One of Nia’s 52 Moves is a nice move. It can be done easily, it can be used in almost any dance, and it has numerous benefits, but the name is one I get crawly skin saying. I don’t like to say it. It is worse than Creepy Crawlers. When we do this move I often start out using the actual Nia name, but then explain how I would rather not and I would rather do something else. The move is fantastic though because it has many uses, but the name. I mean, what do you feel when I say, “Catching Flies“? I prefer not to.
But the move itself is a great move and very important to keep our hands, arms, eyes, and brain active. When we “Catch Flies” in Nia we open the hands then we make a loose fist to “catch” and hold the “flies. Ewwww. Just thinking about it . . . I mean . . . really thinking about it grosses me out. Thank God, I don’t think too much about it when I am teaching. I do think enough to change it. There is one routine I teach where I change it to “catching your dreams”. It goes along with the whole sequence of moves before and after. So I will often start out with “catching flies” then change it to “catch your dreams”.
Part of the move is to LOOK before you grab. So we are not just randomly grabbing in the air. We are looking as if we really were going to catch a fly. Since most of us are not like cats — do you know what I mean? Have you ever been playing with a toy with a cat and they won’t even be looking and they just reach out their arm and snatch the toy out of thin air? (Crazy!) Most of us are not like that, we need to look. So we LOOK before we grab at the “flies”. We engage our eyes and our brain — THEN we grab. We are also engaging our neck and spine because we are catching FLIES after all. See, the image makes sense. It is a “good” one, but an icky one. But since it is good and it makes sense, I will start out saying “catching flies” so people get the idea. Then I can change it if I want.
I think I got catching fairies from another Nia class. A Nia teacher said it and I was thrilled, so I use that one. Sometimes I say catching joy. Or perhaps grabbing some energy. There are many things to say after the initial move is understood and the Nia name is announced.
Practicing Catching Flies increases brain activity. This move neurologically connects your hands, your head, and your eyes, and engenders manual dexterity and speed. Emotionally, you can use the is move to express aggression, determination, anger, frustrations, playfulness, and achievement.
I am sure you can use it to express a lot more emotions. When we practice this move we add variety. There can be fast flies, slow flies, they can be flying high, they can be flying low, they can be flying right in front of us, they can be flying behind us, you get the idea. The flies can be all over so it can be quite and active move.
It is like the Locust pose in yoga — GREAT MOVE, not so great name.
What do you think? Do you want to catch flies? Would you rather catch fairies? Would you rather catch joy? Can you understand what a great move it is?
When I was first hired on with the Parks and Recreation Department with the City of San Jose, I was a substitute Group Ex Instructor. I didn’t have a class of my own. And we use that term “my class” loosely because we know it is not guaranteed to be a permanent thing and we can be replaced or things can change. But for the sake of simplicity we call them our classes when we are asked to teach a weekly (or more) class at a specific time on a specific day. I didn’t have a class at first. So I was able to fill in as a substitute wherever I could. I was also really happy to fill in with Nia because I wanted to introduce the community centers in San Jose to Nia. So I would step up to teach when someone had a cardio class that needed subbing. There are five different community centers that participate in the Group Exercise program. Each center has at least two rooms where they might have a cardio class. Not all rooms have mirrors — and many exercise classes use mirrors. So when I first saw the portable mirrors at a community center I was so excited. These “mirrors” are awesome. It is not like a mirror image it is like a space age image!
Have you ever seen these portable mirrors? They are not really mirrors. I don’t know what they are. The material reminds me of the package that toner used to come in. I am not sure how many of you have worked in an office where you had a big copier or printer that used the cartridges that were sealed in the shiny packages. But THAT is what this stuff is like. It is kind of like Mylar. It is REALLY thin. And VERY easily torn. But the reflection when they are new and clean is amazing.
The first time I taught in front of one of these portable mirror things I kept expecting to dance right through to another dimension. Now that might sound odd to some of you, but my husband is a science fiction buff and we watch a lot of science fiction so that is what I felt like because it seem clearer and cleaner and more crisp than a regular reflection. It was more like something otherworldly. It was rather funny because it was so amazing I was distracted a few times.
Since these mirrors are not glass they are really lightweight and super easy to move. They are really great for community centers I think. Except I really wish they should come with some sort of handle. There is NO WHERE to hold them without touching the reflective surface. One could get down and use the “feet” to roll them but that is not very efficient nor a good way to be moving (the body). I am always surprised that the city doesn’t simply add something to use to roll them around. It would be so easy to add a strap or SOMETHING so people are not putting their fingers on them or THROUGH them.
The reflective surface really is very thin and sadly I have seen many “mirrors” with tears. I just did a quick search and some sites are saying their mirrors ARE Mylar, while others are saying they are not. Either way, they are great lightweight mirrors, but unfortunately they tear easy and I have yet to see any with handles. But when they are not torn and they are clean, they are really fun to dance in front of because it is almost as if you are dancing with a partner instead of your reflection!
Have you seen these cool portable mirrors? If you have, do you think they are more clear and crisp than a mirror?
Here is a beautiful picture of a place I am lucky enough to visit. I was looking through my pictures and I thought I would share it. I taught a Nia class this morning and we went to coffee afterwards. It is so nice to have such a great group of students. I also taught a yoga class this evening. They are also a great group! We have not gathered for a visit after class. Not sure that will ever happen because I like to rush home to get dinner on the table. But there is a very tasty taqueria really close so maybe one of these days we will go out after class. Perhaps I can talk my husband into joining us, or at least promise him I’ll bring home a burrito! This post is really just a filler. I mentioned “stuff” in my last post. Well, it is taking up my thoughts so I didn’t come up with an educational post. I thought I would share some bright spots and remind you of your Goodie Jar.
If you are doing a Goodie Jar, I am using this post to do some checking in with you regarding it. My wonderful students are often notes in my Goodie Jar. Our current weather gets mentioned too. Our weather has been very nice the past few days considering it is summer. It has not been sweltering hot. Yesterday my husband and I sat outside most of the day. It wasn’t too hot to do so. It even rained a bit last night. We need rain so bad, it was nice to see the street wet this morning. Since we need rain so badly it is so great that our temperatures are not so hot.
Last week my niece visited us. She and I spent one afternoon making candles. You may have seen my post about when we did it the first time? Last time I made myself a candle. This time I made a candle for my hubby. A sun, because he is my sunshine. With kitties below. Hummingbirds because we love ours in our yard, along with our roses. And then the words because, well, I love him. The colors were just because my niece and I liked them. My niece is a bit of a Disney fanatic so she made one that looks like a symbol of Minnie Mouse. I did not take a good picture of it, but it was very cute.
I did mention two other bright spots in my last post. One was the return of a Nia student to my Nia class and another student bringing his own yoga mat. Well tonight I had another returning student. It was to my yoga class. There are many, many teachers around so it is so heart warming when a student returns to class. Something to put in the jar of Good Things.
I have many bright spots to acknowledge and be thankful for. How about you? Are you still making notes / documenting the good things in your daily life? Jotting down things that make you smile? Here it is open for sharing.
Ahhhh . . . recently I have been feeling . . . I don’t know . . . if I had to label it, I would say “depleted”. I think the time has come when I am starting to miss my mom. Ya know at first, I was busy and the last couple of years she was too tired to talk much so we didn’t talk that much . . . it could be a couple of weeks between phone calls. She had also had limits on us visiting her. Since she was not someone I see or talk to everyday it just seemed like a long time “in between” conversations. Now, two months later . . . it is starting to affect me. And I realized I felt a little depleted. I hadn’t talked to my mom or seen my friends in a bit so I figured I needed a visit with a friend. It just so happened I lucked out this week. One of my friends/students has been away for a month and yesterday she showed up at Nia. She came to class and it happened that she didn’t have an appointment or another class to rush off to. So we sat and visited. Then as we were visiting another friend showed up . . . which was really out of the norm. It was obvious to me that this was all meant to be. So I was able to get a little refilled. Ya know the kind of replenishing that you get from visit with friends? Then today after my Nia class I met with a friend for a quick visit, but we hadn’t seen each other in so long it turned out longer than we had thought. It was a good visit. A replenishment. I want to post some information about how good relationships help us in life.
I was going through some papers and I found a little blurb that was printed many years ago that said having a deep conversation with a good friend might reduce anxiety in woman. The theory was because it increased levels of progesterone. So I went looking for the information on the internet and what I found actually distracted me from my original search (NO! That NEVER happens to ANYONE EVER!!!!!). Well, first let me quote from the article I found online at Michigan News
“Why does dishing with a girlfriend do wonders for a woman’s mood?
A University of Michigan study has identified a likely reason: feeling emotionally close to a friend increases levels of the hormone progesterone, helping to boost well-being and reduce anxiety and stress.”
So while we might not have known the biological reason why having close friends is good or makes us feel good we have heard enough information that we know research has shown friendships add to our lives. But what I found took it a little further reminded me of how not only do GOOD friendships help make you feel better and give you health benefits they have been show to improve your health when you are ill.
“One such study, reported in the journal Cancer, followed 61 women with advanced ovarian cancer. Those with ample social support had much lower levels of a protein linked to more aggressive types of cancer. Lower levels of the protein, known as interleukin 6, or IL-6, also boosted the effectiveness of chemotherapy. Women with weak social support had levels of IL-6 that were 70% higher in general, and two-and-a-half times higher in the area around the tumor.”
Also according to the article women with breast cancer in a support group had less pain and that “strong social support helps people cope with stress.” Well, I know, for a fact that this is true for me. I don’t need a study to tell me that I am less stressed after a visit with a close friend.
The article mentions that having a lot of friends may even reduce your chances of getting a cold. Well, I don’t believe that quantity of friends is what supplies the benefit, I think it is the quality. If you are able to vent to your friends and receive support and hear their stories and give them support back . . . that is what supplies us with stress relief. We are getting things off our chest and getting support in return. We are connecting with real people that have real problems and getting a sense of not being the only one whose life it not TV perfect. And I believe relieving stress and making that connection supports our immune system which in turn helps protect us from catching colds.
So, my advice . . . if you are feeling blue or overwhelmed or perhaps not really certain what you are feeling, a little out of sorts, visit with a friend. See if that helps cheer you up. Might not take away all of the blue, but perhaps it will help ground you a bit so that you can do the rest.
Do you know what I am talking about? Have you ever felt that wonderful fullness after a visit with friends? Do you believe that a good social network can help support medical treatment? What else have you got on your mind?
If this post sounds familiar . . . .you could have read Friends For Life, which is pretty similar. 🙂
We have sounding in Nia . . . where we make sounds as we are dancing. Plus people are always invited and . . . in my class . . . encouraged to sing. I’ve written several posts about sounding and put them in their own category under Nia. (Click here for the link to those posts) Although I do not think of making sounds as being regulated to Nia, I just have them as a sub-category under the category Nia. I think sounds are appropriate to make during other exercises and workouts. One that always comes to mind when people seem to need convincing of making noises and exercising is martial arts. Once I remind them that “Hi-Ya!” is a common sound, they seem to relax into the idea a bit. As I probably have mentioned before, I remember it being an unspoken rule that you didn’t make noise while you are doing Jazzercise, lifting weights, or working out at the Lady Spa. Could have been ideal that it was unladylike to make noise. I don’t know, because I never remember being told NOT to make a sound, I just know that no one did it. It was almost as if even breathing heavy was taboo! One reason I love Nia: breathing and making sounds are encouraged. But I think of these sounds as helping with the flow of oxygen and energy. I think of them as stress relieving and joy bringing. So when I was flipping through Yoga Journal and came across an article titled “How To Be Fearless” I thought, “Huh? Interesting.” Mark Moliterno, an opera singer and yoga instructor has paired yoga with voice to create YogaVoice.
This reminded me of one of Nia’s instructors who created Kivo® The Kinetic Voice . . . which is – according to her website – “a vocal practice that uses the whole body. It is designed to harness the power of vocal vibration and movement as transformational tools that unlock energy, activate your true radiance and empower you to go out and create the life you were born to live.” So . . . back to the article when I looked at the chart within the article I realized that the pairings were for more than just overcoming public speaking jitters as the subtitle read. It was for a list of different areas.
Just as we know certain sounds to be related to certain chakras and feelings, you probably also know poses are related to certain chakras and feelings. When sounds and asanas are paired up they can be very beneficial. I would bet many of you are familiar with “OM” as a yoga chant. Different sounds and different mantras can be used. The information on the YogaVoice websites leads me to believe this is different from chanting while doing yoga, there are indications that it goes beyond that.
I just love that more sounding is coming into the workout. Since I believe there is a lot more to sounding — a lot more benefits can be reaped than just breathing — I love movement forms that stem from sounding or that incorporate it.
Do you believe the is benefits to making noises while working out? Do you make noises while exercising?
Aaaahhhh! I did it again. I do it all the time. I see things on Facebook that I want to look at but I don’t have time or when I see it is it not the right time to look at it so I open it in another window. Then I can watch it, read it, do it (whatever) days later. But then I forget who posted it. This is a Nia video so I know that one of my Nia friends posted it. It took me days to get around to watching it. Then once I did watch it I was soooo disappointed. It is a video of Carlos Rosas (NKA Carlos Aya-Rosas) at a conference talking about the 5 Sensations of Nia. As he is talking I start looking at the time left and I keep thinking, he’s not going to make it. I kept HOPING he would, but I kept thinking, he is not going to make it. He didn’t. He was halfway through (or so it seemed) his talk about Mobility when the video stopped. Sad face. That is why I was disappointed. I was sad because we don’t get to hear all five sensations. But . . . watching the ones he did get through are well worth it. It is just a bummer that we didn’t get information on all five.
I am not sure what year it is, but you will see that they are being referred to as Debbie and Carlos Rosas. Which I always thought that eventually they were referred to as Debbie Rosas and Carlos Rosas. But that is not the point of this post or the video I was just trying to see if I could have an idea of what year it was, but again . . . not that important because the information is tremendous.
The information is very helpful no matter when it was recorded. Carlos first walks you through some things you can sense. He connects them to the 5 Sensations. If you’ve read a few of my posts about Nia you might be familiar with my belief that Nia takes everyday things you are familiar with and probably aware of and connects it to Nia ideas. If you watch this you can get an example of them doing that in the time from 2:45 to 7:00.
After the initial connection to the five sensations, the first sensation Carlos defines is Flexibility. He describes it as energy moving out. So not just stretching, but energy moving out. Then he talks about Agility. He describes that as a quick start stop. He uses the adjective “explode”. This is a very entertaining part of the video. Carlos is a very funny speaker. Then he gets a few minutes into a mobility. He describes that as continuous movement. He talks you through a bit of it, then the video stops.
Even though we only get to see two sensations and a portion of mobility it is still great information. I am not giving you too many details because I want you to watch it. It is so much better from the creator than from me just typing what he is saying.
This was posted by Nia, in addition to watching this video you can go to the Nia Channel on Youtube (click here) and see other videos they have posted. Also, you can go to NiaNow.com and watch recordings of classes. From the home page scroll through the pages and you will find videos of Nia classes. You can dance right along with Debbie and other trainers!
I invite you to watch the video and participate with his exercises to connect you with the sensation of Flexibility, Agility, Mobility, Stability, and Strength (this is the first portion I mentioned). Then stick with it for even more connection to Flexibility and Agility.
I imagine I am like all dance exercise teachers, in that when I hear music I enjoy I think about how I can bring it to my Nia class. I think about creating choreography to it. I was thinking the other day about what music would appeal to one of my classes. My train of thought took me on a little journey. First off – before I share my journey – this is not a rant about how modern technology has caused huge chasms between people because while there are some disconnects there are some great connections. This IS a little about how things have changed and how we miss out on somethings but it is more of a ride down a memory rail line then a rant. Many of you that lived through the time period that I am about to mention, have probably heard the “remember when” about when you had to listen to the radio “all” day before you could hear that song (ya know, whichever one you wanted to hear) again. There was no device to turn to that could play it instantly. Unless you held your cassette recorder up to the radio and recorded it, you had to wait for it to be played on the radio. There was also the accidental sharing of music that today’s technology prevents happening.
When I wanted to listen to my music I had to go into the living room and play my records. I usually had to ask if I could. Then I would turn on the stereo with the turntable for the whole house to hear. I am not saying that I played it loud, I am just saying that it was played through speakers so everyone had to suffer through me playing my latest obsession over and over and over. That is why I had to ask permission to play my music. If I was playing it, the people present would have to listen to it. So I am sure my mom got to “know” my music. I shared with her that “latest” tune. The pop music. Now-a-days people have personal devices with which to listen to their music, so it could be that parents never actually hear what their kids are listening to. They don’t get to connect on that level.
Not that parents and kids ever connect on the same level when it comes to music, but sometimes it could happen. I imagine my parents became very familiar with some of my music. I bet they even learned some of the lyrics via pure repetition. I bet that they even grew to like some of it. With these thoughts rolling through my mind, like a leisure train, it made me think that this might be the case with some of my students. I would love to bring music to my Nia classes that reminded them of connections with their children. The connections could even be so tenuous as them not even really liking the song but the sense of familiarity and family would allow their bodies to connect to it. They could move and enjoy the sensation of movement without really thinking about it. They would be able to associate memories to the music.
Ha. These are the thoughts of a Nia Teacher wanting to MOVE her students. But, as I first mentioned, I bet other cardio dance workout teachers think the same way. What do you think? Do you think songs like that could get you moving? Do you think songs with that type of connection could allow you to dance?
So I have a new bed partner. One that my husband doesn’t actually mind me having. Remember when I said my back was in pain, but it wasn’t muscle pain? One day I couldn’t even lift my elbows up out to the side. I was worried about how I was going to teach my Thursday morning Nia class. Doing Nia and using the foam roller helped. So I did a post about using a foam roller to roll it out so I would remember to use it. Click HERE for that. It worked great. I had to roll it out or roll on the foam roller often, but it worked. Then I started thinking . . . “Why is my back bothering me in the first place?” I started paying attention. I noticed that after I slept in a specific position was when my back hurt. And that same position also hurt my shoulder. I think my hips were being effected by this position too! It is a cross between an on-your-side position and an on-your-stomach position. Where I kind fold my upper body in half. I came to the conclusion that I needed to stop folding in on myself. I thought if I slept more on my side with my upper body “open” instead of the half-side-half- stomach-fold it might help. So I am sleeping with my foam roller.
🙂 Yes, I know they make body pillows so that might work, but why get ANOTHER thing when I can use something I have? Plus I think a pillow might be soft enough to still allow me to fold more than I want, whereas the roller keeps me propped up. I don’t fold at all. So I slept with my foam roller for a few nights and my back pain stopped.
So, now, I sleep on my side with my leg on the roller. The roller keeps my hips more in alignment. I say “more” because I don’t think they are IN alignment but more so than when I let my leg rest on the bed. And I have the roller down low enough so that the arm on the side I am lying on has a place to be and I actually use the roller (almost the “top” of it) to keep my body propped up. My “top” arm which rest on the roller doesn’t allow me to fold in on myself and rest my shoulder/arm on the bed.
Honestly the roller is not all that comfortable and so the hardness of it would keep me awake at first. But not having my back hurt all day was worth it. Plus the first few nights I would actually wake up a bit to move the roller to the other side when I switched sides. Now . . . since my back feels better, if I want to turn over I have been leaving the roller only on one side. I think that not folding over on at least one side is helping.
I am now using my foam roller as a preventative tool and not just a restorative tool. Nice.
How do you sleep? Do you have a lot of pillows? Do you have a body pillow? Do you wake up sometimes with a crick? Do you wake up with pains in your shoulder(s)/hip(s)?
I love eggplant. I read a blog called Dinner of Herbs and she posted a recipe for Eggplant Bruschetta. Yum. I used to not like bruschetta because I didn’t like tomatoes. But I like it now . . . well it depends. I like some bruschetta and since I love eggplant I thought I would like this. As I was making it I laughed because she only listed amounts for two of the ingredients and it turns out I didn’t use the amounts for those that she stated. Also, I had to laugh–yeah, right!–because I went to the grocery store on Thursday right after my Nia class. I like to do my shopping while I am already out, so on my way home I stopped by the store. My WHOLE reason for going was to get the ingredients for the bruschetta! I even wrote them down. But while I was there I thought of a few other things and completely overlooked one KEY item on my list. I forgot the bread. DUH! Can’t really make bruschetta without the bread. I used to think bruschetta WAS the bread. Then I came to think bruschetta was the tomato mixture. But bruschetta is the bread topped with the tomato mixture. Eggplant bruschetta just has eggplant added to the mixture.
Since I like to run all my errands while I am already out I decided to wait to get the bread on Sunday after my rotation of teaching Nia at the YMCA. HOLY MOLY! My husband is under strict instructions to remind me never to go to the grocery store on a Sunday. Geez louise. I was there over an hour. It was so crowded. But I got the bread! I got two different kind since my husband doesn’t really like bread and he really doesn’t like hard sourdough. So you can imagine he doesn’t like TOASTED sourdough. So I got him some wimpy soft bread and I didn’t even toast it.
Anyway . . . for Dinner of Herb’s recipe I used a very large eggplant and I cut it up into tiny cubes. Way smaller than she shows on her site. I put garlic salt on it. I roasted it for 45 minutes. I only used three tomatoes for roasting. I also roasted them with garlic salt. Then I added a half of a raw tomato along with about two tablespoons of raw chopped onion to the mix of roasted eggplant and tomato. I actually always thought that bruschetta was raw tomatoes so that is why I added some raw tomato.
So I loved it. My hubby ate it. As I said he is not a bread fan so he was not at all excited about it as I was. I thought it was delicious. I think it is so delicious I am going to make it again, but just the eggplant-tomato mixture and put it over pasta.
I am excited about this because – as I just said – it is something else to do for pasta, or heck . . . .anything. To me it is that good that I would just make it as a “salsa” to put on chicken or pork.
I have to say that I did not take good pictures. I was kinda in a hurry. And if you take pictures of food, you know you can’t do it when you are rushed. So . . . .sorry the pictures are not very appetizing, but if you like eggplant and if you like bruschetta you will love this!
Do you like bruschetta? Do you like eggplant? What other type of bruschetta do you make?
If you have read almost any of my posts you have heard me say that I use my blog as a recipe book and my reminder for things. So today I am writing myself a post about the foam roller. I know I have talked before about using tennis balls to roll out a muscle issue in my back. I actually used a different type of ball – like a huge super ball – because I don’t have any tennis balls, but it helped a lot. This time it was not a muscle issue. And I am not necessarily recommending this as something you should do. I was a little nervous doing it myself, but I really was getting to the point where I couldn’t tolerate the pain any longer. I couldn’t move my head. Driving to teach my Nia class this morning I was doing the full torso twist as I changed lanes . . . I had to lift away from the seat and turn my whole torso because I could not comfortably turn my head. So I used my foam roller to roll out my back.
I believe sometimes stress is held in the body. I think that there is a little stress going on right now. Ya think? And I believe I am holding my stress of late in my back. Normally, as I somewhat alluded too above, I might have stress held in the muscles, but this time it was more in my spine. I am more brave when it comes to muscles or connective tissue issues, but a little leery of trying to adjust my spine, but as I said, it was needed. So I laid down on the foam roller so that I could roll it down the length of my spine.
Now I want you to know that if you have back pain you should see a professional. A professional as in a doctor, a chiropractor, an osteopathic physician , etc. Someone that can treat you and your back. If you are familiar with your back issues and you feel comfortable doing this, that is up to you.
So I used it on my back as I did on my hamstrings in my post Roll Out The Hamstring. But on my back I gingerly rolled on the roller. I started about mid-back,then rolled up, then down. I used my arms to support my weight a bit. Ahhhh, it was fantastic. I moved freely the rest of the day, which was great because I had a Gentle Yoga class to teach tonight. I also did the vertical stretch shown in my first post about foam rollers, Foam Rollers are COOL!
Well, this might be something that might help you, again, I caution you. But I know it will help me, but now I just have to remember and that is why I am posting it. I definitely need a reminder for something occurring during this period of time.
Have you ever used a foam roller? What do you use them for? Do they help with massaging your muscles?