Posts Tagged ‘Nia class’
Posted by terrepruitt on December 27, 2011
In Nia there are 13 White Belt Principles. The principles provide a foundation, something we can learn, practice, explore, and build on. One Nia White Belt Principle, Principle number 7 has two parts. The second part of the principle is levels of teaching. I wrote about this when I was sharing about each Nia White Belt Principle. The three levels of teaching come up again as the eighth stage in Nia FreeDance. The eighth stage is Nia Class – Levels 1, 2, 3.
The eight stages of FreeDance are:
1-FreeDance
2-Being Seduced by the Music
3-Feelings and Emotions
4-The Creative Source
5-Authentic Movement
6-Witness
7-Choreography
8-Nia Class – Levels 1, 2, 3
In addition to learning, practicing, exploring and building on the 13 White Belt Principles, Nia teachers are taught to use the eight stages of FreeDance to learn our routines and also to expand our Nia Practice and to have fun with Nia. FreeDancing to the music is often a step I skip. So is might go without saying that dancing the first six stages of FreeDance is something I often don’t do when I learn a routine. I am going to work on using this tool, FreeDance and its stages, to learn my routines going forward. I am also going to use this tool when I go back and practice and delve deeper into the routines I already teach.
In regards to Stage 8 – Nia Class – Levels 1, 2, 3, this is something that Nia teachers need to be able to share in a class. As I stated in my post about the second half of the 7th Nia White Belt Principle, everyone’s levels might be different, but the point is that I need to be able to show you different levels. The move itself does not change, it just might be done bigger or covering more floor. If the move is a cha-cha step, then my level 1 is a cha-cha, as well as my level 2, to make it more challenging in level 3 I don’t change it to a jazz square, I just make it bigger. Or I might even show the example of it being more bouncy. There are different ways to change the level and we all have different levels so we have different needs when it comes to changing the level.
Level 1, 2, and 3 does not necessarily mean “planes” as in low, middle, high, it means level of intensity. Now how “intensity” is interpreted DOES depend on the move. As I just mentioned it could mean bigger or more bouncy. It all depends on the move itself, but either way the spirit and the energy remains the same.
I do find that sometimes I don’t have enough time to show all three levels for all of the moves. Sometimes I just stick to level one if it appears that the move is challenging to most students. Then I might briefly demonstrate level two, but go quickly back to level one because I can sense I am going to be leaving most of the class behind. In that case, what happens is if there is a student that is ready for level three they get their on their own. It is fabulous.
I do think that it is really good for me to continue to remind my students that EVERYBODY has a different level 1, which automatically means that their level 2 is different, which dominoes into the level 3 being different. When playing with dancing freely to music it is fun as a student and a dancer to experiment with different levels of intensity of a move. Sometimes the music dictates the intensity as the music itself might change intensity. Sometimes it is just amusing to change it up to challenge the body, brain, and spirit. So, even as a student of Nia or dancer that dances because you love to move you too can also experience different levels of dancing free. This is a brief look into Nia’s FreeDance and Stage 8 Nia Class – Levels 1, 2, 3.
Ready to turn on some music and dance?
Posted in FreeDance, Nia | Tagged: 13 White Belt Principles, Authentic Movement, dance class, freedance, levels of intensity, Nia, Nia class, Nia Dance, Nia routine, Nia student, Nia Teacher, Nia White Belt Principle #7 | 4 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on December 20, 2011
Last Monday on the way home from my Nia Class I stopped at the store to buy a huge bunch of veggies. I was wondering what I was going to cook them in. I needed a new pan. I think that it is perfect acceptable to give pots and pans as a gift — when one asks for it/them. Last Christmas I asked for a pan. A 14 inch fry type pan. I had a really difficult time finding one. I really wonder why it is so hard to find such a large pan. It is not as difficult to find a 12 inch pan and everyone; every store, every brand, EVERYONE has a 10 inch pan. But a 14 inch pan is really difficult to find. Once they go over 12 inches they start measuring by quart it seems. Last year I had to search and search and search but I finally found one. It was great.
A lot of my pans spin on the glass top. The other ones wobble. When pans don’t lie flat on the glass surface they don’t heat very evenly. My 12 inch pan is a wobbler AND a spinner. And it is not as large as I would like. I wanted a 14 inch pan, and as I said I had finally found one. I was so happy when I found it that I asked for it for Christmas. It was 14 inch, it was non-stick, it was affordable. So that was one of my Christmas presents last year. I used it all the time. It was heavy enough that it didn’t spin on the glass top. It was also flat so it didn’t wobble. I used it all the time. A lot of the pictures on my blog of food are in that pan.
But it was affordable and maybe on this side of cheap because after a year it is rusting. This pan did NOT go in the dishwasher. Things that say they are dishwasher safe don’t always last as long when they go through a washing with the tough detergent that goes into dishwashers. Plus I am not even sure this pan would have fit in the dishwasher. So it never went in the dishwasher. Well, it started rusting anyway, so now I can’t use it.
I was on a quest for a new 14 inch pan. I could get another one same as the one I got last year, but then would I be having to buy a new pan every year? Probably. I could get one to match my really nice set, but they are not cheap. So I debated. Buy it not, buy it. I have always wanted it, but it is difficult for me to spend that much on a pan, but once you do, they really last forever. I decided that I would ask for it as a Christmas present. Not a traditional gift. A lot of money for just one thing, but I figured if you added up all the other stuff it would equal about the same.
So, I am happy to report that I will be getting a 14 inch all-clad for Christmas. Just the thought makes me happy. The other day I wanted to cook a huge pan of veggies. As I was adding more and more vegetables, I kept hoping they would all fit. I kept wishing I had a bigger pan. I kept thinking . . . . why is it so hard to find a 14 inch pan? Doesn’t everyone want to cook AT LEAST 14 inches of veggies? I mean a pan full of veggies with a little bit of rice is a great meal. The larger the pan the more veggies. Oooooo! That is exciting! More veggies.
Can’t wait! Can’t wait! Can’t wait. I am so like a kid at Christmas. I love getting surprise gifts. I love getting gifts I know are coming. I love getting gifts I will use all the time. And you know I will use that pan all the time. You know it will become a regular feather on my blog.
What about you? Are you one to ask for something practical for a gift? Are you ok with getting a small appliance or cookware for Christmas?
Posted in Misc | Tagged: 14 inch pan, AllClad, Christmas gift, Monday Nia class, Nia, Nia class, non-stick, practical gift, small appliances | 10 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on December 13, 2011
I teach Nia at a studio in San Jose. The studio is in a part of San Jose called Willow Glen. In January (2012) I will have been holding Nia classes there for three years. It is a studio that is owned by two women who teach and perform belly dancing. One woman is named Hala and the other Amanda. The name of the studio is Halanda. See how they did that? Well, every year they have a Holiday Party which is like Christmas Parties at offices once were, a BIG thank you. The teachers come together to display their talent in front of the audience made up of students, other dancers, and neighborhood people. It was an awesome show and a great party.
As I mentioned in a previous post, this is the first year that I have been able to attend. I was very amazed and impressed. I am going to spend from now until the next party telling my students they really want to attend next year. It is a busy time of the year, but it is so great to come and see all the beautiful dance we have going on in the studio.
There was a lot of food. As you can see there were vegetables, fruit, meat, and cheese. There were several types of crackers. Someone brought sandwiches. Someone brought spanakopita! There were trays of cookies. You can see the huge trays of turkey wraps. There was so much food. As one dish was emptied something else would replace it. The table was like the never ending table of food.
As you may know it is difficult to watch something AND take pictures at the same time. So I really rushed through taking pictures. I was using my phone and my camera. I was taking pictures on my phone and posting them to various social networks, like Facebook, Twitter, and Streamzoo. In addition to this being a “thank you” party, it is also a networking party and a way to try to get people interested in taking classes at the studio. So I was trying to watch at the same time I was Facebooking, tweeting, and posting to Streamzoo. All of this in addition to the fact that the subject(s) are shaking, shimmying, bouncing, and jittering caused me to have mostly very blurry shots.
The first dance shot is of Farima and her Students performing a Silk Road Fusion.
Then there is Marie Manila showing us what Hot Hula is. It appeared to be hula dance, with her telling you what muscles you are working. Maybe they repeat some moves more than they would in a typical hula dance.
Then there is a picture of Farima and some more of her students. They are doing a Persian Dance and they are dressed like princesses. I think the costumes are one of my favorite things about belly dancing. They can be very sparkly and shiny. I love that.
Here is a shot of my friend Laura Thompson. She is multi-talented. Here she is dancing under her stage name, Setareh , with a sword. I have known here for years and I have never seen her dance. It was awesome. Her other passion is jewelry making and her talent lies not only in the beautiful pieces she creates, but in the way she can tweak one of her creations to match you perfectly.
Here is Amanda, a co-owner of the studio, doing a Turkish Dance. 
Below is photo of Vy performing an Egyptian Oriental Dance.
Next is Hala, the other co-owner, doing Egyptian Bellydance.
And then a shot of Michelle and her students. Michelle teaches something called No Rules Dance, which I believe is for belly dancer who have belly dancing experience, but want to learn new things and “break” the rules.
I didn’t take pictures of all the performers, plus some that I did take were too blurry to post. Every dance was a delight to see. So much talent at the studio!
I did a two song Nia demo and many people joined me. It was awesome. We had a great time. I was so happy to be able to share Nia with so many people.
Well, I will probably point you to this post as NEXT December nears so that you can be reminded of what a GREAT time the party is and maybe (if you are around) you will attend. It really is a treat to be able to see so many different types of dance and belly dance all in one show. Thanks always to Hala and Amanda for having such a great little place we all can dance!
Posted in Exercise and Working Out, Nia | Tagged: Amanda, Belly Dance, Certified PiYo Instructor, Christmas party, CPT, exercise, Facebook, Hala, Halanda Dance Studio, Holiday party, http://www.HelpYouWell.com, Los Gatos Nia, Nia, Nia class, Nia Dance, Nia San Jose, Nia studio, Nia Teacher, Nia White Belt, No Rules Belly Dance, Performance, Pilates, PiYo/Pilates/Yoga, San Jose exercise classes, San Jose Nia, San Jose Nia classes, San Jose Nia Teacher, San Jose Workout, social networks, Streamzoo, Terre Pruitt, Twitter, Willow Glen Nia, workout, www.HelpYouWell.com, www.NiaSanJose.com, www.TerrePruitt.com, Yoga | 6 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on December 8, 2011
I was talking about Nia with my Nia students recently after our Nia Class. They were telling me what they think Nia is. They said that Nia should come up if they were doing a search on the internet using the term dance exercise. I was really happy to hear that. I always get stuck when people ask me what Nia is because to me it is a lot of things. If you have read any of my posts on this blog about Nia you know how its principles can be applied to life and how at its very basic level it is a workout. But way beyond that it is a practice. When people ask me about it my enthusiasm takes over and I want to tell them ALL about Nia, when I could just stick to the basic level – it is dance and dance is exercise.
Even though it is exercise and it is a workout it is fun. I love that “Dancing With The Stars” really helped show people what a great workout dancing is. Dancers have always known that dancing is a great workout–both aerobic and strength. I think people have always known to some extent that PROFESSIONAL dancers get a workout, but I think that show opened the door to more people understanding that dancing even if you aren’t a professional is a workout. Yes, the “stars” do end up dancing as much as professionals to learn the dances, but still for some reason it seems like it enabled people to see that dancing is exercise—but it is fun!
As with any workout the participants can put what they want into it. If you really want to get a workout you can move bigger, farther, higher, lower, faster . . . whatever works for you to get the workout you need and want. The possibility to move small, slow, and just be mellow is always there. It is very versatile. It is cardio but if you really move — especially during floorplay — it can be a great strength training workout.
I actually started teaching Nia because it was a dance exercise. I don’t know if I have mentioned that before in this blog, but I was looking for something to teach that was very dance-y yet was exercise. I knew a lot of women who said they loved to dance and they would like to dance but their partners didn’t like it, so they thought that a workout that was dance would be great. It is. It is very fun. We dance to all types of music. There is a lot of opportunity for self-expression. Even when we are doing specific steps there is a lot of room for one’s own movements.
Nia was created to be fun, to address the entire being. Debbie Rosas-Stewart and Carlos Aya-Rosas brought us this wonderful movement practice through years of hard work and research, that started in 1983. Carlos retired at the end of 2010, and Debbie is moving Nia forward in a great direction. Body-centered, spirit-filling, and mind-blowing. We are dancing up a storm and loving it. It is dance, it is exercise, it is dance exercise and if you try it you will love it.
Posted in Nia | Tagged: aerobic workout, cardio workout, Carlos Rosas, dance exercise, dance practice, Dance Workout, Dancing with the stars, Debbie Rosas, Nia, Nia class, Nia Dance, Nia Practice, Nia students, Nia teachers, Nia workout, professional dancers, professional dancing, strength training workout, White Belt Principles | 4 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on December 7, 2011
Reporting in. How are you doing with the 31 Things Project? Getting rid of anything? Today after teaching my Nia Class I took my trunk full of plastic water bottles to the recycler. Those things take up a lot of space. My entire trunk and half my back seat was full. I have a big trunk. There were two large bags and a box sitting in our garage the rest I stored in my trunk. It is not easy to save up recycling because it takes up a lot of space but it isn’t worth it to go to a recycling place unless you have a lot of stuff to recycle. So we have it around for a long time and are always having to dance around bags of bottles. But there is a place in San Jose next to the Willow Glen studio I teach at and the people there were SOOOO nice I think I might drop by more often.
My list thus far is: today, I rid our space of plastic bottles. Yesterday, I went into my office closet for something and ended up throwing some stuff out. Closet is still not clean, but it is a bit more organized and some of the stuff in it is more easily accessible. The day before I noticed a drawer in the kitchen that had gotten a bit out of control so I tidied that up and threw out some of the stuff in there that was no longer useful. The day before that I fixed a watch band. I have several watches and most them need batteries or new bands (sounds like a perfect “thing” for my project). The one that has a working battery has a “broken” band. Well, the leather band itself was fine, it was the pin that hold the band to the watch that had broken. Now, please understand that I know it is easy to remedy these things, I just don’t always think about them. They slip my mind. I was looking for something in a box and I found some pins. I had saved the pins from a broken watch band. So I was able to put the saved pin into my watch band and — Voila! A watch. Yeah! I love watches and I have not had one that could actually be worn in so long.
Fixing that band did two things; 1) it has encouraged me to put “fix watches” on my 31 Thing Project list and 2) it changed two useless items (a pin and broken watch) to two useful items. Unfortunately that little tiny pin was not taking up a lot of space so no space was created, but time certainly was. Ha, ha. Ok, times was not CREATED, but I now know what time it is!
This is proving less easy than I thought because of the Holiday season, but I am committed to the project so I am going to do it. I need to remember that the idea is not to take up a lot of time. Give me a chance to exercise focus. Yesterday I spent way too much time in my closet! I got distracted by things in the closet that I was not looking for. So . . . how are you doing? Do you have seven things on your list of “done”?
Posted in Misc | Tagged: 31 Things Project, clean closet, create space, create time, dance exercise, fix things, Nia, Nia class, Nia classes in San Jose, Nia Dance, Nia exercise, Nia Teacher, recycle, San Jose Nia, water bottles, Willow Glen Nia | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on December 3, 2011
Whew! Of course the first two days into December were busy or to state it more accurately – already scheduled. So my 31 Things in December Project almost didn’t get started until the 3rd of December, but as I was going along I realized that I could count what I was already doing as part of the project. I was originally thinking of things to do specifically for the project so I hadn’t made the connection that what I was doing could be included in the project, which is just plain silly. As you may know from my posts one of my best friends is moving away. Yes, I can still talk to her and keep in touch, but visiting will be a much larger ordeal and will not happen as often as we would like. So this past week I spent two days visiting her just to see her two more times before she left. The last visit was on December 1st, the first day of my project. I hadn’t thought of something to do for the project. But I did get a new rug which is to replace TWO rugs in my entry way. So without even thinking about my project I was able to get rid of two things, but since I replaced it with one, some sticklers might consider the “getting rid of count” at one. But that is ok, it is still ONE thing. And it is much easier to vacuum, clean, wash, etc. ONE rug instead of two. And that is the point of this project. If making more space, if getting rid of things, if de-cluttering, if fixing something helps make life easier and less time is consumed then that is what we want.
Then on December 2nd, I had a Nia class to teach late morning and then my mother-in-laws memorial service to go to, so again I was not thinking of my project. But I was thinking of making sure the house was not a disaster when some people came to visit afterwards, so I employed my refrigerator cleaning technique. With my technique I don’t empty out the fridge so I don’t always throw stuff out. But this time I decided to throw a few things out. Afterwards I realized that my getting rid of stuff in the fridge could be considered “things” for my project. So, yay, since I had other things on my mind it worked out great.
Then today – I made sure I did it BEFORE I posted so I could be honest – I did one of the things I was originally thinking about doing for this project. Now this is going to probably sound really silly to a lot of people, especially men, but I’m going to share anyway. First I am going to try to set it up so it might not sound as silly. If someone is going to do a project, let’s say, build something, they might need a variety of tools in order to do it correctly. A cook or a chef usually has many tools at his/her disposal in order to cook a nice meal. A hairdresser has many tools in order to style, cut, color, and work on people’s hair. Well, for some the same thing goes with make-up. I don’t think I wear a lot of make-up but I do realize that there are some tools that help with the make-up applying process. One tool some of you that wear make-up might use is an eyelash or eyebrow brush. Well, I don’t think that there is any sense in buying them. What I do is I use the brushes in that come with the mascara I buy. I like certain shaped brushes when I apply mascara so sometimes I will buy my mascara based on the brush. Well, since I use the brushes in my make-up applying process sometimes I don’t throw the tube of mascara away even when I have stopped using it.
Mascara does not last a long time. I think they have even perfect formulas so that is gets clumpy and sticking after about 45 days so you are forced to go out and buy more. Anyway . . . with the fact that there is a point that I stop using it and I use the brushes after I am done with the mascara, I have ended up with a lot of unused tubes of mascara in my drawer. Now, my intent as I save every tube is to “deal with it”, but it is a messy process. It is not that it takes a long time, but when I am doing my make-up I am usually trying to get out of the house so I don’t want to take time to stop and look at all the tubes I have, decide which brushes I might want, then wash them out. I am too busy trying to get ready. Then when I am home I don’t think, “Oh my mascara brushes!” So you might be able to imagine how they can pile up. So that is one of the things I have taken care of as part of my 31 Things in December Project.
I went through all of the tubes of mascara I had. I decided which brushes seemed as if they would make good tools, then I pulled them out of the tubes, THREW THE TUBES AWAY (YAY!), and washed the brushes. I ended up with a few brushes, but they are all different shapes and different bristle hardness, so I think they will be able to be used differently. I am going to evaluate them when they are dry to make a final decision. If the bristles are to soft after they dry then they really aren’t what I want. So I might end up throwing away even more.
But now I have a little more space in my make-up drawer. I know the whole make-up thing might seem silly to some, but as I stated the whole idea of this project is to help eliminate things to help free up space and/or time. With less things in my drawer there is more space which creates more time because I am not having to paw through useless tubes of mascara. Plus with this particular thing I have created tools that will help me apply my make-up more efficiently. Not that I actually do that often anymore because I dance it off when teaching Nia, but when I do it is nice to have help.
So? What about you? Have you been able to get rid of at least three things? Or move somethings from the broken pile to the usable pile? Have you decided to participate in this exercise of making space? Well, share. Tell us what you have done to make your life more free.
Posted in Misc | Tagged: 31 Things in December Project, cleaning refigerator, dance exercise, make-up tools, making more space, mascara brushes, memorial service, Nia class, Nia Dance, Nia exercise, Nia Teacher, Nia Technique, teach Nia classes, unclutter | 6 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on November 22, 2011
Yesterday, after my Nia class in Central San Jose, I went to Campbell to pick up some locally “grown” honey. It has been pretty cold here so I have been drinking tea and I was thinking soup. It was at the last minute and through a chance of “well this light is green so I will turn this way” that I ended up at Trader Joe’s. I don’t get to Trader Joe’s often because it is just not in my regularly traveled areas. I didn’t know what I was going to get there until I saw the package of cut butternut squash. Then I was on my phone trying to find the recipe so I could make certain I got all the ingredients for butternut squash soup.
I have made this soup at least twice before, but the last time I made it I put too much pepper in it. Probably not even as much as the recipe calls for, but it was WAY too hot for me to eat. I was soooooooo disappointed. But at least it didn’t go to waste because my hubby loves spicy hot food so he ate it.
I remembered from the times before that one package of cut butternut squash is about 6 cups of squash and that is what the recipe calls for. With Thanksgiving coming I thought that we could just eat it all week if I doubled it. I am fortunate in that my hubby doesn’t mind eating the same thing over and over. So my plan was to make a double batch. But my plan was also to not follow the recipe exactly.
Before I had made it the very first time, I had read the reviews and I believed what the majority of them said so I was already adapting, but I was even thinking of more modifications. The problem is I don’t always know what I am going to do until I do it. As I am cooking an idea will pop into my head and then I don’t always remember what I did when it comes out great. I thought to write as I cooked but I didn’t.
After I sat down to eat it though I decided I had to make note of what I did because to me and for me, this is the best batch I have made and I want to make it EXACTLY like this from now on. Please excuse me for being brand specific. Normally I like to be more Rachel Ray than Martha Stewart, and I will say use whatever, but for me, I am going to use these exactly ingredients to make this soup. I really think that these particular flavors are what made it so yummy. But you of course are free to use the brands and flavors you like, but if you don’t want to lick the pot when you are done than it really might be the brands. 😉 I would have taken pictures of the cooking process had I thought I was going to post about this. 
I had thought NOT to post, but then after I ate it, I realized I HAD to post just so I would have record of it. The pictures of the products are after I fished the packages out of the garbage.
Butternut Squash Soup Adaptation
Two packages Trader Joe’s cut butternut squash (2 lbs each)
Olive oil spray
salt
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 box (32 oz) Trader Joe’s Low Sodium Vegetable Broth
4 packages Trader Joe’s Savory broth – chicken flavor
3 1/2 cups water
1 tsp marjoram
6 turns of the smoked pepper pepper mill
two light sprinkles of cayenne pepper
1 8 oz package cream cheese
2-3 tablespoons of whipped cream cheese
Heat the oven to 450. Spread the squash on a pan or two, spray with olive oil, sprinkle with salt. Roast the squash. The goal is to cook it until it is soft, but it is nice to have some of it browned. Roast for at least 30 minutes. Flip, stir, or shake so as to move the squash around a bit. Here is where you decide how roasted you want your squash.
Melt the butter in the stockpot, add the onions, and a little salt. Cook the onions until tender. Put the roasted squash in the pot, add the box of broth, add the water, add the contents of the broth packages, add the marjoram, add the pepper, sprinkle the cayenne. Bring to a boil.
Take the pot off the burner and blend the soup until smooth. (I use the immersion blender). Add the cream cheese. Stir. Blend until the cream cheese is full incorporated in the soup. Depending on how long it takes you to blend the soup and how hot you want to serve it. You might have to put it back on the stove.
This recipe makes a nice creamy squash-flavored soup. It is not sweet, but it is not spicy hot. If you like spicy hot you can add more pepper. The actually recipe on Allrecipes.com calls for a 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper and a 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper. That is too hot for me. I just put a few twists and a sprinkle. The thing about making the pot mild is that people can add their own heat. My hubby sometimes adds hot sauce. But then sometimes he doesn’t. He can decide.
As with any recipe, of course, you can modify it as you want. But for me THIS IS IT! Also as with anything, I would love to hear what you think.
Posted in "Recipes", Food | Tagged: butternut squash soup, Campbell California, cayenne pepper, cream cheese, hot soup, Martha Stewart, Nia, Nia class, Nia San Jose, Rachel Ray, roasted butternut squash, San Jose Nia, San Jose Nia class, Thanksgiving, Trader Joe's | 6 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on November 19, 2011
I went to a Nia class this morning. Grateful Hearts Nia Celebration is an annual event, it is in its third year although this is the first time I have attended. It is a free Nia class put on by a friend Anita Christensen, a Brown Belt Nia teacher. She collects food for the Second Harvest Food Bank. Today she collected a pretty good haul. She had a great turn out for class. Then I came home and got ready for a party for a friend that is moving away. Yesterday, even though I only have one Nia class, I had to go visit a friend who is saying goodbye to his mother, and did not have a chance to write a blog post. Although there is plenty of time to do things, I don’t SEEM to have enough time to do some of the other things I have on my schedule to do. It has been a bit of a trying month. There are a lot of things more important than a blog post for me right now.
A lot of things are changing and although I am committed to posting and doing it on my self assigned schedule, I just have been working through some stuff. I don’t always have a post just popping off my fingers into the keyboard. Often times it takes a lot of research. I come up with a topic or an idea I think will be easy to post about and then I sit down and start writing and looking into the subject and so much information is out there. Often a lot of it is conflicting and I don’t like to write about something without at least being aware of the other side. I know I don’t always succeed and I even might just think there are two sides when there are many more, but at least I know there is at least one more side.
At times lately, I am thinking I am just not grown up enough to be able to handle all that is going on. So much makes me want to just go into a corner for a self-imposed time out, but that is not how I believe I can live. I believe that in spite of all the death and loss that is going on I still have a lot to be grateful for. That is why the dance today, the Grateful Heart Nia Class was so important to me to attend. What all this boils down to is that I don’t have a lot of time to write a blog post. I am just writing some things about what I am feeling and what is going on and as usual, I am hoping other people can identify.
I have not taken the time to think of a topic. I tried. I let my mind wander to see if it found something, but I have been a little distracted. So I didn’t think of one and I didn’t do research because I felt that there were other things I needed to do. I needed to visit with my friend as he is going through this transition. I needed to go to a Nia class. I needed to grab some food and go visit with one of my best friends who is moving. I didn’t think we were be as long as we were, but then again, we needed to spend that time together.
Then, as I am sitting at my computer trying to figure out what to write, I have this cat that wants to sit on my lap. She doesn’t always do that, she will usually let me work then later when I get out of the office she will sit with me but for some reason there she was sitting on my lap putting her head in my hand as I tired to typed . . . another more important-than-a-blog-post thing taking me away from my post. Sometimes I just have to go with the flow and ride the tide. I hope you understand. I also hope that sometimes you are able to stop trying to work on your to-do list and just do what you have to do.
Posted in Cats, Misc, Spot | Tagged: Anita Christensen, Brown Belt Nia Teacher, Grateful Hearts Nia Celebration, Nia, Nia class, Nia Teacher, not enough time, Second Harvest Food Bank | 4 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on November 17, 2011
A Nia student of mine reminded me of something after a Nia Class the other day. She said her daily meditation said to speak with love AND to listen with love. I have heard that before I believe, either someone posted it on Facebook or a friend posted about it on her blog. I can’t remember. The speaking with love is not always easy, but I think of it as a more common thought, a more common instruction. It can be compared to the old adage “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” A well-remembered saying. Somewhat similar. Speaking with love would be saying nice things. But the listening with love or the hearing with love, that is a little less common of an instruction. I have not heard that one for as long as I can remember as I have heard the other one. I also think it is more difficult to do than to speak with love. I mean, like the old saying says, don’t say anything if you can’t be nice. But it is difficult not to hear someone. If someone is talking you general listen and hear them, but it could be a challenge to do it with love.
We all take our experiences into situations. Our thoughts and actions are based upon our past and what we know. So I believe that we hear and listen the same way. If someone has been in relationships where their partner has lied to them, then they might hear a lie in everything. They might be listening with distrust and anger, not love. If someone is having a bad day and someone says, “Have a nice day.” they might hear it as sarcasm. Whatever it is that we are feeling, thinking, and experiencing at the moment it can definitely “cloud” how we hear things. If we are not conscious of how we are listening we can make something out of nothing. If we hear and listen in anger, we could respond accordingly and cause a fight or hurt feelings. It is not easy to always listen with love. We all have “stuff” going on in our lives. Some of this “stuff” can make us sensitive and this sensitivity can possible make us read into things. Listen with love is a practice.
I can’t remember if what I am talking about was the focus of my friend’s blog post, but I do remember my comment including the association between what she was saying and the four agreements. Listening/hearing with love reminds me of “not taking things personal”. “Things” as I mentioned. If there is something going on in my life that is making me upset, I might listen and hear things in a negative way. Or if someone else is having a bad day and I am not listening with love, I might not stop to think, “Hey, maybe this person is having a bad day and instead of snapping meanly back at them, I should remember that we all have bad days.”
Clearly there are different ways we can take “listen with love”. When I hear that, these are two ways that occur to me. What do you think of when you hear, “listen with love”?
Posted in Misc | Tagged: common sayings, Facebook post, Four Agreements, have a nice day, listen with love, meditation, Nia class, Nia student, old sayings, speak with love, well remembered sayings | 4 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on November 15, 2011
Yesterday after my Nia class I was looking for something to post about today. I often look at my blog to see how many articles I have posted in each category. I am sort of surprised that my “Misc” is surpassing my “Nia”, but I bet a lot of the post categorized under Misc mention Nia in some way. I noticed Chakra only has two post and I know I said I was going to post more on that so I googled Chakra and lungs. I have been sensing my lungs lately. If you’ve read my blog for a bit you might know that I think that most of the time we don’t sense our body parts. We don’t think about them and we don’t sense them. When we sense them is it usually because something is up. I don’t think about my back until it hurts. I never sense my elbow until it is sore. My toes are pretty much on their own until I hurt one. So that is what I mean. You don’t think about your heart or your lungs unless they are bothering you. I don’t always like to assign the word PAIN to a sensation because it is not always pain. I could just be an itch or a discomfort, either way, I am sensing them. So I did a Chakra lung search. I don’t know why I was surprised. The chakra that affects the lungs is the heart chakra.
The heart chakra is the fourth chakra. It located in the middle of your chest. The color associated with it is green. In the body the associations to the heart chakra are the heart, the circulatory system, the entire chest area, lungs, breasts, the diaphragm, the thymus gland, the immune system, and some say the endocrine system. One website states: “Possible Physical Symptoms: Heart Issues, Lung & Breathing Problems, Upper Back Pain, Breast Cancer, Compromised Immune System, Blood Diseases.”
The fourth chakra is where feelings and emotions of love originate. Joy, honesty, happiness, generosity, compassion, respect, and understanding are associated with the heart chakra.
The heart chakra is affected by grief. I was just thinking that my itchy lungs could be a result of a less than happy heart chakra. I was reminded by this one site that the middle of the chest would be right behind the sternum. The sternum and rib cage protect the actual heart and organs. This information made me lean even more towards those thoughts.
Several sites stated an exercise that could be performed to help balance the heart chakra is to vigorously rub your hands together. This opens the energy in the hands which are connected to the heart’s energy.
So interesting. I still do not understand all the energies in the body and in the world, but I see how it can all be connected and how sometimes certain energies can become block or unbalanced. It amazes me to see how it all connects. But if you believe that it DOES all connect, then it might be that you can understand how a sad heart could have itchy lungs.
Have a day full of light!
Posted in Chakras | Tagged: chakra associations, chakra exercise, compromised immune system, fourth chakra, heart chakra, Nia, Nia class | 12 Comments »
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