working Out, Nia | Tagged: Bay Area Nia, Benefits of Nia, Carlos Rosas, Cupertino Nia, Debbie Rosas, Los Gatos Exercise, Los Gatos Nia, Los Gatos Workout, Mountain View Nia, Nia, Nia Bay Area, Nia Benefits, Nia Debbie, Nia exercise, Nia Oakland, Nia Practice, Nia San Jose, Nia Technique, Nia Technique Book, Nia workout, practicing Nia, San Jose exercise, San Jose Nia, San Jose Workout, San Ramon Nia | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on August 13, 2009
The moment I read this I wanted to post it on my blog. But then I didn’t want to post someone else’s stuff on my blog. But then I thought if I gave full credit it would be ok and I knew that one of these days (whether it was today or not) I would be compelled to post someone’s something. So all day I have been debating with myself. And after teaching my class today at the Los Gatos Swim and Raquet Club I decided to post it.
To me, it is very “Nia“. We don’t dance for others, we dance for ourselves. And when we dance it is a workout and it is very much exercise, yet healing and spiritual, like Yoga.
The author had other reasons for writing it. I’ve read some of her other poems posted on her blog. She has been through a lot. She expresses it well. I hope you enjoy it:
We Have Come To Be Danced by Jewel Mathieson
We have come to be danced
Not the pretty dance
Not the pretty pretty, pick me, pick me dance
But the claw our way back into the belly
Of the sacred, sensual animal dance
The unhinged, unplugged, cat is out of its box dance
The holding the precious moment in the palms
Of our hands and feet dance.
We have come to be danced
Not the jiffy booby, shake your booty for him dance
But the wring the sadness from our skin dance
The blow the chip off our shoulder dance.
The slap the apology from our posture dance.
We have come to be danced
Not the monkey see, monkey do dance
One two dance like you
One two three, dance like me dance
but the grave robber, tomb stalker
Tearing scabs and scars open dance
The rub the rhythm raw against our soul dance.
We have come to be danced
Not the nice, invisible, self-conscious shuffle
But the matted hair flying, voodoo mama
Shaman shakin’ ancient bones dance
The strip us from our casings, return our wings
Sharpen our claws and tongues dance
The shed dead cells and slip into
The luminous skin of love dance.
We have come to be danced
Not the hold our breath and wallow in the shallow end of the floor dance
But the meeting of the trinity, the body breath and beat dance
The shout hallelujah from the top of our thighs dance
The mother may I?
Yes you may take 10 giant leaps dance
The olly olly oxen free free free dance
The everyone can come to our heaven dance.
We have come to be danced
Where the kingdom’s collide
In the cathedral of flesh
To burn back into the light
To unravel, to play, to fly, to pray
To root in skin sanctuary
We have come to be danced
We have come.
Thank you Jewel Mathieson for this might have been about your anger and your pain and your healing, to me it is also about joy and healing, and being one own’s self and being ok with that. Thank you for sharing, Ms. Mathieson.
I also need to thank Danielle Eastman for posting this on Facebook and bringing it to my attention. Thanks Danielle, I learn so much from you.
Posted in Nia | Tagged: Danielle Eastman, Facebook, Healing exercise, Healing Nia, Healing workout, Healing Yoga, heaven dance, Jewel Mathieson, Los Gatos Exercise, Los Gatos Nia, Los Gatos Swim and Raquet Club, Los Gatos Workout, Los Gatos Yoga, Poem, San Jose exercise, San Jose Nia, San Jose Workout, San Jose Yoga, sanctuary, We Have Come To Be Danced, Yoga, Yoga workout | 8 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on August 11, 2009
The focus for the most recent Nia Jam was the 52 Nia Moves. We were to pick songs in which we could highlight one or more of the 52 Nia moves. So we moved a lot because we all wanted to really highlight the moves. The idea was to pick one song that highlighted the move then pick another song that contained the same move that you could play with. There was a couple of us that picked two songs with different moves so we highlighted more moves instead. I think it worked out fine.
Movements Highlighted included:
~Pelvic Circle
~Spinal Roll
~Heel Lead & Ball of Foot
~Closed Stance, Open Stance, “A” Stance, and Sumo Stance,
~Front Kick, Side Kick, and Back kicks
~Releve
~Lateral Traveling
~Shimmy
~Blocks
~Undulation
~Wrist & Hand movements
We do not do all 52 Nia moves in every workout (unless we are doing the 52 Nia Move routine), but we do cover a lot of them. The moves are not necessarily new moves, some are quite common and you will be familiar with them. Some you could be familiar with, but not familiar with DOING, but that is part of the fun. Come to a class and see. I have classes in San Jose and Los Gatos.
Posted in Nia | Tagged: 52 Nia Moves, blocks, Fifty two Nia Moves, Los Gatos Nia, Los Gatos Workout, Nia class, Nia Jam, Nia Los Gatos, Nia routine, Nia San Jose, San Jose Nia, San Jose Workout, shimmy, stances | 12 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on August 1, 2009
A lot of practices claim to be mind-body practices. I believe the idea is to engage our mind to control our body.
Well, I like to call Nia body-mind. For me calling it body-mind reminds me that we are first going to the body. We are engaging our bodies in movement and allowing them to move freely. Then we can allow our minds to loosely focus on what we are doing. So we don’t want our minds controlling our movement, but we want our minds registering the sensation so as to give it full power and allow us to acknowledge what feels right.
Let me give you an example of what can happen:
The music starts, and like a lot of people, we begin to move without even thinking, we start to sway or wiggle, or whatever the body senses the music is telling it to do. But then—CLICK! The mind engages and then we start to THINK about how to move, then we start judging movement, then we start choreographing movements, then we realize that we are thinking, thinking, thinking. UGH! I would be the latter as mind-body, my brain is thinking and I am doing what it tells me.
In Nia, one of the greatest tools to learn is to be body-mind and just let the body go. The body can listen to the music on its own. Then when you are able to do that, it is amazing how the body knows what it needs. It can move you in a way that your mind might keep you from. Your hips can thrust or gyrate, your shoulders can shimmy, your feet and skip and jump, and your voice can be heard—all without judgment from yourself.
Also, if we let our bodies lead us, it will keep us from doing something that is too much or not in the best interest of our bodies. Our bodies seek balance and health. When we are working out, if we are allowing our bodies to be the guide we can get the exact kind of workout we need. As our bodies guide us to what we need we can concentrate with our mind to understand the sensation that we are sensing with our bodies. When our bodies get the workout it needs both our body and our mind feel great.
I think if you have not tried Nia it will be difficult for you to “get” what I am saying. I would like to invite you to go to the Nia website and see if there is a class near you or look at my class schedule and see if one of my classes (I teach four per week) works for you. There are Nia classes in San Jose, Los Gatos, Mountian View, San Ramon, Oakland, Pleasanton, Palo Alto, Los Altos, all over, one of them has to work for you. Go out and try it!
Posted in Nia | Tagged: balance and health, body-mind practice, engaged mind, Los Altos Nia classes, Los Gatos Nia classes, Los Gatos Workout, Mind-body practice, Mountian View Nia classes, Nia, Nia Classes, Nia focus, Nia Practice, Nia San Jose, Oakland Nia classes, Palo Alto Nia classes, Pleasanton Nia classes, Practice, San Jose Nia, San Jose Nia classes, San Jose Workout, San Ramon Nia classes | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on July 2, 2009
So, I could just fill my blog with Nia, but I want to post other stuff too because I am interested in other workouts and exercises and I like to share other stuff. Today is supposed to be my “fun” post or “whatever” post, not necessary related to health, wellness, or Nia™. I thought that I would find some inspiration before the day was out, but . . . nothing.
So . . . here I am, back at Nia and the wonders of it. I left an article from Nia Education in the studio where I teach (in Willow Glen) and it is about sounding. This evening (when does “evening” start? Anyway . . .) when I was explaining to my class in Los Gatos that Nia uses a focus it dawned on me that I didn’t have a focus for class. Then it came to me in a flash “Sounding”. Nia calls it sounding, I’ve heard some classes call it vocalization. Whatever . . .
We had a few songs that were great for sounding and that are normally done with us making noise, but tonight I added noise (sounding) into all of the songs.
I am going to be honest, when I am TAKING a Nia class I am not a big “sounder”, I am getting better, but I don’t always do it. So I know how intimidating it can be. And it frustrates me (that I don’t do it) because I know—-I have FELT the benefits. When I first started doing Nia I didn’t make any sound. Then I was in a class and I realized that I was the only one NOT making sound so I joined in—-HOLY MOLY! What a difference that makes. It is amazing and I can’t really describe it. But because I have felt the benefits, I am getting better at doing it in other’s classes, and I do it when I am leading my class.
Tonight I was so loud I couldn’t hear if others were doing it. I had to tone it down to make sure they were doing it. The women who showed up first, the ones I had explained it to were participating, but the others weren’t. But that is ok, they will come around in their own time, in natural time. After class I felt awesome. Sounding is amazing. It is like a release and an energizer all at once.
Have you ever been frustrated and just shouted, yelled, or screamed, you know how you feel after that? That sense of release, that feeling of “aaaaah, now I feel better.” Well, just think of an entire workout like that? It is exhilarating.
A Nia Education article says, “every cell in your body is a sound resonator that responds to sounds coming from the outside and the inside of your body, and that all of the systems in your body – your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual states of consciousness – respond to sound?”** Yeah, I knew that . . . .
If you are interested in the article, let me know. It is very short and I can send it to you. I have posted the tips for helping you begin sounding on my site, in case you are interested. So, can you do it? Are you ready to make some noise?
**Nia Education ©2006 Nia Technique, Inc.
Posted in Nia, Sounding | Tagged: exercise, exercise class, Los Gatos Nia, Los Gatos Workout, Nia, Nia class, Nia exercise, Nia workout, sounding, Willow Glen Nia, Willow Glen Workout, workout, workout class | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on June 30, 2009
Where is it written that you have to walk into a workout class or a dance class and know every step? Can you point me to that grand writing? No. It doesn’t exist. Nowhere is it written that you walk in and know the steps or even that you know them after the first workout or the first class. But we still think that we should “get it” right away. Almost immediately we pull out labels like awkward and uncoordinated. Not often do we stop to give ourselves a break. Did we not have to learn how to walk, why is it that we think we must know how to move or dance?
I bring this up because I keep having this brought up to me. People say they feel like a klutz or that they have two left feet. Well, this could all be true as a feeling of what they feel, but how are they ever going to get over it?
With Nia (one of) the point(s) is to move how you need to move that day, in that class, in that moment. NOT to move exactly like the teacher or like the other students, or to be perfect or workout like it is a performance. It is to move how your body needs to move. It is to stop judging HOW you are moving and just MOVE. Yes, there are steps, there is a routine, most of the time you are doing guided movements, but you aren’t expected to know them and do them perfect. And even if you do know them, sometimes you might need to adjust them.
I understand that there is a desire to do it right, but with Nia™ we really take that saying “If you stumble make it part of your dance” to heart. No one is perfect, we are not expecting the routine to be done perfect. We are expecting respecting, respecting your body and your heart. You move, you mess up, you forgive yourself, you keep moving. It is not because you are awkward or uncoordinated no labels, take the next step. Come to class, learn, practice. Once you get the moves down then the fun really begins because then you can play with the move making it big or small fast or slow do it with ease or make it dynamic.
But you have to start at the beginning.
Honest? Want me to be honest here? After I get the gist of the routine down, I stop watching the training DVD. I refer back to it when I get stuck or want to refresh my memory or “tighten it up”. But I don’t practice to it. I don’t move like Debbie or Carlos*. I can’t concentrate on my music and the movements when I try. I have to turn them off and tune them out and concentrate on me and my workout. I have to listen to the music and sense when I am supposed to cue. I can’t learn what my body needs and get the work out I need if I am trying to do it exactly like them. I am not them. I am me. I have to pay attention to what I can do especially since what I can do in my living room is entirely different then what I can do when I teach. I have to make certain I practice the different levels so I have a chance to show them in class. When I workout to the DVD, I don’t practice level one, I am trying to keep up with Debbie.
So what I am saying is give yourself a break. We cannot all move the same. So we need to practice quieting our inner dialog that tells us we have to do it like whomever, and just do it like our body needs. It probably won’t be perfect because we are not perfect. We are there to move and improve and enjoy. So are you ready to give yourself a break and just move?
My schedule of classes in San Jose and Los Gatos.
*Debbie Rosas and Carlos Rosas, the people that have brought us Nia.
Posted in Exercise and Working Out, Nia | Tagged: Carlos Rosas, Debbie Rosas, Los Gatos Workout, Los Gatos Workout class, Nia, Nia San Jose, San Jose Nia, San Jose performance, San Jose Workout, San Jose Workout class, workout, workout class | 8 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on June 6, 2009
Even though the Adho Mukha Svanasana or in more familiar language, Downward-Facing Dog is often used as a resting pose or a transitional pose, you are working a lot of your body. It is a great pose for working your legs, back, shoulders and arms. More specifically your gastrocnemius (calves), hamstrings, retucs femoris (front of leg), gluteus maximus, latissimus dorsi, serratus anterior (muscles by the ribs), deltoids, and triceps.
As with a lot of yoga asanas the “working” is either a lengthening and stretching or a strengthening or both. This asana also helps strengthen the hands.
Recently I took a yoga class in Los Gatos and I am looking forward to going back because I realized something, I don’t like this pose that much. But what I have come to accept in my exercise workouts and Nia practice, is that if I don’t like something it is usually because I am not doing it correctly or it is something in which I need to improve. So the reason I am looking forward to my next class is because I hope to ask the instructor for a body check. If not in my next class I will ask the instructor in Willow Glen. I want an instructor to assist me in making sure I am doing it correctly. Then once I feel the correct way to do it, I will work on it.
So, as you can see I am taking this Down Dog thing seriously. Just because it is thrown in as a way to get to the next move and sometimes treated like a rest, I still want to use it to help strengthen my back, shoulders, and arms. I want to work at it to make sure I am getting the full benefit of the lengthening of my legs and arms, and the stretching of back. Do you work your Downward-Facing Dog or just let it lie?
Posted in Yoga/PiYo/Pilates | Tagged: Adho Mukha Svanasana, asana, Down Dog, Downward-Facing Dog, lengthen, Los Gatos Exercise, Los Gatos Nia, Los Gatos Workout, Los Gatos Yoga, strengthen, stretching, Willow Glen Exercise, Willow Glen Nia, Willow Glen Workout, Willow Glen Yoga, Yoga Pose | 4 Comments »
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