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Posts Tagged ‘Nia San Jose’

FREE Classes – Bay Area National Dance Week

Posted by terrepruitt on April 21, 2009

The studio at which I teach my Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and sometimes Sunday classes, participates in the Bay Area National Dance Week. This is a week (actually 10 days) where all types of classes and performances are free.

The location of the classes range from San Francisco, to the East Bay, to the South Bay, to the Peninsula, and the North Bay. There is Zumba and Ballroom in San Francisco, Salsa in Oakland, ballet in Berkley, Mountain View, Walnut Creek, and Los Gatos. Pole dancing in Redwood City, Nia and Belly Dancing in San Jose . . . . Whew. If there is a class for it, it is part of the Bay Area National Dance Week, more classes include; Flamenco, Greek, Hip Hop, Hula, Hula Hoop, oh, far too many classes and locations to list.

Friday, April 24, 2009, at noon there is going to be a Conga line. Per the booklet: “Dancers and non-dancers, students and adults will join our downtown visitors, shoppers, and workers on the streets of San Francisco.” There will be performances on the Union Square stage.

You might want to check out their site: http://www.bayareandw.org for all the information.*

Also Friday at noon there is Dance Anywhere. Oh, yeah, that is what they mean, where ever you are at noon on Friday, dance. Now, I am thinking that the dance doesn’t have to be big. You can just tap your toe and bob your head, but whatever, I think it would be cool to join in: http://www.danceanywhere.org/

This 10 day event is from Friday, April 24, 2009, to Sunday, May 3, 2009. Don’t miss it!

If you attend one of my Nia classes from April 27th to May 1st and mention the event you can take the class for free.

Please check www.HelpYouWell.com for class schedule changes. Thank you.

*As of 06.06.20 – this site appears to not exist. Sorry.

Posted in Just stuff | Tagged: Ballroom, Bay Area National Dance Week, Certified Nia White Belt, Conga, Free classes, Free Nia Class, Hip Hop, hula, Hula Hoop, Licensed Nia Teacher, Los Gatos Nia, Nia Classes, Nia San Jose, San Jose Ballet, San Jose Belly Dancing, San Jose Nia, San Jose Salsa, San Jose Zumba, San Ramon Nia, South Bay | 2 Comments »

Nia Or Nia Technique Is A Specific Practice

Posted by terrepruitt on April 11, 2009

I want to remind everyone that Nia™ or Nia Technique® is a specific practice.** It was created in 1983 by Debbie Rosas and Carlos Rosas. They were married and now they are not, but Nia is such an important part of their lives and so important to them, that they continue to work together.

Nia has different belt levels; White Belt, the newly added Green Belt, Blue Belt, Brown Belt, and Black Belt. Each Belt has its own set of principles, except for Green. You must wait a year in between belts before you can take the next intensive. (Except for green because it a newly added in the system to assist teachers.)

Click here for more info on classes and Nia

I am a White Belt, so I continue to work with the thirteen White Belt Principles:

1–The Joy of Movement
2–Natural Time and the Movement Forms
3–Music and the 8BC System
4–FreeDance
5–Awareness – Dancing Through Life
6–The Base; Feet and Legs
7–The Three Planes and the Three Levels of Intensity
8–The Core of the Body; Pelvis, Chest, and Head
9–Creative Arm and Hand Expressions
10–X-Ray Anatomy
11–Business and Marketing
12–Continuing Education
13–Dance What You Sense / Teach What You Sense

When I talk about Nia it is based on what Debbie and Carlos have created. They have been working and growing with Nia for 25 years. And if you look at their work and information you will see that it has morphed a little. It is the same basic practice but I believe it gets refined as they grow and change.

So please keep in mind when I talk about Nia, I am talking about something wonderful and specific and it is entirely based on the work of Debbie Rosas and Carlos Rosas.

Please join me in San Jose for a Nia class. Visit my website for the schedule http://www.helpyouwell.com/

**This post is to explain that “Nia” and “Nia-things” I talk about are primarily from the creators of Nia BUT please keep in mind . . . . Nia is also a workout that can be experienced, just like a Yoga, Zumba, Jazzercise, or any group exercise class. One can show up to class and just move and get a great workout. One does not have to participant in the intensive and the belt levels.

Visit Nia’s main website at: www.nianow.com

Posted in Nia, Nia White Belt Principles | Tagged: 8BCs, Carlos Rosas, Debbie Rosas, exercise class, exercise classes, great workout, group exercise, group exercise class, Jazzercise, joy, Nia, Nia Belt levels, Nia Practice, Nia San Jose, Nia Technique, Nia White Belt, Nia workout, San Jose exercise class, San Jose exercise classes, San Jose Nia, the joy of movement, thirteen White Belt Principles, workout class, Yoga, Yoga class, Yoga Practice, Zumba, Zumba class | 3 Comments »

My Favorite Flower

Posted by terrepruitt on April 2, 2009

My blogging intent was to blog about healthful things, exercises, nutrition, but I keep thinking that readers might like other things too. And I keep thinking of things I want to share. I have so much I keep learning about Nia, we are doing more things in San Jose, and life is just full of stuff. I am going to try to start posting three times a week instead of two. I think that I am going to keep up with my opinion on healthful things on Tuesdays and Saturdays, but on Thursdays my posts will be different. We will see how this all goes.

With my first post that is less-in-the-realm-of-wellness-and-the-like will be simple. I wanted to share, that my house smells like flowers. I love Star Gazers** and recently (almost two weeks ago), my husband bought me some. He bought roses and Star Gazers, but the Star Gazers have lasted longer. And they make our living room and dining room smell so nice.

You cannot walk down the stairs or sit on the couch without getting a big whiff.

They are so gorgeous. What is your favorite flower?

**Lilium “Stargazer” (the Stargazer lily) is a hybrid lily of the Oriental group according to Wiki

Posted in Flowers, Star Gazers | Tagged: exercises, Flowers, hybrid lily, Lilium, Nia San Jose, nutrition, Oriental group, San Jose, San Jose Nia, Star Gazers, Wiki | 6 Comments »

The Nine Basic Movements Forms Of Nia

Posted by terrepruitt on March 31, 2009

Nia™ is about joyful movement. Move with joy. Move for joy. Move to joy.

A Nia workout includes elements from three disciplines from three different arts:

From the martial arts, we use moves from T’ai chi, Tae Kwon Do, and Aikido.
From the dance arts we embrace styles from Jazz Dance, Modern Dance, and Duncan Dance
And from the healing arts we are mindful of teachings from Feldenkrais, the Alexander Technique, and Yoga.

At times we might move slow, focusing on movements centered around the body’s inner core, as in T’ai chi. We might kick or punch as one might do in Tae kwon do, and these movements might flow into a spiral motion that is associated with Aikido. We could decide to play the showman and do the entire routine with a jazzy flair or just add movements of creating shapes, dropping and then recovering the body’s own weight as a modern dancer might do. There is always a chance we could give into our inner child and run free and honest with the playfulness of a Duncan dancer. While we’re doing one these things we are keeping in mind the teaching of Moshe Feldenkrais and being conscious of sensations. We could stretch to the top with utmost concentration one might contribute to the Alexander Technique, then move onto a dance of bone alignment increasing awareness, relaxation, and balance the could be thought of as Yoga.*

So in one workout you can experience all those things. Strength is balanced with grace. Fun is balanced with seriousness. Body is balanced with mind.

The music is varied and is intended to promote the movement of the routine. There is no doubt something for everyone.

*based on information from The Nia Technique by Debbie Rosas & Carlos Rosas

Posted in Movement Forms of Nia, Nia | Tagged: Aikido, Carlos Rosas, core, dance arts, Debbie Rosas, disciplines, Duncan Dance, Feldinkrais, flow, fun, grace, Healing Arts, inner child, Jazz Dance, joy, joyful, martial arts, mind, modern dance, movement, Nia, Nia San Jose, playfulness, San Jose Nia, sensations, showman, strength, T'ai chi San Jose, Tae kwon do, Tae kwon do San Jose, Tai Chi, the Alexander Technique, The Nia Technique, The Nine Basic Movements Forms Of Nia, Yoga, Yoga San Jose | 13 Comments »

My First Zumba Class

Posted by terrepruitt on March 21, 2009

I took my first Zumba class recently in Willow Glen (San Jose). I want to say it was fun. The instructor was awesome, just fabulous. She would do the move at least once slow so that we could learn it, then she would crank it up! Now don’t let that scare you. If you have been thinking about taking Zumba, but have been intimidated, don’t worry, it is very similar to Jazzercise, except it is to Latin music. Once you get the “Jazzercise part” down, then you can Zumba it up with all the moves that make it Zumba, like the hip gyrations, the Latin motion, the “Orange Julius”, the shimmy, the shake, the hip bumps, and all the things that make it Latin.

Since I have taken Jazzercise in my past and I am currently practicing Nia, I think I did well. Nia has actually helped me find the confidence to just go into a class and shimmy, shake, and gyrate!

The music is club-pumping loud, but the instructor either shouts above it or uses hand motions to try to get you going the right direction. I honestly hadn’t thought about blogging about it so I wasn’t paying attention to the other participants that much—aside from giving them enough space and trying not to run into them–so I can’t report much there, except they were having a good time. I was so intent on the instructor AND trying to make sure that I was doing it in “my body’s way” that I didn’t focus much on the others. Even though I was in a Zumba class doing Zumba I still wanted to make sure that I was doing what my body needed. So I have to say that the three minute cool down was not enough for me and that I didn’t follow it because I needed to stretch in different ways in order to properly facilitate my cool down and recovery.

As for the rest of the class, it is a great sweat inducing cardio workout. But I didn’t feel as if any of my muscles or my core got any work, but I did get very sweaty jumping around to the music. I want to get two for the price of one, so I want a workout to make me feel as if I have worked my muscles and did some cardio. So, it’s not what I am looking for in a regular workout, but I will probably make it to a class every-once-in-awhile to throw some change into my workout regimen. And like I always say, find something you like and do it. Zumba might be right for you.

Posted in Exercise and Working Out | Tagged: body's way, cardio workout, core, Jazzercise, Latin motion, Latin music, muscle, Muscles, Nia, Nia San Jose, San Jose, Willow Glen, Zumba | 4 Comments »

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Terre Pruitt's Blog

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I teach yoga, Nia, and stretch online!

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