Posts Tagged ‘Nia class’
Posted by terrepruitt on December 13, 2012
I don’t know the Nia Blue Belt Principles by heart yet. I think I should, but I don’t. I will work on that. I was doing my 30 minutes for the December 30 Minute Movement Challenge, while I was doing it I was wondering if I could get ready to go teach the Nia class tonight, make a salad, straighten up the room, and write a blog all in the 30 minutes I had left before I had to leave. While I realized that was not possible I thought I could at least come up with a topic for my post. I thought about posting the fourth principle of the Nia Blue Belt, but I couldn’t remember what it is. At the end of my 30 minutes for the December 30 Minute Movement Challenge I did the Nia 5 Stages. As I was doing the Nia 5 Stages I thought I could post about them, then I thought not because I would want to spend more time writing about that. I decided to see what the Principle #4 is. When I saw it, I had to laugh out loud. Nia Blue Belt Principle #4 is Developmental Anatomy. The tagline is Reaching Your Ideal. I find this too funny. The reason it is funny is that the Developmental Anatomy used as a tool to assist in reaching your ideal is the Nia 5 Stages.
The Nia 5 Stages are the stages we go through in development. The stages are: Embryonic, Creeping, Crawling, Standing, and Walking. In the womb we are embryonic, we move with comfort through fluid, we are safe, comfortable, and warm. Once born most infants creep. Creeping is not crawling, but it is getting us around, but not very efficiently. At one point there is crawling. We are much more mobile and active. We see a lot more and often we go after it in this stage. Then there is that stage where we “stand”. The standing usually starts out with the help of something or someone. While in life this stage for a child involves a lot of sitting . . . get wobbly and fall on their butt, it does not in the Nia 5 Stages. The standing in the Nia 5 Stages is more of a low to the ground squat. Then there is the stage of walking. The Nia 5 Stages is actually a movement practice. It is based on science. It is a tool to help the body move more efficient. As I previously stated, I would love to do a more in-depth post or even posts on it, I will do that at a later time.
What Nia did for the Nia Blue Belt Principle #4 was allow us to use this movement, the practice of the Nia 5 Stages as a tool to reach our ideals. It is very interesting how Nia uses the body for this. If you have a goal in mind, the idea is to think about it and go to the body to find out where you are in reaching it. Again, to me, another brilliant connection made by Nia. It really makes sense to find out where you are in the stage of reaching your goal so you can work on what you need to work on to complete it. Are you in the embryonic stage of the goal? Maybe just thinking about it? Are you are far as the standing stage? Doing the movement to find out really helps the entire process. There is no triad for this principle as it uses the Nia 5 Stages pictographs. If you are at the point of taking the Nia Blue Belt you would be familiar with the 5 stages and the pictures so they work as the symbols for Nia Blue Belt Principle #4.
So, it was funny to me that I was thinking about posting about principle #4, but couldn’t remember what is was. Then I thought I would post about the Nia 5 Stages. And it turns out they are very much connected.
Do you see how there could be stages of a goal?
Posted in Blue Belt, Nia | Tagged: Crawling, Creeping, December 30 Minute Movement Challenge, Developmental Anatomy, Embryonic, Nia, Nia 5 Stages, Nia Blue Belt Principle #4, Nia class, Reaching Your Ideal, Standing, walking | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on December 11, 2012
Nia Blue Belt Principle #3 – Awareness, Insight, Clarity – Pearls and the Realms, is an exciting principle. I found it really exciting because there are things that Nia teachers are supposed to do in Nia class that I really wanted to learn to do better. There is a particular way we are supposed to teach or more accurately there is a tool that we have available to us to use while we teach. The “tool” is called a pearl. When I go to other Nia classes I often find myself wanting to stop moving and just write down what the other teachers are saying. I often find their verbiage, their wording for something to be just what the move is about and so I want to use that in my class. Since I don’t REALLY want to stop dancing I repeat it in my head while I am dancing and sometimes I can even convince myself that I will remember what they said. Sometimes I do remember and sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I have a vague recollection that leads to a pearl of my own that works out fine. These pearls are what we use to enhance the class. They are words that allow the participant to connect to a move, the music, a feeling, a sensation, almost anything . . . . and this in turn allows for a better experience. Part of the Nia Blue Belt Principle #3 – Awareness, Insight, Clarity, was a lesson on how to come up with pearls. It was insight into where they can come from.
As a reminder, in these first posts about the Nia Blue Belt Principles I am just writing quick about what I initially got out of it. I am just sharing and getting it down in print as a tool to help processes it. This principle has a lot more to it than just assist with what to say and how to describe things in a Nia class. As I said the principle is Awareness, Insight, Clarity, with a tag line of Pearls and the Realms. And it is the pearls that I have been longing to learn more about. So that is what I gleaned most about this principle. As I go back and read the manual I am sure I will even get more. As I continue to teach even more will be revealed.
Have I mentioned before that the manual is 276 pages? Yeah. It is intense. It is a lot of information. It is amazing.
Anyway . . . this principle gives us the place that the pearls come from. It helps categorize them. In knowing where they come from it is easier to allow them to come. In the categories or realms a Nia teacher can decide to utilize pears from all realms. To me this can help balance a class.An example of pearls we could use for each realm in a class would be:
Everybody sense your ankle. This would be from the physical realm.
Everybody feel lonely. This would be from the emotional realm.
Everybody imagine you are a dog. This would be from the mental realm.
Everybody wiggle and jiggle. This would be from the spirit realm.
I was so excited to learn the different type of pearls. Part of my excitement came from confirming pearls don’t have to be physical and part of it came from realizing I did use pearls more than I thought. I thought I used them a lot less, so it was nice to learn I use them, I just didn’t know it.
So the pearl portion of Nia Blue Belt Principle #3 – Awareness, Insight, Clarity was a great eye-opening. And, of course, you really can’t have the pearls without awareness, insight, and clarity, right? I didn’t explain that here, but it’s true. This post jumped right to the middle. I may or may not do a post explaining about the first part. I really think I should leave somethings for you to learn when you do your Blue Belt Intensive. 😉
Do you get excited when you think you are not doing something you are supposed to be doing but you find out you are doing it?
Posted in Blue Belt, Nia | Tagged: emotional realm, mental realm, Nia Blue Belt Principle #3, Nia class, Nia Intensive, Nia manual, Nia participants, Nia pearls, Nia teachers, physical realm, realms, spirit realm | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on December 10, 2012
WAHOOOOOO! Day #10!!! How are you feeling about completing 10 days? Good? It is always nice to have done something good for yourself for 10 consecutive days. So yay!! Let’s keep going. I have one friend already talking about making this 30 minutes a day thing a permanent habit. That is really a great idea. 🙂 Thirty minutes really isn’t that long.
Today is Monday, I’ll be back here after I teach my 9 am Nia class. This month I am subbing a Yoga class while the regular teacher is on maternity leave. I am teaching Nia and the yoga students love it.
Thank you so much for being here and for participating in the challenge! WAHOOO!
Posted in December 2012 30 Minute Movement Challenge | Tagged: Day #10, December 30 Minute Movement Challenge, Nia class, Yoga | 6 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on December 8, 2012
Off the top of my head, Nia’s Blue Belt Principle #2 – The Power of Two makes me think of Nia’s Energy Allies or the more commonly known four agreements. The tag line for this principle is Communication. The details involve a transmitter and a receiver. So to me it is a perfect connection to the energy allies. To me to be a clear transmitter one must speak with impeccability. One must stay on task of what the idea is that is being communicated. It is the job of the transmitter to be clear so that the receiver can understand what is being conveyed. To add to that the transmitter doesn’t assume the receiver knows what is being said, another reason to be impeccable. To be a pure receiver, the receiver shouldn’t be assuming they know what the transmitter is saying. The receiver shouldn’t be making up stories in his/her head as the transmitter is speaking. The receiver should be quietly listening, with no inner dialog happening. Also there is the added mission of not taking anything personally. This can be more easily accomplished if the third person — the one in the receiver’s head — is quiet. Both the transmitter and the receiver always strive to do their best. That is how I connect Nia’s Energy Allies to Nia’s Blue Belt Principle #2.
Since communication can be thought of as the exchange of energy between two, this principle and its details can easily be applied to everyday life. The exchange of energy can be between people or things. The exchange is a giving and a receiving. It does not have to be verbal, the exchange, the communication, could be a touch, a gesture, or any of the other ways things are communicated. So you might be able to see how within the scope of life it can be applied to more than just communicating with another person.
As a Nia teacher we can apply it to our Nia practice. There is a transmitter and a receiver with our bodies’ movements. There is a transmitter and a receiver with the music. There is a transmitter and a receiver with a Nia routine and the choreography. There is definitely a transmitter and a receiver in a Nia class and the transmitter is not always the teacher.
With the principle being The POWER of TWO, I can’t help but connect it the Nia Energy Allies when thinking of the communication between people. My connecting probably stems from the fact that I truly feel I need to strengthen my relationship with all FOUR allies in order to allow the POWER of two to shine through.
This is just my immediate thoughts on Nia’s Blue Belt Principle #2. As I live with it longer and read the manual and process it, I am certain I will come up with more. My relationship with will become stronger. Nia has a “craft” for working with this principle, but I am still determining my relationship with that idea. We will see if a post ever becomes of their idea.
Are you familiar with Nina’s Energy Allies (or the four agreements)? Can you see how they can be instrumental in communication? Can you see how the Allies could assist in making two powerful?
Posted in Blue Belt, Nia | Tagged: Four Agreements, inner dialog happening, Nia choreography, Nia class, Nia Practice, Nia routine, Nia Teacher, Nia's Blue Belt Principle #2, Nia's Energy Allies, NiaNow.com, receiver, speak with impeccability, The Power of Two, transmitter | 4 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on December 6, 2012
Do you move fast? Do you do five things at once? Do you have more than one project going on? Are you doing one thing while your mind is thinking about another? It is hard to slow down, huh? I think part of it is technology. We have cell phones that can do so many things we get instant gratification so we don’t have to wait for anything. We can call someone while we are doing something else. We can look up something on the internet while we are talking to someone all the while doing something else. Multi-tasking is expected. We must be productive and in order to do so we have to do more than one thing. I posted about multi-tasking in September 2009. I actually attempted to stop and only do one thing at a time. It proved to not be possible for me. As an example, when cooking dinner I have to do more than one thing at a time. 
It is not feasible to cook the pasta, then the meat, then make the salad — or any order of that. More than one thing has to be going on at a time. So I realized that multi-tasking is necessary, but there are ways I can be more aware of what I am doing. There are some tasks that I can do without doing something else. Part of this for me is just slowing down. I need to have patience to get through one task before I move onto the next.
I have been thinking about this a lot this week as I have been decorating the house for Christmas. I love to have it look like Christmas every where you look. It doesn’t have to be Griswald-y, but an ornament here, a candle there—just SOMETHING. While I have been doing this I have been using a ladder. In our garage it is a bit tricky. We park both of our cars in the garage so the “edges” tend to get a little cluttered. We also have bicycles hanging from the rafters near where the Christmas boxes are stored. All this week I have been having to tell myself, “Slow down.” Literally. I want to get it done quickly — plus I am excited because I just love all this stuff. So I would bolt up the ladder and realize once I was up there that I couldn’t move freely, I had to think about the fact that I was on a ladder, the fact that I was wearing floppy shoes, that there was a bike an inch from my head, back, butt (depending on where I was on the ladder). I had to think about how I was going to move once I got the box in my hands. I had to think how I was going to climb down the ladder with a box in my hand and a handle bar at my shoulder.
It is not easy for me to do some things slowly and I have been pondering that this week. I think that being more patient is part of it. If I were more patient with getting some of the things done I want to get done then I wouldn’t be rushing through what I have to do. Part of it is also because there is going to be some work done involving the house at the end of this week and I was rushing to get things done before that deadline. Also, I wanted it all done before I my Nia Class on Thursday evening! But still . . . . it is not easy to slow down.
I want to say that I HAVE been JUST brushing my teeth. I have made a conscious effort. But it wasn’t since September 2009, it has been more recent!
Do you find rushing to be the case? Do you rush through things just to get to another thing to rush through?
Posted in Misc | Tagged: Christmas, Christmas decoration, Christmas Ornaments, instant gratification, multi-tasking, multiple projects, Nia, Nia class | 4 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on December 6, 2012
I am so glad you are here. As we get closer to Christmas it might become more of a challenge to keep going, but six days in . . . . YOU CAN DO IT! So can I, right? I am here to GET support as much as give support. I have a few things going on this weekend and I need to get stuff done. I could easily skip 30 minutes, especially since I am going to teach a Nia class tonight. With my class I will be getting in my aerobic exercise. But I will be back to let you know I did my 30 minutes. It might end up being practice for tonight.
What about you?
Posted in December 2012 30 Minute Movement Challenge | Tagged: aerobic exercise, Christmas, Day #6, December 30 Minute Movement Challenge, evening Nia class, Nia, Nia class | 5 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on December 5, 2012
Yay! Day five! How are you doing? Feeling good, huh? You’ve done five days and you are gonna keep on trucking! (Remember that term? Where did that come from?)
Post a comment to let me know you are done. I will be back to let you know. I have to teach my Nia class and then run some errands, but I will be back with to comment with my 30 minute done!
Thank you for being here!!!
Posted in December 2012 30 Minute Movement Challenge | Tagged: Day #5, December 30 Minute Movement Challenge, keep on trucking, Nia, Nia class, Nia Teacher, teach Nia | 5 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on December 1, 2012
So today is the first day of the December 2012 30 Minute Movement Challenge. There are so many things you can do, you know that right? On the days I am teaching a Nia Class I will obviously get in 30 minutes of movement, but at this point, right off the bat, I don’t want to count that as my 30 minutes. I would count Nia as my 30 minutes if I am doing it as a student. Being a teacher and being a student are different, so I am going to count them differently. I will be back today to check in with my 30 minutes completed. But first some ideas on what you can do, yes? You can walk. Walking for 30 minutes is a great exercise. If you walk fast enough and get your heart rate up it can be an aerobic exercise. With your challenge you decide whether your 30 minutes will be aerobic or resistance training. You can also add to it. Moving for longer than 30 minutes. Just make certain you are moving (in an exercise-y type of way) for at least 30 minutes.
There are so many things you can do. I already mentioned walking. There is my ten minute workout. You can do that for 30 minutes consecutively or do three different 10 minute sessions. If you have a device that allows you to create playlist of music you can make up a great playlist and dance for 30 minutes. You could do 30 different exercises for a minute each. Some examples: squats, bicep curls, lunges, triceps kick backs, donkey kicks, push ups, inner thigh lifts, sit ups, triceps dips, frogs, hamstring kick backs, lateral flies, knee lifts, rows, reverse curls . . . . . . and 15 more.
The key is to get AT LEAST 30 minutes in. The thirty minute time length was originally brought up to help people STAY healthy. Many people need more than that to GET healthy in the first place. But we are just doing a challenge for the month of December to make sure we are moving EVERY DAY. With all that is going on during this season it is easy to skip the workout. So committing to 30 minutes EVERY DAY will help.
Keeping to a schedule helps a lot. Committing to a goal, also helps. We also know that sometimes things do come up and even though we have a schedule and made a commitment there might be a day where we just didn’t get the 3o minutes in. To help ensure you get it in I recommend doing it first thing in the morning. I know that when I put things off for later in the day sometimes they don’t get done. The things I do first thing always get done . . . . funny how that works huh? If you happen to miss a day, that is fine, just pick it right back up the next day.
Remember you don’t even have to comment about what you did, just comment that you DID move/exercise/workout for at least 30 minutes! So . . . . what do you think? Do you have a plan? Are you done with your 30 minutes?
Posted in December 2012 30 Minute Movement Challenge | Tagged: 30 Minute Movement Challenge, 30 Minutes In December 2012, 30 minutes of exercise, dance exercise, Dance Workout, December 2012 30 Minute Movement Challenge, lunges, Nia, Nia class, Nia Dance, Nia student, Nia Teacher, Nia workout, running, squats | 6 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on November 29, 2012
In two days it will be December 2012. Wow! The end of the year really seemed to go fast. Like that last half of tank of gas. 🙂 This is the busy time of the year for many of us. There are holiday obligations that might include work and family. There is the weather you might be dealing with. There is all of the days off. There is a lot to deal with. And two things often fall by the wayside during this season. One is eating healthy. With all of the holiday treats around and so much more of food in general, eating more than we might normally and eating differently that we might normally is too easy to do. I say be aware. Don’t graze at the party because it is there and you are not paying attention. Don’t eat something that you normally wouldn’t just because “Tis the Season.” The second thing that gets put away for the month sometimes is exercise or working out. The month is so busy and it is so cold. It is easier to bundle up and sit by the fire. It is easier not to get out of bed early to get some movement in. But let’s not allow that to happen. Let’s make a pact with each other. Let’s move for 30 minutes EVERY DAY in December. My ideal is 30 consecutive minutes, and for you, personally, I would like to have the 30 minutes be consecutive minutes, but I am not going to be picky. It can be 15 and 15 or 10, 10, 10. Just get in 30 minutes. It can be walking, dancing, lifting weights . . . .whatever, just make it MOVING.
Let’s start Saturday, December 1, 2012. Let’s do a challenge, let’s make a pact. Let’s check in here every day. I will schedule a post for midnight Pacific Standard Time. And you all (yes ALL OF YOU!) can just post a quick, “I did my 30!” If you want to tell us WHAT you did great? But let’s just keep moving throughout the entire month. Let’s be a team. A support group. Let’s not let our exercise and workouts and just moving fall down the cracks because it is “that time of year.” Yes, we are all busy, but this is really important. You know exercise actually helps relieve stress yet it is usually one of the first things to get crossed of the schedule where there are a lot of things to do. Let’s not do that this year. Let’s ban together and keep moving.
Two of my regularly scheduled San Jose Nia classes are on Monday and Wednesdays. So we will be doing Nia on Monday, December 24, 2012, Christmas Eve and Wednesday, December 26, 2012, the day after Christmas. AND there is Nia on Monday, December 31, 2012, New Year’s Eve and Wednesday, January 2, 2013! PLUS I just agreed to teach Nia as a substitute class on Mondays AND Thursdays from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm. So I am keeping my regular Nia Class schedule during the Holidays and have added more, so we can keep on dancing. Be sure to check my website for all the dates I will be teaching because when I teach for they City there are center closures. For instance, my Tuesday Nia class is with the City and they are closed on Christmas Day so I won’t be having that class. Do whatever it is you like to do. Do it for 30 minutes. Every day!
What do you say? Who is in?
Posted in December 2012 30 Minute Movement Challenge, Exercise and Working Out | Tagged: 30 minutes a day, Christams 2012, Dancing, December 2012, December challenge, Holidays 2012, Nia, Nia class, support team, walking, weight training | 8 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on November 27, 2012
The Nia Blue Belt has 13 principles as does the Nia White Belt, Nia Brown Belt, and Nia Black Belt. The principles for the Blue Belt were created to layer onto or weave through the Nia White Belt Principles. The 13 Nia Blue Belt Principles are:
1. The Joy of Being In Relationship
2. The Power of Two
3. Awareness, Insight, Clarity
4. Developmental Anatomy
5. The Power of Three
6. Split, Ellipt, Blend
7. Nia Class Format
8. The Power of Silence & Sound
9. Form and Freedom
10. FloorPlay
11. Music, Movement, Magic
12. Observe, Listen, Guide
13. Vertical Routines
Even though I have been introduced to 13 new principles, I can still work with the 13 Nia White Belt Principles. I still have a lot I can learn through them. Nia actually made practicing them easy by creating the Blue Belt principles to weave into the White Belt Principles. The Nia White Belt Principle #1 is The Joy of Movement. 
When Nia creates the principles they create catch phrases and other things to help explain what the principle is about and help people remember the principle and what it is about. One of the things they use as a tool is a triad with words or phrases. The triad for principle #1 in the Nia White Belt is the same as the triad for principle #1 in the Nia Blue Belt. The triad is choose, sensation, and universal joy.
The Nia Blue Belt Principle #1, The Joy of Being In Relationship, the catch phrase is “with”, so you choose, sense the sensation, experience universal joy. You are in relationship with all three in addition to “the other” you are in relationship with. The “other” does not have to be a person, it can be a movement, a body part, a person, a thought, an idea . . . . anything. As an example, you can be in relationship with your hips as they move when you walk. You are not just aware of them, but you are in relationship with. There is communication going on. It is not just you moving them, you are listening, sensing, aware . . . in relationship with. They move and you receive information from them. Maybe you sense them tilting forward. Why? What is that the result of? Can you move them so they are not tilting forward? You ask. They say yes. You move in a way that adjust them. You move on. Energy and information going back and forth between you and “the other”. This is applied to dancing Nia. This is applied to teaching Nia. This is applied to everything. This is applied to life. We choose. We sense. We have the opportunity to experience Universal Joy. We have the opportunity to be in relationship with.
So this is a new idea for me. This is how I am perceiving it today. This is how I am understanding it today. I welcome others who have taken the Blue Belt Intensive to comment. I believe this principle is one of the things that takes practice. It is something that can be played with and experienced. And I actually feel as if my relationship with this principle changes. So, yeah, there will probably more on this as I explore the Joy of Being In Relationship With!
Do you somewhat understand how you can be in relationship with?
Posted in Blue Belt, Nia | Tagged: 13 principles, Awareness, Blend, Clarity, Developmental Anatomy, Ellipt, floorplay, Form and Freedom, Insight, Joy of Movement, Magic, movement, Music, Nia Black Belt, Nia Blue Belt, Nia Brown Belt, Nia class, Nia Class Format, Nia Intensive, Nia relationship, Nia training, Nia White Belt, Split, the joy of being in relationship, Vertical Routines | 7 Comments »
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