Posts Tagged ‘Nia class’
Posted by terrepruitt on March 22, 2014
Sometimes I just can’t think of anything to write about. Sometimes it could be that I want or need a break. So today — I am just going to post some pictures. We have been having really beautiful weather in the San Francisco South Bay Area and beyond. I love it, but I wish we would have rain because we need it. But . . . it is Spring now . . . so I will enjoy it.
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The first few pictures are from a trip to Natural Bridges — a state park in the Santa Cruz area of California. Whenever we go to Santa Cruz for a Nia class we like to stop by the ocean. Santa Cruz is not that far from San Jose, but I just don’t get over there often. When I make the drive over I like to at least set my eyes on the ocean. I remembered my phone has panorama. The bridge that was natural actually collapsed a while ago, but it is still a very pretty spot.
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Then, the next week, I was “over the hill” again. I was visiting a friend who is moving. She wanted to get the kids out of the house on such a gorgeous day. This is a slide at one of the parks. WOW!
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And, of course, I take a million pictures of my cat, so I thought I would share.
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She likes to be in her outside house but with the door open. She loves the sun, but doesn’t like to get too hot.
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Then there are our roses. They are in bloom. They are beautiful. And, yes, they smell fantastic.
I like to bring the beauty inside. They make the house smell great!
Thanks for taking this little Spring Break with me!
Are you enjoying the season?
Posted in Flowers, Misc | Tagged: Natural Bridges, Nia class, Nia San Jose, Nia South Bay Area, ocean, Roses, San Francisco Area Nia, San Jose Nia, Santa Cruz, Spring 2014 | 12 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on March 18, 2014
Maybe Jack practiced Nia. We do a lot of agility movements in a Nia class. From Wiki’s definition of agility:
“Agility or nimbleness is the ability to change the body’s position efficiently, and requires the integration of isolated movement skills using a combination of balance, coordination, speed, reflexes, strength, and endurance.”
When thinking of agility I tend to think of my entire body starting then stopping. My entire body moving one direction then changing quickly, like the definition states. But agility can be just in the fingers, in the hands, in the arms, or just in the legs. Our entire body does not have to move for it to be an agility movement—or at least that is how we call it in Nia. We do a lot of movements that require agility.
I just posted about Creeper Crawlers. That is an agility movement of the fingers. They are starting and stopping and going one direction then the other.
Drumming is a great example of agility. Your arms and/or hands are starting and stopping and changing direction. We drum in Nia. There are certain routines where it is part of the choreography. There are times when we do it in FreeDance. The music often calls for drumming. Sometimes we listen. Drumming is a fun way to connect to the sensation of agility. Without actual drums we can drum all around our space; up in the air above our heads . . . in one of our Nia routines they call this sky drumming. We can drum below our bodies, to the sides, behind our bodies, around in a circle, all over. Sometimes I invite the class to imagine they are in the middle of a HUGE drum set with drums all around them. They can’t even move without hitting a drum. That is some wild drumming.
Looking around and allowing the head to change direction is a form of agility. Look! Look! Look! As if you are watching a bug fly around. Hip bumps . . . keeping those hips juicy with that left right action. If you are really playful, hip bumps back and forth . . . it’s all about being agile.
Another great show of an agility move is kicking. Kicking like a swimmer’s kick. Fast feet, fast action action. One direction then the other. Back and forth. Of course this can be done with the action from the knee or even the hip. Whatever joint does the action, kicking is another great example of a movement that requires agility.
A number of Nia’s 52 Moves of the The Upper Extremities can be tied to agility. Blocks and punches can be done with a quick change of direction, along with webbed spaces and palm directions.
Agility is one of Nia’s Five Sensations that we practice and play with in our Nia classes. The other sensations are Flexibility, Mobility, Strength, and Stability. Like many groups and professions we have many acronyms, the one for Nia’s Five Sensations is FAMSS. The A is for Agility.
What do you do that can be considered an agility move?
Posted in Nia | Tagged: agility, Creeper Crawlers, drumming, FAMSS, Nia, Nia class, Nia routines, Nia's 5 Sensations, Nia's 52 Moves, Wiki | 6 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on March 15, 2014
Sometimes after a Nia Class or even a yoga class a student will come up to me to explain why they weren’t doing something I said to do. This is a HUGE education for me because some times what they say they can’t do is not what I intended for them to do. When my students share with me it helps me teach them better. Their understanding of what I am instructing them to do helps me hone my teaching skills and at times has me finding different ways to say things. Could be an entirely different way of saying something or it could just be a matter of me explaining it a little better. Either way, I am always learning from my students.
As an example, one day after one of my yoga classes a students explained to me that she has a very high arch so she cannot use her whole foot. Many standing poses in yoga require you to stand on the entire foot and in Nia we also use our whole foot at times. Whole foot meaning your weight is distributed over the entire foot. Not standing on the toes or leaning back on the heals, or even to either side of the foot, but to use the “whole foot”. Since I say whole foot all the time it didn’t even dawn on me that someone could take it as the WHOLE foot. To be fair, she is correct. When I say whole foot, I actually mean your whole foot PRINT. I don’t mean to include the arch of the foot which would actually be covered in the term “WHOLE foot”. I am not certain if this was ever a thought for any of my Nia students, but just to be clear, I throw whole foot PRINT out there every once in a while in all of my classes so people understand when I say whole foot, I mean the foot PRINT. Not the arch. Flash! I learned something.
There was another time when we were on our hands and knees doing the cat pose. In this pose I have my students look “down” into their lap. If the individual’s neck allows and they are comfortable with that, I go for the big stretch all the way down the spine. So when we arch down with belly towards the earth, I tell them to look up since I consider looking into the lap looking “down”. After class one day, one student told me she can’t look up because of a neck issue and when she said it we were standing and she looked up at the sky. At that moment, I just said, “Ok. Good for you for recognizing a position your body cannot do and not doing it.” I wasn’t exactly certain what she was talking about because I hadn’t instructed anyone to look up at the sky, but if her neck can’t do that, is great that she not do it. The next time I was doing the combination, I thought “look up” and – FLASH! (the light bulb again) – I understood what she was talking about. When I said look UP, she thought I meant UP at the SKY and not just up from the “down”. So, again, I learned something. I can still say look up, but I clarify that I mean up from your lap (or the other options I give).
It always amazes me and make me happy that I learn so much AS I TEACH. I think I have shared before in a post that there comes a time in my process of learning a Nia Routine where I just have to take it to the class. No matter how much time I spend at home by myself learning it, I always learn more in that hour of teaching it than all of that before time. Awesome. I might have even posted something similar to this before. It just goes to show that I am always learning something from my students! Ta-da! Students are teachers too.
Do you ever talk to your teacher about stuff? Did you ever thing that you could be teaching them something?
Posted in Nia | Tagged: cat pose, foot print, Nia, Nia class, Nia routine, Nia students, Nia Teacher, whole foot, Yoga, Yoga class | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on March 11, 2014
In other forms of exercise I learned the dead bug. Where you lie on your back and put your limbs up in the air as if you were a dead bug. In Nia one of our 52 moves is called Creepy Crawlers. I ALWAYS call it Creepy CrawlIES and sometimes I say, dead bugs. In Nia the move is part of the Upper Extremities in the Nia 52 moves, the hands to be exact. It is where we turn our hands to allow the palms to face up and we wiggle our fingers. Truly NOT a dead bug because dead bugs don’t wiggle there legs . . . in general. I will work on calling it by the correct name Creepy CrawLERS.
This is a simple, simple move that provides great benefits. I don’t know how often you are around the elderly if ever, but losing the use of their hands, losing the dexterity is a very common issue. So as the Nia Technique Book says, “Practicing Creepy Crawlers helps your fingers, hands, and forearms remain strong, flexible, and agile.” It is very important to move your hands. And not all of the things we do in everyday life allows for that type of flexibility and agility. So this move is so great.
To practice it according to the Nia Technique Book you just wiggle all of your fingers, including your thumb. Keep the elbow bent which helps keep the shoulders and next relaxed. Change palm directions.
This is one of those moves that is pretty much always teamed up with another move. Usually we have a foot pattern while we do the Creepy Crawlers. Or we are moving around the room. Usually, but not always. Sometimes it is nice to concentrate on the movement on the fingers. Really wiggle them with intent. Make certain ALL ten fingers are moving. Notice how it affects the tendons in your hands and arms. Watch the movement in your arms.
If you are constantly moving your fingers in a wiggly motion while doing choreography with your feet you are allowing that brain to work. Most people understand that the brain needs to stay active . . . just like the body . . . in order to function well, so we consider it fun to get our brains going as part of our movement, as part of our dance.
So as with all of the Nia 52 Moves that I have explained. Sometimes we do them a little different from perfect as described in the book. Doing Creepy Crawlers in a routine might have us straightening our arms. Or we might even be moving the hand all around while the fingers are wiggling. But the point is the fingers. Moving the fingers, wiggling the fingers. Bending each and every joint in the finger.
This is also a really fun move to do with kids. They love the idea of Creepy Crawlers, bug legs. You know kids? So many of them love anything to do with bugs.
So, I encourage you to do some Creepy Crawlers. Especially if you work at a computer or do repetitive motions with your hands. This will help keep them moving in different directions/ways.
So, did you try it? See how easy it is?
Posted in 52 Moves (of Nia), Nia | Tagged: Creepy Crawlers, Dead bugs, exercise, hand dexterity, Nia 52 moves, Nia Benefits, Nia class, Nia exercise, Nia Practice, Nia routine, repetitive motion, The Nia Technique book, the Upper Extremities | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on March 6, 2014
You might know from my various posts that I don’t really like beans. Beans, the legume, the protein-fiber-rich nutrient. Not my favorite thing. I like green beans. And I am ok with garbanzo beans. I will eat kidney beans but only in two things, the two bean salad (click here for recipe) or my Sausage, Beans, and Rice adaptation (click here for recipe). But otherwise I don’t eat beans. You may also know that I bought some dried garbanzo beans in bulk once. Since I didn’t know what to do with them I turned to the internet for some education. 
The internet said there were two ways to get the beans ready for a recipe: one was a “quick soak” idea, it requires cooking and doesn’t seem quick to me at all. The other was a soak-over-night way. I tried them both. I didn’t really feel there was a different outcome to the two methods, but obviously the methods themselves were different. I preferred the overnight soak because it doesn’t require any real time that I have to be in the kitchen. Rinse the beans, fill the bowl with water, let them soak, changing the water a few times as they soak. Since I haven’t taught a Nia class in the area of San Jose where I bought the last dried beans, I decided to buy some organic dried garbanzo beans online. To get them ready for cooking I opted for the let-it-set method. I didn’t time the soak because I had done it before and I know that overnight is good enough. I know I let them set from one morning, until the next afternoon. Then I rinsed them and put them on the pan to roast. Apparently not all beans can just be soaked for about 30 hours. Apparently some HAVE to be cooked — as in boiled. These beans did not come out well just soaking. I didn’t know that until I was already roasting them.
I had a huge bowl soaking so when I did the roasting I had only used about half. So I figured that if I let the remaining beans soak longer they would be fine. So I left them soaking until the next day. Throughout this soaking period I had drained the water and refilled. I even took them all out of the bowl, rinsed them, then put them back in the bowl with fresh water. So — again, I figured they had soaked enough they would be fine. Again, part way through cooking when I had a taste they were NOT good. I hadn’t tasted before I added all of my other ingredients so dinner was almost going to be REALLY gross. But I just added water and let them cook and dinner was salvaged.
But now I know. Apparently these beans HAVE to be cooked in order for them to be edible. When not cooked they are really HARD and they taste like a green seed. No good. Not the creamy mush you expect from a garbanzo bean. Also . . . these beans, while they have not popped as the other ones I soaked did, they are letting off a very large and stinky amount of gas! Whew! Again my kitchen smells of bean gas. They are gassy beans! I have yet to cook the rest.
So . . . here I am again, just sharing things I learn. Maybe I can save someone’s dinner if they are like me and think that all dried beans can just be soaked without the cooking. I was fortunate in that what I was cooking was ok with me just adding water and letting it all cook a bit longer than I had planned. But somethings you can’t do that to. So if you are like me and you like the soaking method, try it on a small batch first to see if that will be sufficient.
Please understand I am not saying there is anything wrong with these beans or the brand. I am just saying that I learned not all garbanzo beans can JUST be soaked. Apparently some need to be cooked too!
Do you have a recipe that you use garbanzo beans in? Care to share?
Posted in Food | Tagged: and Rice, bean recipe, bean salad, beans, fiber rich, Garbanzo beans, green beans, internet education, kidney beans, legume protein rich, Nia, Nia class, Nia San Jose, quick soak beans, Red Beans and Rice, roasted beans, San Jose Nia, Sausage, soaking beans | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on February 27, 2014
I am aware that lunch meat is not one of the healthiest of things to be eating. But I LOVE sandwiches. I also love that my husband will eat a sandwich that I make and send to work with him instead of eating out every day. He does eat lunch out on occasion. A sandwich with lunch meat is healthier than what he eats when he eats out. But this post is not REALLY about lunch meat. It is about prices. It is about paying attention. It is about packaging. It is about knowing what you are buying. In my opinion, food manufacturers are tricky. I was in the store not too long ago buying lunch meat. I prefer the meat that my husband gets at Costco, but he has not made that trip in a bit so I am buying lunch meat from the grocery store. It is a good idea to look at the per ounce prices on things.
I looked at the package of lunch meat that I normally buy and decided upon a really quick glance that there was another brand that was less expensive and to my delight tastier. I was trying to decide which turkey to buy when I saw the roast beef. My hubby gets turkey ALL THE TIME so I thought, “Oh, I will get the roast beef instead. It is the same price.” But as I picked it up I happened to look at the per ounce price on this brand. I didn’t really expect it to be different, in fact I was confused at first because the package was the same, but there was a 12¢ difference. That is when I look at the weight. The WEIGHT was not the same. The turkey was 9 oz and the roast beef was 7 oz. So even though I would be paying the same amount I would be getting two ounces less.
I don’t know for certain, but I can imagine that I bought this roast beef before. And I bet that I didn’t even notice the weight difference because the package is the same. Exactly the same. So I bet I didn’t even look at the weight because I thought I was getting the same amount of roast beef as I was turkey for the same price.
Now, really, if you want roast beef you are probably going to get it. I just think this is tricky. But — yes, it is clearly labeled as different amounts. I just really like that little “price per unit” amount the put on shelf labels. It really helps. Sometimes things LOOK more expensive because the price on the package might be more, but when you really look and compare it could be that the price of what you are buying is really less. I say “price per unit” because sometimes it is ounce and sometimes it is something else, just depends on what you are buying. So I use this information often. But usually between different brands.
It is so small and so many of us are in a hurry — especially at the grocery store — I thought I would share. Actually, I thought I would share because this annoyed me. I felt like I would have been duped if I bought the roast beef. And that really would have just been ME . . . I mean I was the one that thought they were the same size for the same price. I know about the “price per . . .” information, but since the packages are the same I ASSUMED (uh-oh!) 🙂 Since I was comparing lunch meat prices I happened to look at the per ounce price on this brand. I was shocked and annoyed.
I have also been paying attention to the prices at the store near my Nia class because although it is really convenient, I think it might be more expensive than the one closer to my house. So I have been really looking close!
Anyway . . . I guess I am just saying if you have the time and the inkling – really LOOK at what you are buying and use the “price per unit” portion of the shelf label!
Do you compare prices when you shop? Do you stick to your particular brands? Are you like me and you just really want to get in the store and get out?
Posted in Misc | Tagged: brown bag lunch, Costco, lunch meat, Nia, Nia class, price per unit, roast beef lunch meat, sandwiches, turkey lunch meat | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on February 20, 2014
The various surprising health benefits of wine
For centuries, people have derived pleasure from drinking many different varieties of wine. Whether it’s a sensuously versatile Pinot Noir or a divine Chardonnay, drinking wine in moderate amounts has proven to be one of the more effective ways to unwind, relax and allow the stresses of the day to just slowly fade away into the ether. Various studies have emerged throughout the years espousing the health benefits of drinking a glass or two of high-quality wine.
Experts from the world-renowned Mayo Clinic have stated that there are certain substances in red wine called phytochemicals (specifically, flavonoids and resveratrol) that may help prevent heart disease and failure by performing two critical functions: increasing levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (also known as the “good” cholesterol) and protecting against artery damage. It is worth noting that both resveratrol and flavonoids are also recognized as antioxidants (not all phytochemicals are antioxidants, though).
Resveratrol, in particular, is markedly more prevalent in red wine than in white wine; after all, red wine is fermented with grape skins for a longer period of time compared to white wine. Additionally, resveratrol has gotten a lot of attention due to possibly playing an important part in maintaining healthy cardiovascular function. Some of the existing research has linked resveratrol to reduced blood vessel damage, prevention of blood clots, and a decreased amount of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (the “bad” cholesterol). Dr. Eric Crampton, a highly respected University of Canterbury academic, has also opined that based on his interpretation of the current studies available, moderate drinking reduces mortality risk. Furthermore, according to Paul Jaminet of the Perfect Health Diet, animal studies have shown that the harmful effects of alcohol on the liver – fatty liver disease that inevitably leads to a scarred and damaged liver (cirrhosis) – occur only when it is combined with excessive intake of polyunsaturated fats.
Clearly, judicious consumption of red wine not only calms the senses; it’s also a healthful habit in moderation.
Image courtesy of M&S
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This post is a guest post. The conclusion reached is that of the guest author. My approach would be more from a “COULD be” healthful. Many things we eat, drink, and do have the appearance of being healthful, but it always boils down to moderation AND the individual, so to me it is not so clear.
Posted in Misc | Tagged: antioxidants, cardio dance, cardiovascular function, Chardonnay, cholesterol, dance exercise, Dance Workout, Dr. Eric Crampton, exercise, fatty liver, flavonoids, guest post, HDL, health benefits, health studies, heart disease, high-density lipoprotein, high-quality wine, LDL, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, M&S Wine, Marks and Spencer, Mayo Clinic, Nia, Nia Blue Belt, Nia class, Nia Teacher, Paul Jaminet, phytochemicals, Pinot Noir, polyunsaturated fats, red wine, resversatrol, San Jose exercise classes, San Jose Nia, San Jose Nia classes, San Jose Nia Teacher, San Jose Workout, sponsored post, Terre Pruitt, the Perfect Health Diet, University of Canterbury, wine, workout, Yoga | 4 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on February 1, 2014
The other day prior to the start of my Nia class a student walked in sharing a situation and asked who to call. The group of students gathered suggested she call 911. I was on the other side of the room preparing to teach so I am not certain, but I thought she said had been, but could not get through. Then she asked, “Who should I call?” since it was NOT an emergency situation I suggested she call 311. One of my students said, “You mean 411?” And I said, “No. 411 is information, I mean 311. It is the police but it is a non-emergency number.”
Apparently this group was not familiar with this service. The conclusion reached by the group was: call 911 and ask them what to do. That is exactly the type of call the 311 is designed to handle. 311 is there to assist in NON-EMERGENCY situations that may require municipal services. So it is not exactly police, but municipal services. It is there to allow people access to public services, such as police, but in situations that are NOT emergencies. After experiencing a group of people who was not familiar with this public service I asked more people if they were aware of this number and I was very surprised that most of the people I asked were not familiar. So that prompted me to write this post. The number 3-1-1 is available in a lot of major cities in the United States and communities in Canada. Now, remember this is a number you can call when IT IS NOT AN EMERGENCY. So, if you call it and it is not available in your area you can always call the local police number for instructions and information. Since it is NOT an emergency you have time and the mindfulness to research the correct number you should be calling instead of 911. The number 911 is for EMERGENCIES and if used in non-emergency situations could be considered a crime. While I think if you were truly trying to help someone or something you probably wouldn’t have charges brought up against you, it seems that if you could keep the EMERGENCY lines open for actual and true EMERGENCIES you would be doing us all a service.
Wiki states: A promotional website for 3-1-1 in Akron described the distinction as follows: “Burning building? Call 9-1-1. Burning Question? Call 3-1-1.”
You can call 311 if you want to report graffiti . . . or someone parked blocking your driveway . . . or someone in your neighborhood is lighting off fireworks . . . . or it is 2:30 am on a Monday night and the neighbors are playing the music so loud your windows are rattling . . . there is also that car has been on your street for a few days and every time you see , has “less”(first the tires are gone . . . then the bumpers . . . etc.) . . . basically things that are NOT EMERGENCIES, but are causing you concern or might require municipal services.
The first use of this number as a non-emergency service number was in 1996 in Baltimore, Maryland. Previously it had been used in Hollywood as the area code for phone numbers in such movies as “When a Stranger Calls”, “The Rockford Files”, “Ghostbusters” and more according to Wiki.
If 311 is available in your area, calling it instead of 911 could free up EMERGENCY services for actual EMERGENCIES. It is possible that if more people were aware of 311 people would not get a busy signal or be put on hold when they call 911 in an EMERGENCY SITUATION.
Do you have 311 in your area? Have you ever called it? What type of non-emergency would you use 311 for?
Posted in Misc | Tagged: 311, 411, 911, abandon cars, graffiti, Hollywood Movies, illegal fireworks, illegal parking, municipal services, Nia, Nia class, Nia students, Non-emergency situations, police emergencies, public services | 10 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on January 25, 2014
Nia is a body/mind type of practice. Or mind/body . . . however you want to say it. I tend to say body/mind because the first step is to get into the body. But it is different from a lot of other exercises. It is much more like yoga and Pilates then say . . . weight lifting or running. I recently taught a class where a woman told me afterwards that she really loves it because she is very athletic, she runs, she plays other sports, but she wanted something that was more freeing and more connected so she decided try Nia and now she is hooked. She still does all of the other stuff and continues to love it, she is just rounding out her workouts and exercise with Nia as a body/mind addition. Nia is really great to add to any type of workout regime you have.
Since Nia focuses on allowing the participant to participate at their own level it can easily fit into your workout schedule. I have had many people who love more traditional sports tell me that Nia is a great addition for them. They all love that body/mind connection and the way it allows them to feel like a kid. They love the play of it.
I have had people come up to me before class and say, “I can’t dance are you sure I can do this?” The answer in The Nia Technique is “if you can walk you can do Nia.” And that is true. In a Nia class you might even fine tune your walking a bit. We might train you to do that Heel Lead that often gets lost in a high heeled or runner’s gait. Get that flex and extend back in the ankle. But really anyone can do Nia.
I would bet that you have noticed the increase in the popularity of yoga . . . well, it is that mind/body connection that draws people to it. Many people are understanding that even a regularly scheduled exerciser benefits from having that mind/body connection. With Nia there is also the Emotions and Spirit. The whole enchilada. BMES. Body, Mind, Emotions, and Spirit.
I’ve posted about Spirit before. It is one of the things that many people really enjoy about Nia. It can be compared to the “feeling like a kid” again. The play in the exercise or workout. The “Wooohooo!”
So the intention of this post is just to remind people – because I am sure I have said it before – that Nia is for everyBODY. To remind you that people who like the more traditional exercise and workouts, the more athletic type of stuff, as in running and weight lifting, find they really like to add in Nia to the mix. It actually helps them in their other type of workouts. They claim — the ones that talk to me — they are more focused when they do run and/or lift weights. So if you are one of those people who prefer the more traditional exercise, maybe break out of that for a Nia class and see how it works for you.
Check out my schedule on my website Nia Class Schedule or if San Jose is too far for you look at the Nia Classes on the main website.
Do you ever find yourself wanting to try something different for a workout? Do you want to add something new to your exercise regime?
Posted in Nia | Tagged: and Spirit", athletic, BMES, body, body-mind practice, emotions, Heel lead, Lifting Weights, mind, Mind-body practice, mind/body connection, Nia, Nia class, Nia Classes, Nia exercise, Nia San Jose, Nia schedule, Nia workout, NiaNow.com, Pilates, running, San Jose Nia, The Nia Technique, weight lifting, workout regime, www.HelpYouWell.com, Yoga | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on January 18, 2014
I know – well, I am pretty confident that I have mentioned before in a blog post that I don’t think of myself as teaching people Nia. Even though I say I teach Nia, I usually prefer to say I lead Nia. I wish I could find that post because I would like to check what I said exactly because I am feeling a bit different these days. Or maybe I have it clarified in my mind better. I believe I said that I don’t like to say I teach Nia because I feel that a dance teacher is one that demonstrates the steps and then has the student try to do them while the teacher watches. Then maybe the teacher demonstrates again and the student does it again and then maybe there is some adjusting done by the teacher. Or even in a group dance class setting the move is done over and over until it is somewhat learned and then the next move is added on. Sometimes there is a sequence of moves that is demonstrated then practiced over a few times and then a new sequence added on. That is what I think of as teaching dance. So in THAT way I don’t teach Nia, but I DO teach Nia.
I do not show the move then have the students practice it over and over before we dance it, but sometimes when the song allows we do a preview and practice. It could be that the song has a long introduction in which there is no specific choreography and in that time we demo a move. While I might not tell a participant in particular a way to tweak the move I will look out into my class and see something that could use tweaking so I might say or even do something that I hope will lead to a change. Say, we are doing a move using our toe and I look out and see someone using their heel, I might suggest using the toe like squashing a bug or testing the water (depends on what we are doing). So in essence I hope to teach the students that we are using our toe. I teach the move as we are doing it as opposed to the aforementioned way.
IN addition, I like to share things about Nia while we are dancing. Sometimes I talk about how Nia incorporates the BMES (Body, Mind, Emotion, and Spirit) I might explain Nia’s Five Sensations while we are moving on the floor. Allowing the Nia students to be reminded of them and possibly use them in the floorplay. I often remind the Nia class about Natural Time letting them know they are free to move through the movement/choreography in their body’s own natural way and timing. Sometimes this is actually part of the song and if not people are always encouraged to move in this way.
So, I take it back if I said — as I believe I did — I don’t like to say I teach Nia, because I do teach Nia. But I don’t teach it as if it were a dance, because it is not just a dance. While we do dance, Nia is so much more. Maybe I should say I lead people through Nia Routines and I teach Nia?
Have you ever taken a dance class like I describe – the demo-do-type? Do you see the difference between two?
Posted in Nia | Tagged: BMES, dance class, dance floor, dance teacher, floorplay, Natural Time, Nia, Nia choreography, Nia class, Nia Dance, Nia five sensations, Nia participants, Nia routines, Nia students, Nia teachers | 2 Comments »
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