Posts Tagged ‘Nia Dance’
Posted by terrepruitt on January 7, 2014
I had a new to Nia person come to class today. She called me yesterday to ask about it and showed up to class today. I like that. Of course, I asked her about it after class. She said she liked it because it made her think. She said that is what she needed. Nia is amazing because it is one of those exercises that DOES make you think. There are differences in a Nia routine. There are times when there is Free Dance, a time where you don’t think. You just let your body move to the music. You let it go and see where it takes you. It is not a trance dance, you are not in a state of trance, but you are letting your body move to the music without thinking. There is no thinking of what others think or how you look, or of a pattern, you just move. There is also the choreographed steps. Some of those steps are described as the actual dance steps there are, say a Jazz Square, a grapevine, a ball change, etc. And when learning them or even when incorporating them into a routine there may be thinking involved. There is also the imagery used in Nia. Where instead of saying reach up we might say pick an apple, instead of just saying walk we might say walk Jazzy, instead of saying get down on the ground we might say melt onto the earth . . . .these things might cause you to have to think for a moment. What are the movements involved in picking an apple? What does “Jazzy” mean? How does a body melt? Sometimes a routine will have us doing a movement that is out of the ordinary. Say against the normal “flow” of movement. And again that is where we have to think. So sometimes, yes, we do think in Nia.
Right now I have just begun teaching a routine, I have only taught it once and it is making me laugh because when I first saw Debbie Rosas do it on the DVD I didn’t understand why she said left hand on one section and right hand on another. To me it looked as if she was alternating. So the first few times I did it, I alternated my hands that I started with. When I was barring the song and I went to write down the arm choreography I stopped to watch it closely. She says left when we start with the left ONLY and right when we ONLY start with the right. There is alternating hands in between, but not alternating starting hands. This is one of those funny moves that makes me think. I love that the other teachers on the DVD didn’t quite get it either. Makes me feel better. Makes me remember that it is a practice and my brain and body will have to think about this move until I have it engrained.
I love that Nia is Body, MIND, Emotions, and Spirit (BMES). I love that new people come in and see all that it is and say they love it. I love it even more when they come back.
I always say that there was a reason Nia was once named Neuromuscular Integrative Action . . . . because that is really what it IS. I don’t know why they abandoned that, but I can imagine. It is a mouthful. And to some perhaps it sounded intimidating. Once people come to class they get to see it for themselves. It really was/is an ingenious name, just a bit much, I guess. As we are thinking we are using our nerves and our muscles.
So, what do you think?
Posted in Nia | Tagged: a ball change, a grapevine, BMES, Body-mind, dance choreography, dance exercise, dance patterns, dance steps, jazz square, Neuromuscular Integrative Action, Nia, Nia choreography, Nia class, Nia Dance, Nia exercices, Nia Free Dance, Nia Music, Nia routine | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on November 28, 2013
Today is Thursday, a day a regularly post on my blog. You know I mainly post about the cardio dance I teach called Nia or food. I am either sharing something about Nia or a recipe. But today is Thanksgiving and as I sit here trying to think of something to write before the day ends, I am coming up with nothing. Nothing, but the usually post of gratitude and thankfulness. I didn’t want to do that again this year, but it really is so appropriate. You know I am doing a Goodie Jar where I put good things in a jar. Well, a lot of that is stuff I am thankful for, but a post about being thankful is a bit different. I won’t go on and on about it. I will just say that I am very grateful.
We had a very nice dinner at my husband’s sister’s house. I brought my camera and didn’t even think about it until we were walking out the door to go home. I did not take one photo. Her table was set as lovely as ever. It was the first time we all were able to fit at one table as not all of the kids made it to dinner. She made a lovely meal. We had a nice dinner and a great time. I am grateful.
I am also thankful for the usual stuff. And I am thankful for you. Thanks for reading. I hope you had a nice day — a Happy Thanksgiving, if that is what you celebrate. A Happy Hanukkah, if that is your Holiday. And/or a nice Thursday, if that is what today was for you. Either way, thanks for being here.
Posted in Misc | Tagged: cardio dance, good things jar, Goodie Jar, Hanukkah, Holiday, Nia, Nia Dance, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving 2013, Thanksgiving dinner | 8 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on October 24, 2013
After Nia class once a month we meet for a visit. We walk to a coffee house and get a beverage. Some of us have coffee, some of us have tea, some of us have nothing, but that is not the point. The point is that we visit. It took almost two years for me to learn one of my students is a Naturopathic Doctor. As the teacher, often times I am busy with “teacher/business” duties. I miss some of the interaction and conversations that my students have. It is so fabulous to see friendships formed and conversations happen. But I wanted to be in on some of the conversations and I wanted my students to be able to share with each other as a group. I love when I can make a connection . . . when one person can meet the needs or desires of another. So, so, so fulfilling. It is difficult to learn about people while dancing . . . so an after-class visit is just the thing. Students can share what they do and what is going on in their lives and we can get to know each other a bit off of the dance floor. Also, I learn a lot of other things about my students and what they like about Nia.
I was sharing with one of my students something about the moves. I was using a specific example and I said, “You know when I am talking about because you were giggling.” And she said, “I was giggling because I messed up.” She said after we did the move over and over and over she was still getting it wrong and so she was laughing. She said messing up is one of her favorite parts of Nia. I LOVE that. I love that she “gets” that part of Nia. Nia is not about doing it right. Nia is about moving. Nia understands that sometimes for so many reasons, you just don’t get it. It could be a move you can normally do in your sleep but for some reason at that moment it is escaping you. Instead of getting upset and frustrated with yourself and STOPPING, embrace the mistake and keep moving. Use the opportunity to do the move in a totally different way. If you are still able to move with the count, but the choreography is escaping you for the moment, move in a different way but with the same count. If you are able to do the movement, but it is the count that you are having issues with, vary your speed even MORE. Go faster or slower . . . what have you got to lose, not the count because you’ve already lost that! Just IN JOY it, be in joy. Have fun.
I love, love, love that my student loves messing up. She embraces so much that is Nia. She takes that as an opportunity to play. To “be a kid again” and just not care. You know how kids are — before they are taught differently — they just move and dance in their own way and they don’t care what opinion people have. Also in the messing up and going with it, it is a lesson in letting go . . . . letting go of judgment, letting go of feeling you have to be perfect, letting go of making your body do something it is clearly not doing well – at the moment. It is freeing to just move the best you can.
Now this is different from Nia Free Dance. I mean Free Dance is where we are purposefully dancing to stimulate movement creativity, not dancing in a choreographed way. Where we don’t think and we just move. This, when you just can’t get a move and give into NOT getting it, is you dancing what you are capable at the moment in the choreography. Get through it then join back in. I would think you would keep trying to do it or continue with the modification you made, but it is not free dance. It is more of a embrace-the-mess-up-and-have-fun kind of dance.
I was just very happy to hear that she was ok with messing up. She was ok with allowing herself the freedom to not be perfect. She was embracing and celebrating movement for Joy and not for moving exactly like the choreography. She was having fun. Awesome!
So do you enjoy messing up in a situation like an dance workout class? Can you laugh it off and keep going? Can you allow yourself to dance your way and get back on track when you are able? Can you see the difference between this and Free Dance?
Posted in Nia | Tagged: be a kid again, coffee house, coffee visit, Free Dance, Free Dance Nia choreography, freedance, letting go, Naturopathic Doctor, Nia choreography, Nia class, Nia connections, Nia Dance, Nia dancing, Nia fun, Nia schedule, Nia students, Nia Teacher, perfection, tea | 6 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on October 12, 2013
I took dance lessons when I was young. I cannot remember a time when I didn’t know the Jazz Square. Of course there had to be a time because one is not born knowing what a Jazz Square is much less how to do one. But I don’t remember not knowing how to do it. So I actually must have learned it prior to my dance lessons, because I was young when I took my lessons but not THAT young. Whatever the case . . . . unfortunately it was all too long ago for me to truly know . . . I knew what a Jazz Square was when I entered my first Nia Class and when I took the Nia White Belt Intensive. While the Jazz Square is not included as one of Nia’s 52 Moves it is something we do a lot in our routines. It could be considered part of the Jazz Dance that is one of the Nine Movement forms that make up Nia. Well, not everyone has had dance lessons or knows how to do a Jazz Square. So we can use the clock to help them.
Nia has a core set of moves called Nia’s 52 Moves. Three of them actually have “clock” in their names. One is Rock Around the Clock, another is Slow Clock, and another is Fast Clock. So it makes sense that with those moves we would use a clock image to do the move and/or help explain and instruct the move. I have posted before about how we use the clock to help direct other moves. Well, the Jazz Square is one of them. While it is called a square it sometimes might be more of a rectangle, but the idea is to use the four corners.
First thing to know is that the Jazz Square is just four steps. So often I will just have my students march or step four counts. Sometimes we will get the dance going with that and then move to the square. Some people stay with the marching and that is fine. Another VERY important thing to know AND DO is to weight each step. As in, put all your weight onto each step you take. When you are learning the jazz square this is of the utmost importance. This will ensure that you are taking a left, right, left, right (or right, left, right, left) approach and not trying to use the same foot – as in left, left, right, left – and just getting tangled up.
Let’s do a Jazz Square left-over-right. So we will be starting with our left foot and having it cross over the right foot to the right side. The left foot comes over to the right and lands on 2 o’clock, the right foot comes back to the back right corner and lands on 4 o’clock. Then the left foot steps back to the back left corner – 8 o’clock, then the right foot steps over to the upper left corner – 10 o’clock. That is one jazz square. To keep going the left foot swings around the right foot to the upper right corner – 2 o’clock and you continue on.
So right-over-left is: right foot to upper left corner (10 o’clock), left foot to back left corner (8 o’clock), right foot to back right corner (4 o’clock), left foot to upper right corner (2 o’clock). To keep going the right foot must swing around the left foot back up to the upper left corner (10 o’clock).
Sometimes when we are doing a fast jazz square my square turns into a diamond with step one being more at 1 and the corners a little askew. But I have corners!
As with many things sometimes it is easier for a person to do it one way than the other. So it might be easy to do left foot over right foot, but when you switch it is not as easy. Sometimes that is when a student will march. Or they will do the jazz square but not the hand or body movement that we pair with it. Continuing to move is the key so whatever they do is great. Eventually with practice, the can do it!
Perhaps this will help.
Key things to remember:
- FOUR steps
- Put your weight on every step
- Step to 2, 4, 8, 10 – left, right, left, right or
- Step to 10, 8, 4, 2 – right, left, right, left
- Marching is an option
- Have fun
Do you do the Jazz Square? Does this help? Can you do the Jazz Square and a shimmy? Both ways?
Posted in Nia | Tagged: core moves, dance class, dance lessons, dance moves, Jazz Dance, jazz square, Nia class, Nia Dance, Nia Intensive, Nia routine, Nia White Belt, Nia's 52 Moves, Nine Movement Forms, rock around the clock | 4 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on September 28, 2013
We dance Palm Directions all the time in my Nia classes. It is an easy thing to do. Palm Directions is a great move to incorporate into freedance. It is also often one of the moves choreographed into a Nia routine. Palm Directions is one of Nia’s 52 Move.
It might not be something you think about, but the direction the palm is facing affects the shoulder joint. When the palm is facing down (or towards the body) the shoulder joint is closed and when the palm is facing up (or away from the body) the shoulder joint is open. When your arm is straight that is when the shoulder joint gets the open and closed action. Along with the shoulder joint, the entire arm is affected. The arm bones are twisted with the movement of the palm.
It really is as simple as facing your palms in one direction then another. Unlike Webbed Spaces – another move in Nia’s 52 Moves (you can read about it by clicking here) – in Palm Directions the fingers are kept together. If practicing to affect the shoulder joint, lengthen the arm straight out in front of your body or straight down next to your body, then turn the palms up/face them out away from the body to open the shoulder, then turn the palms down/turn them towards your body to close the shoulder joint. You can observe the radius untwisting as it switches places with the ulna. You can sense the movement of your humerus, the upper arm bone.
In addition to opening the shoulder joint, the Nia Technique book reminds us that, “Palm Directions also express emotion. Palms up, for example, is a universal body language indicator of openness.” So it can open things other than the shoulder joint. Changing palm directions also moves the energy around. In Nia classes we move the arms all around the space around us, changing the palm directions, pushing and pulling and mixing up the energy. Also, while we are dancing and our arms are moving around us with the palms facing different directions we vary the speed of our movement. When Varying the speed that are arms are moving and our palms are changing direction allows us to play with agility – one of Nia’s five sensations (click here for more information on that).
This type of movement helps us connect with the space around us. Palm Directions, the Nia Move, also helps with keep the shoulder joint mobile.
This move is also a great move with which Nia participant’s can practice their own body’s way. The body was designed so the humerus rotates in the glenoid fossa or shoulder socket. But life sometimes affects the body so that it cannot move the way it was designed, so all of us have different levels of how much we can move the arm. So while playing with Palm Directions and dancing the arm around the space each individual can do it in their own body’s way. This will allow them to get the work that their body is capable of and needs.
Ready? Straighten your arms then change the direction of the palms. Are you able to sense your arm bones twisting/untwisting? Are you able to sense the action in the shoulder joints? What do you sense when you move your arms around while playing with Palm Directions?
Posted in 52 Moves (of Nia), Nia | Tagged: choreographed dance, freedance, mobility in the shoulder joint, moving energy, Nia, Nia book, Nia Classes, Nia Dance, Nia routines, Nia Technique, Nia's 52 Moves, Nia's Five Sensations, Palm Directions, shoulder joint, the body's way, The Nia Technique book, ulna, Webbed Spaces | 6 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on September 27, 2013
I remembered the Goodie Jar check in! Yay! How about you? Are you remembering to put good things in that jar? I know that some weeks are easier to find good things than others, but that is part of this — to find good things to focus on even in the midst of the things that bring us down or try to keep that smiling from surfacing.
My birthday was last week so I received a few cards. As I was pulling the cards out of the envelopes to display — yes, I put up my cards — I realized what great goodie note paper the envelopes would make. As you may know not only am I filling my goodie jar, but I like to use colorful paper to document my good things. I like different shapes and sizes and textures. So to me it was a good thing to realize I could use the envelopes as paper for my jar. Yay! Now I will have bright pink, red, and yellow to add to the jar! And do some recycling!
Fun stuff.
One of the good things I have added to my jar is my Nia students — again! I know, huh? — this week the traffic was stopped as I tried to make my way to my Nia class. When I looked on the freeway as I was getting on I thought it was just slowed for a bit because there were signs that said, “Shoulder work”. The actually direction I need to travel is not visible from where I make the turn on to the entrance ramp. When I made the turn onto the actual road to enter, it was stopped. So I just got right back off. But every single street I drove on had construction. So at times two lanes were reduced to one lane. Every time I was near a freeway entrance I thought I would get on the freeway there, but, nope, the traffic was backed up. So I slowly made my way all the way across town via city streets. I kept thinking I would make it to class on time or really close to it, so I didn’t pull over to call. But finally I stopped to call and tell them I was on my way even though I was already late! I finally made it, I was twenty minutes late! And guess what? My students were still there! WOW! I was so humbled and grateful it was JUST what a person needs after spending over an hour on the road to make a 20 minute trip. My annoyance and embarrassment at being late was washed away by my understanding and eager-to-dance students. They said, “That’s ok. Let’s dance it away.” And we did. So grateful. Definitely a GOOD THING for my goodie jar.
I hope that you use this check in as a reminder to take a moment and think of the good things that you have experienced this week and make a note.
Well, how many were you able to think of?
Posted in Good Things in the Goodie Jar | Tagged: birthday, good things jar, Goodie Jar, Goodie Jar – Check In #31, Nia, Nia class, Nia Dance, Nia students, re-use, recycle, reduce, September birthday, traffic jam | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on September 26, 2013
Today after Nia Class a Nia White Belt and I were talking. We were talking Nia over coffee and a friend from her past happened by. So she joined us. She was coming from Jazzercise and so, of course the conversation turned to us sharing some information about Nia with her. She sounded as if she was willing to try it but also as if she was never going to move away from Jazzercise. I love that she is moving. I think it is important that people exercise and one of the ,best ways to ensure that is to find something you like or better yet — love. I appreciate that there is so much out there for people to participate in. Of course, I would love for you to come to my Nia class. I would love for you to love Nia. I think it is great because it addresses the BMES, but not everyone likes that in their exercise. In the course of our conversation she said she tried Zumba, but it didn’t work for her that well. She had already mentioned that she takes it easy on her knee so I felt justified in recommending the correct type of shoe. I often hear people don’t like Zumba because it hurts their knees and it often has to do with the shoes they are wearing. In Nia we dance bare foot. We do not twist on our foot or scoot, we pick our feet up off the ground. When doing a dance exercise or a fitness class, like Zumba the need for shoes is apparent. In Zumba there is a lot of twisting, shuffling, and sliding. You need the right shoe for that.
Exercise sneakers, tennis shoes, cross trainers, and running shoes are not the correct shoe for doing Zumba or any type of dance that requires shoes for that matter. An exercise sneaker or tennis shoe has what you want in regards to cushion, construction and support. A cross trainer has even more support in the shoe because with cross training you are moving forward, backward, side to side, and even up and down. So the shoe itself is made to support your foot and keep it secured in the shoe. And running shoes are great for the cushion. They cushion your step and help absorb the shock of your foot landing on the earth. So these types of shoes are great, the “upper”, because they are built for impact and moving in different directions, but it is the sole you do not want to dance on. These shoes are made for traction. They are made to stop you from twisting and sliding. When you are playing tennis, doing cross training, or running you don’t want to be slipping, sliding, and twisting around. So the soles are made to keep that from happen. I mean, have you seen some of those soles? They look like tire treads. Great for outdoors.
Now a dance shoe, say a jazz shoe or a ballet slipper is perfect for dance. Without all of the cushion and support that is an athletic shoe they are usually light and easy to lift and move in. The bottom of the shoe has material that allows you to slide and glide, spin, turn, and twirl on the dance floor. Perfect for moving to the music and getting your groove on. And THAT is the kind of sole you want. Something you can twist in. Something you can slide in. Something that won’t stop you foot dead as you dance across the floor. But then again, those shoes have the SOLES you want, but not the support. Since you are doing cross training type of motion (forward, backward, side to side, and even up and down) you want that type of support. And it would be nice to have some cushion too, huh?
Well, do your knees a favor and do not do Zumba in tennis shoes, cross trainers, and running shoes. And do your feet a favor and do not do Zumba in a jazz shoe or a ballet slipper. What you need is a dance sneaker. Someone, somewhere – I don’t know the origin of them – decided to combine the two. Brilliant. Someone added the support, cushion, and comfort of an athletic shoe to a sole that can slide and glide. Whew! This is genius. This will help save your knees and other joints!
I know Zumba has a brand of shoe that has a great dance sole, I don’t know about the cushion and support of the shoe. I bought Capezios because they don’t have a sole over the arch so they allow for the foot to really move.
Since you are investing in your health and wellness by going to a dance exercise class, please take it a one step further and splurge for those dance sneakers. They don’t have to cost more than $50.00, and you will be saving yourself so much more in the long run. You will be allowing your body to move with greater comfort on the dance floor.
What do you think? Do you think a shoe that allows you to slide a bit is better for dancing? Doesn’t it make sense to have a dance sneaker?
Posted in Zumba | Tagged: athletic shoe, BMES, Capezio Dances shoes, correct type of dance shoe, cross trainers, dance exercise, dance fitness, dance shoes, dance soles, exercise class, exercise sneakers, fitness class, Jazzercise, Jazzercise class, Nia, Nia class, Nia Dance, Nia exercise, Nia White Belt, running shoes, tennis, tennis shoes, What type of shoe to wear for Zumba, Zumba, Zumba class, Zumba shoes | 4 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on September 17, 2013
I am not certain “touching” is included in any other workout. I am not certain if it is included in any other cardio dance exercise. Now I am not talking about “putting your hands on your hips as you shake them” or “putting your hands behind your head as you advance forward” or “touch your elbow to your knee” or “putting your hands on your shoulders”. I am not talking about that type of touching. I am talking about touching. Touching for the sake of touching. Touching to gather sensation from your hands. Gathering information from the nerves in your fingers, palms, and the backs of your hands. In Nia we touch.
Touching gives us a lot of information. A Nia Routine might have us touching the air around us. We touch to sense the air. We touch the space around us. All around us. Above our heads, behind us, below us. We use our open palms and webbed spaces. We use the backs of our hands. We push and pull the energy. The Nia Technique book, by Debbie Rosas and Carlos Rosas, states “Practicing Touching is excellent training for increasing your Sensory IQ and for improving body awareness.” Touching the space that surrounds the body also moves the energy around — as mentioned the push and the pull. In addition to moving the energy you can draw energy in through the touch or send it out.
There is also the touching we do to things. We can touch things while we dance in a Nia class or throughout our day. In a dance class we can touch the floor, the walls, the mirror, the other things in the room. They give us information through touch.
We can also touch our skin and our own bodies to gather information. We can touch to create heat. We can touch to supply energy to a specific body part. We can touch to heal. We can touch to allow for sensation or attention. Touching brings awareness. If you are touching your elbow, as an example, with the touch you receive information from two sources. One is your hand that is doing the touching. It senses your elbow. It might feel dry skin, causing you to think you need lotion. The second source is your elbow. Your elbow senses the hand. You might think, your hand is soft/warm/moist. Exchange of information. Awareness. Attention. Touch is amazing.
No matter whether we are touching the space around us, the things around us, or our own bodies we can use fingers, palms, and back of hands. With different “touches” we are exchanging different information. Moving and/or releasing and/or gathering energy. Touch is a powerful tool in the Nia toy box.
Another way touch can be applied is in the common way of touching as measurement. In the beginning of class, say, before your body is warmed up, you can only touch as far as your shins. Then after was have moved warming the muscles all of the attachments you can easily bend all the way over to touch your toes. Touch. It is a great thing to use for many reasons. In Nia we use touch. Touching is one of Nia’s 52 Moves.
What sensations have you received today from things you have touched?
Posted in 52 Moves (of Nia), Nia | Tagged: cardio dance exercise, Carlos Rosas, Debbie Rosas, Nia, Nia Dance, Nia routine, Nia workout, Nia's 52 Moves, The Nia Technique | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on September 14, 2013
In Nia we have the five sensations that we dance and move with. I always feel that one of them is a personal favorite of one of the co-founders of The Nia Technique. I think that Debbie Rosas really loves stability. I imagine she loves them all because she does a superb job of ensuring they are all included in a each Nia Routine, but sometimes I just get this feeling that practicing balance is her favorite. It could be because sometimes stability, being balanced, requires flexibility and/or agility and/or mobility and/or strength. So you can practice and play with all of the five sensations when practicing balance. In yoga there is at least three of the five sensations we experience in Nia. In yoga there is flexibility and/or strength and/or stability/balance. In the Gentle Yoga class I am teaching I really like to put a huge emphasis on balance. I think balance is very important and yoga is a great way to practice it. There are many poses in yoga that are balance poses. Not all of them are standing poses.
One pose I really like to use for enhancing balance is the Gate pose. This pose is a kneeling pose, somewhat.
In the gentle yoga class we start on our knees. Up off our calves, as in we are not sitting on our legs. Then we lean forward and over to one side, say the left. We lean forward to the left placing both our hands on the ground in front of the left knee. Then we swing our right leg out so it is pointed out to the side. The heel of the right foot is aligned with the left knee or slightly in front. The right foot is flat on the ground and the toes are pointed away from the body. We then lift up so we are kneeling on our left leg with our right leg posed out to the right of our body. Then the left arm comes up reaching straight over the head. Palm towards the right. The right hand is palm up resting on the right thigh. If stability and balance is achieved then those that are comfortable lean over to the right, allowing the right hand to rest lower on the leg, at the shin, not the knee. If comfortable we turn the head to gaze past our left arm. All the while the crown of the head is moving away from our body and the tail is moving in the opposite direction. We are lengthening our spine. The shoulders are being drawn back and down. Even though one arm is up we still keep the space between the ear and the shoulder open and large. The same with the side we are leaning towards.
(11/08/21: Click Gate, Locust – Pictures May Help for a picture.)
Whether you are staying up right or leaning over to the side, keep your body from leaning forward. Stay in the pose for a few breaths. After you perform this pose on one side, do the other.
Parighasana, the Gate pose, is a nice way to pursue balance. The foot that is out can be adjusted to a parallel (to the body) position if that allows it to be more comfortable or stable. Or the foot can be lifted leaving just the heel on the ground. The depth of the side bend is always a point that can be adjusted for the individual’s needs at the moment.
I love all the poses in yoga that allow for balance practice. I think this is a great post with which to practice balance.
Are you familiar with the Gate pose? Do you like this pose?
Posted in Yoga/PiYo/Pilates | Tagged: balance, co-founders of Nia, dance, Debbie Rosas, enhanced balance, FAMSS, Gate pose, gentle yoga, Nia, Nia Dance, Nia routines, Nia's Five Sensations, Parighasana, stability, The Nia Technique, Yoga, Yoga class | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on August 31, 2013
I am really happy. This coming week marks a year that we have had Nia on Tuesday mornings at the Camden Community Center in San Jose. Workout classes – especially group exercise classes at city community centers – can come and go. I have been blessed with a small but very consistent group of individuals who are interested in gaining or retaining their health through movement. I am further blessed that some of my students who attend my Monday and Wednesday Nia classes have made it over to the community center. Nia on Tuesdays started on Tuesday, September 4, 2012. Our year class will be Tuesday, September 3, 2013.
I have been teaching Nia on Mondays and Wednesdays in the Willow Glen area of San Jose since February 2009. Most of the individuals that make up the Monday and Wednesday group have been coming for most of the four years and seven months. They too are a dedicated group of students that I appreciate. I rent the time at that location.
I am not sure if many classes at city community centers go on for years. So I am very happy that we have made it to the year mark. I think that as long as the students continue to attend we will have a class. I am hopeful that we will expand our numbers as we enter into our second year. This is the community center where the students requested a second class. There was an opening so their thinking was, “Why not fill it with Nia?” So they wrote a note asking the supervisor if they could have Nia in the time slot that has just opened. The supervisor is allowing us to give it a go. If, this story sound familiar it is because I wrote about it in my Goodie Jar – Check In #27 post in the beginning of the month. I was so excited that was definitely something that went into the Good Things Jar!
The Thursday class has started out with good numbers. Hopefully that class will grow too. It is made up of the core group from Tuesdays, but with a few different people. This past Thursday they were all very kind, patient, and understanding while my music and the player were not cooperating.
As with most dance exercise workouts it is really fun when there is music. While Nia can be done without music, it is nice to have music so that each individual can dance in their own way while we do the routine. The group was very nice and let me run to my car after three songs so I could get my boom box.
So, I am just grateful and sharing my gratitude. I am grateful to have great Nia students at all of my classes. And I am very grateful that the San Jose Parks and Recreation Department is allowing me to have two Nia classes. I am jumping for joy at our one year anniversary. I have actually been working for the city for over a year, but it took a couple of months to get a class. Yay us!
Here’s to our Nia class being one year old at the community center. Here’s to more to come! Thanks for sharing in my joy!
Posted in Nia | Tagged: Camden Community Center, city community centers, dance class, dance exercise, dedicated students, group exercise, health through movement, Nia, Nia class, Nia community, Nia Dance, Nia group, Nia joy, Nia San Jose, Nia students, One year anniversary, San Jose Community Centers, San Jose Nia, San Jose Parks and Recreation Department, Willow Glen Nia | 8 Comments »
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