Posts Tagged ‘Nia students’
Posted by terrepruitt on October 7, 2014
I often tell my students at the end of class that making them get up is the worst part of my job. I have posted blog posts about savasana. The restful period of time at the end of a yoga class where you take time to relax letting the body and mind absorb the benefits to be had from the asanas that were just practiced. Let the body remember the stability and strength. Give the body time to become accustom the space that was created. Allow the mind to reflect on the stillness. Well, in Nia we often end the routine in Floorplay. Floorplay is either playing with gravity to experience the muscles or stretching or . . . it can be a combination of both. There are a lot of ways to play on the floor. There are a lot of ways to end the class. Our Nia training DVDs have floorplay and ending movements, but they are not choreographed. So there is a lot of freedom in the last songs. Nia teachers can either duplicate what the trainer does on the DVD or they can create their own movements to the songs and end the class in their own way. I know I sometimes do what I sense the class needs so sometimes I lead the class through movements and sometimes I instruct them to do their own free dance. Often times we end by lying on the floor in a restful pose. Just like in my yoga classes I don’t like to have to make my students get up.
In the studio I rent, I think that I should rent an extra 30 minutes so we can just lie there. Sometimes I sense the class could easily just stay there for an extra 30 minutes beyond the one hour Nia class. In the classes I teach for the San Jose Park and Recs Department, I sense they could do that too, but we need to end on time. Sometimes there is a class right after us so our restful period is interrupted. But when it is not, it is a challenge to know when to interrupt the peace.
Recently I taught a class and I really didn’t want to tell them to get up. The clock in the room was not working so I snuck up to check my phone and as I was returning to the circle I saw such peace and relaxation I didn’t want to bother them. I toyed with the idea of just letting them stay an extra 5 or 10 minutes. But without having planned that in advance, I didn’t want someone lying there past the hour and not knowing it. Many people workout on their breaks so they need to get back to work. Or they just need to get on with their day. So as much as I don’t like interrupting their peace and as much as I would like to just let them relax, I need to keep to our schedule. But it really is the worst part of my job when I feel they would love to just stay.
But, on the other hand, it really is a great part of my job when I can be in the presence of those that can just relax and let go. After dancing and getting all sweaty it is so nice that they can just take a deep breath and melt into the earth and relax. I get a huge sense of peace when I am in the presence of their stillness . . . . that is why it is so hard to disturb them.
Do you take moments out of your day to just relax and experience peace?
Posted in Nia, Yoga/PiYo/Pilates | Tagged: asanas, body weight exercises, Body-mind, dance exercise, gravity exercises, Nia class, Nia DVDs, Nia flooplay, Nia Free Dance, Nia Practice, Nia routine, Nia routines, Nia songs, Nia students, Nia training, Nia workout, restful period, San Jose City Nia classes, San Jose Park and Recs Department, savasana, shavasana, Yoga class, Yoga Practice | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on September 23, 2014
It only takes one. One person, that is it. One person besides me, that is. I have observed different groups of Nia students and I have seen them alter their sounding practices. It is so fun to witness a silent class become noisy. I feel that making noises in a dance exercise class, or “sounding” as it is called in Nia, depends a lot on the music. There is specific music that just lends itself to making noise. There is some music that people instinctively just join in singing or making the appropriate sounds during the music. There is also specific moves that lend themselves to sounding. Chopping seems to cause “Hi-yas!” to erupt from the practitioner. Blocking tends to cause loud “Has!” But not all the time. It does help when they are made a part of the choreography. It helps when the sound is the same or at least consistent throughout the song. My sounding often just comes out. I am dancing to the music and perhaps thinking of the next move or discovering a pearl and noise just comes out. It is not always the same as the last time. I feel that sometimes makes people shy. They want to have others saying it with them. And it really only takes one. That ONE person who seems to just have noises inside that have to come out. That one person who doesn’t need the teacher to lead them. That one person to just make a noise and it encourages others to do so.
I often feel that there are some that want to make noise, but they don’t. There are many reasons people don’t make noise. I think I mentioned it before, but I kind of remember it being a “thing”. I am not saying we were told NOT to make noise, but you would never have walked into a women’s gym and heard grunting. (Eye roll) I guess that is because we aren’t allowed to breathe. HA. I don’t know, but I do have a sense that it was not something women were encouraged to do. Exercise was done in silence. So I think that has a lot to do with it. We were not taught to make noise while exercising. So we don’t.
But I sense there are those that want to. What I see happening, is we will do the move with me making the noise for seven times. The eighth time comes around and since we are changing to a different move I might be at the point when I need to use that time for instruction. It just happens that on that eighth time the person finally got up their nerve to make a sound and then it is as if they are left hanging because I didn’t do it with them because I had to introduce the change. Yup . . . I feel that happens a lot.
But not when there is that ONE person. All it takes is ONE person. That one person can — by example — encourage the rest of the group. I love it. I silently cheer that person on. I send waves of gratitude out to that one person that is not me that is sounding and helping the group find their voice. I have some GREAT sounders in my Nia groups. And I am so happy and excited that they are finding their voice.
I know how it is to move silently through a class. Nia is wonderful and freeing, so the dance is meditation to me. But when I first decided to join in on that sounding — YEOWZZZAAAA! Whoa! That just took the movement, the dance, the freedom to an entirely different level. It was invigorating. So I know how it is to be shy about making noises in class (I know if you have ever taken my class you might not believe that). I know how it is to take up almost the entire song before you allow that sound out. But I also know how it FEELS and the senses my body experiences after a really loud and noisy class. So I will keep sending out waves of applause to that one sounder as they lead the entire class into becoming sounders.
Do you make noise when you work out? Perhaps you sing? Do you breathe loudly?
Posted in Nia, Sounding | Tagged: dance exercise, Nia, Nia clsas, Nia group, Nia Music, Nia sounders, Nia students, sounding in Nia | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on September 18, 2014
Ahh, I really wanted to have my blog post for today written yesterday. I wanted to “take the day off” today. Well, I taught a Nia Class this morning. And I have a Gentle Yoga Class to teach tonight, so I am not really taking the day off. I just didn’t want to have to think about a blog post or clean any part of the house today. I was going to take the day off from cleaning and doing chores. Ha. Well, it didn’t work out that way. But it is still a good day. We had a bit of rain. But that just made the traffic this morning very bad. My hubby was very thoughtful and called me to alert me to the chaos on the freeways this morning. So I left early than I normally do to get to class. I started to get on the freeway and got right back off. Since the traffic was not normal Thursday morning traffic I didn’t know if there were accidents that were blocking the roads so I decided to chance it and take the inner city streets. I actually made it to class RIGHT ON TIME! Which to me is not “on time” because I need to do a little set up before we start. But we still started only about five minutes late. Most of the Nia students didn’t even know we started late. So it worked out. The rain was only a very small amount, but it was moisture. That is a good thing. So there are a lot of things that can go into my Goodie Jar just today. So I am making this a check in day.
I haven’t checked in on you and your Goodie Jar for four months. I am still putting things in mine. I ALWAYS have something to put in mine. Regardless of what is going on I consider myself blessed. I hope you have at least one thing you can put into your jar.
I am doing a check in as a sort of “day off” from writing a blog post. Since I didn’t get the day off from chores and cleaning. I really don’t need a day off from teaching. Teaching is fun and I get so much good energy from my Nia and yoga students it doesn’t count as work. I can do without the extra travel time and traffic, but . . . we need the rain. Don’t know why it practically shuts our freeways down . . . but whatever.
Rain. To class on time. Birthday love. Hubby cooking dinner. These are the things that make me smile that I put in my Good Things Jar.
I have seen some people post on Facebook and others on their blog that some of you have gotten new family members . . . whether human or animal, that is a thing for the Goodie Jar. I always put notes about my family in my Goodie Jar.
So . . . what about you? Are you still putting things in your Good Things Jar? What have you added recently?
Posted in Good Things in the Goodie Jar, Misc | Tagged: birthday, blog post, California Rain, Facebook, freeway chaos, gentle yoga, good things jar, Goodie Jar, Nia class, Nia students, rain shuts down freeways, teaching Nia, Yoga class | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on August 30, 2014
I was looking in a catalog of supplements . . . one of my Nia students gave it to me after class. We didn’t even have a chance to discuss it because she handed it to me as she was leaving, so I didn’t even realize it was a catalog of supplements until I flipped through it and saw every other page was an advertisement for a supplement. Anyway . . . it had an article in it about the flavonoid, quercetin. It reminded me of the information stating that it has been proven to be an anti-inflammatory and an antihistamine. Since I primarily mention eating onions, apples, and citrus fruit in my two posts, An Apple a Day and Allergy Relief, I thought I would look up some information regarding what other foods contain this interesting plant component. I found two sites with the same list. I went through the list and found the things that I eat or would eat. Some of the foods listed I didn’t even know what they were, such as Bog wortleberries, dock leaves, and lovage leaves. Some I wouldn’t eat because they are peppers, such as ancho peppers and hot green chili peppers. But I would eat some of the items listed. I DO eat some of the items listed. I could increase my consumption of some of them.
Here is my list.
Food Chart
This is a food chart showing fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains rich in quercetin.
mg/100 g.
Apple, raw with skin 4.42
Apricot, raw 2.55
Blueberries, raw 3.11
Broccoli, cooked 1.06
Broccoli, raw 3.21
Butterhead lettuce 1.19
Cherries, raw 1.25
Cherry tomatoes, raw 2.77
Green beans, raw 2.73
Kale, raw 7.71
Plums, raw 1.20
Red grapes 3.54
Red onion, raw 19.93
Spinach, raw 4.86
Tea, black brewed 2.07
Tea, decaf brewed 2.84
Tea, decaf green brewed 2.77
Tea, green brewed 2.69
White sweet onion, raw 5.19
I love apples. I could easily eat more of those. I don’t experience apricots that much, but I like them ok. I think you know how I feel about blueberries, but I did discover I like them in a green smoothie. I LOVE cherries! Not so sure about eating green beans raw, but I just had kale in a green smoothie this past week. I have received plums and grapes in my produce box. But I don’t eat them often. I eat onions pretty much every day in a green salad. It is good to know that quercetin is in tea.
So what about you? Do you know what a Bog wortleberry is? It has a lot of quercetin in it but not as much as canned capers or dock leaves. Since I don’t know what dock leaves are I don’t know if you would eat a 100 grams of them, but I can’t imagine someone eating 100 grams of capers. So, I guess it is good that they have so much quercetin in them. You can still get some from a smaller amount.
I am sure there are a lot of people who eat a lot more than is on my list. The peppers alone. I know many people who love peppers. Anything on my list that you eat? Anything you might think of increasing consumption of? What about the full list?
Posted in Food, Fruit, Vegetables | Tagged: allergy relief, an apple a day, anti-inflammtory, antihistamine, black tea, broccoli, flavanoid, green smoothie, green tea, list of foods, Nia class, Nia students, onions, peppers, quercetin, supplement catalog | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on August 28, 2014
One of my Nia students gave me a catalog today after Nia class that had information in it about a new device. I have been saying for a while we need something like this. I am not saying this is it, but I am saying this is very interesting. I think this is really the start of something. This is something that — if used properly — could really help people be more in control of their health and wellness. Now, I know a lot of people who can practically do this on their own, without a fancy machine. But not everyone is THAT in tune with their body. Not everyone knows what little signs the body gives means. This is something that fascinates me because it COULD be very helpful. Unfortunately with everything, I am certain the information will be used as a marketing tool and therefore take away from the good (in my opinion) it could do, but we will see. I would also imagine different/additional tests to be helpful. It is very interesting and it is a start. It is a device called Cue.
Cue is a little cube that takes a biological sample using specific cartridges and processes it into information you can use to make decisions about your diet and what actions you can take to adjust the readings. It looks as if right now the information it can give feedback on is “Vitamin D”, “Inflammation”, “Influenza”, “Testosterone”, and “Fertility”.
I noticed that on the video, it showed the woman was deficient in Vitamin D. That makes sense, it can test for that. The flu virus is another one I understand along with testosterone, the device can detect the virus as it can detect levels of testosterone. It tests for the luteinizing hormone with the “Fertility” cartridge. It does not say how they determine the body’s level of inflammation. I would imagine they are testing for a specific level of protein with a blood test. But I cannot find information on the site that explains exactly how this thing works and what exactly they are testing for.
I find it very interesting.
I know there are presently at home tests where you can test for fertility, but I think the thing with the Cue would be tracking and documenting. And possibly even alerting you with reminders and things. “Hey, don’t forget tonight is the night . . . ” for the female (who cares to do so) “better shave your legs” and for the male who wants to be romantic “stop at the flower shop”. Ok, so I am going off of commercials I see regarding other devices . . . but I would bet there are alerts, probably not so detailed, but who knows?
I don’t care for the information being sent wirelessly, but that is because I wouldn’t want my information floating about. 🙂 I am also not crazy about the Flumap . . . again, some of the aspects of this could be abused . . . basically like anything.
The cartridges are all single use and they come in packs of five. A five pack of ONE test. So you would get five of the vitamin D test. And not one of each. The packs are presently priced at $20.00. Oh, except the flu, that is a THREE pack for $30.00. The tests (per the website) are as follows:
For an Inflammation test, Cue requires a droplet of blood.
For a Vitamin D test, Cue requires a droplet of blood.
For an Influenza test, Cue requires cellular material from the nostril.
For a Testosterone test, Cue requires a few droplets of saliva.
For a Fertility test, Cue requires a droplet of blood.
So, what do you think? Do you think this sounds interesting? Would you be interesting in use something like this? Would you be interested in one of the present tests? What would you like it to test for?
Posted in Misc | Tagged: and Fertility, biological sample, Cue, health tracking device, home tests, Inflammation, Influenza, luteinizing hormone, Nia class, Nia San Jose, Nia students, San Jose Nia, testing cartridges, Testosterone, vitamin D | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on July 15, 2014
I teach Nia at Community Centers in San Jose. One of the things about community centers is they are for the community. During the summer that means that they are kid central. It is amazing all of the programs they have for kids during the summer. It is so great to see the centers doing so much to keep the kids learning and active during the summer. What a full community center sometimes translates to is regularly scheduled classes get shuffled around. I was given about six months notice for this summer’s shuffle. So our Nia class was prepared. I had been telling them since January. Then I put up a notice in June. So we were aware. It is a huge blessing that we just get moved to another room and not to a different time or cancelled altogether. I am grateful that we still get to have a class while all these summer camps and kid fun is going on. It is working out to be one week a month. Last month the room we were moved to had the portable mirrors in the closet so we were able to roll them out and use them. Today the closet was full of tables and chairs. The mirrors were nowhere to be found. The center is on what used to be a high school campus. So it is very large and spread out. I wasn’t certain that 25 minutes would be enough time to let someone know about the situation, find the mirrors, and move them all the way across the campus. So we did Nia without mirrors today, using the opportunity to focus inward.
I have done Nia without mirrors before. In fact I posted about it in my post Nia In The Mirror when I was teaching in San Carlos. That is one reason when I started working at the San Jose Community Centers I was so impressed with their portable mirrors. In fact I thought I did a post about them because they are sooooo cool. (Well, I don’t see one, so that will probably be my next post!)
In a Nia class the teacher stands with her/his back to the students. One way we connect with our students is eye contact in the mirror. A Nia teacher can turn and face the students. In fact, it is recommended at times to do so to change things up and to connect in another way to the students. We even practiced it in the Blue Belt Intensive. So it is up to the teacher to teach facing whichever way s/he wants. Generally though we face away from the students.
Facing away makes it easier for some people to follow since we are moving the same side of the body and going in the same direction as opposed to the mirror image as was (and possibly still is) done in Jazzercise. What I find is that I learn the routine SAYING it as if I am teaching with my back towards the students so for me to turn around I would be saying go left as I move left and we would not be dancing in mirror image. So to turn and face the students while we are doing a dance that moves front or back or laterally is a challenge for me. Especially when it is a new routine. And right now, I am somewhat learning a routine. In a routine there is usually a song or two where we are not moving left or right so we often face each other than. I was able to do that today, but some I did with my back to them.
I think dancing without a mirror every once in a while is a good thing. It helps the students dance with themselves. The moment I found out we didn’t have mirrors I knew our intent and focus. I set the focus to be the Conscious Personal Trainer, with the intent of being fully aware of and sensing your own body’s movements. Without the mirror to distract us I thought it would be a great opportunity to focus more on one’s own body. Without the mirror we don’t see ourselves nor the other people. Without a mirror the possibility to draw ones attention in and keep it in seems better.
So, of course, I was very happy when one of my students said that dancing without the mirrors made it different. It did allow her to focus more on her movements. She said she was less distracted with the other students. Yay! I like that it worked for her. I like that we were able to do it different, but we still danced and had fun. I am very blessed to have such great students that can just go with the flow and DO Nia! It is nice to have “no mirrors” give us the opportunity for something different.
When you take a lead-follow exercise class do you prefer the instructor FACE your or face away from you?
Posted in Nia | Tagged: Conscious Personal Trainer, dance exercise, Dance Workout, focus and intent, Jazzercise, kids camps, Nia, Nia Classes, Nia dancing, Nia in San Jose, Nia students, Nia Teacher, portable mirrors, San Jose City Community Centers, San Jose Nia, summer camps | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on June 24, 2014
Wow, you might not believe I have more “stuff” going on. More on that later. I am sure I will write a post or two. You know I always share, it just takes some time sometime. So, instead – highlights of my day: a student who has been away from my Nia classes for a bit came to class today. That was wonderful, unexpected and very timely. Another student in one of my yoga classes came to class with his own mat. That put a huge smile on my face. I took that as a sign that he is “into” it. Later when I told him I was so happy to see him have his own mat, he said, “Yeah, I got to stick with it!!!!” Thrilling! Yes, gotta keep looking at the bright spots. While perusing my cache of “topics to post about”, I came across one I found interesting. Could be something you are aware of, perhaps I had heard of it too, but forgot. I think the studies were done in 2009. Did you know caffeine could, possibly, help people with asthma breathe better?
There is an article about a small study showing caffeine worked as a bronchodilator. “A bronchodilator is a substance that dilates the bronchi and bronchioles, decreasing resistance in the respiratory airway and increasing airflow to the lungs.” per Wiki
The small study of 75 people with mild to moderate asthma was done. Six trails showed 55 people had improved lung function for up to fours hours after consuming caffeine.
A study at the Indiana University show that caffeine an hour before exercise can significantly reduce exercise induced asthma. I cannot find a link to the Indiana University study, but there are numerous articles about it that surface when a search is done. One article on ScienceDaily said that it was LARGE amounts of caffeine that were used in this study. The article stated “9 milligrams of caffeine per kilogram of body weight”. Ok check my figuring on this using the information from the Mayo Clinic regarding a regular brewed cup of coffee, which is 8 oz brewed coffee has 95-200 mg of caffeine. That is a big difference, but that is ok, it will still work in my “figuring”. Let’s use the top, 200 mg of caffeine in a cup of coffee. Well, lets say average man is 80 kilograms (176.37 pounds), that would be 720 mgs of caffeine. That is roughly 4.5 cups of strong coffee. Is that right? The article also said that smaller amounts – 3 mg – 6 mg per kilogram of body weight “also reduced the wheezing, coughing and other symptoms of” exercise induced asthma.
Interesting. I know many people who use caffeine to help fuel their workouts. I know many people who use caffeine to help fuel their day. So, while I am by NO MEANS saying to use caffeine instead of any physician prescribed medication for asthma . . . I just think it is interesting. Since it could be that many people with asthma are drinking coffee anyway. I just like when I come across tidbits of information.
What do you think?
Posted in Misc | Tagged: asthma, bronchodialator, caffeine and asthma, Coffee, Nia, Nia Classes, Nia students, Science Daily, Wiki, Yoga, yoga classes, yoga mat, yoga students | 4 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on May 10, 2014
I imagine I am like all dance exercise teachers, in that when I hear music I enjoy I think about how I can bring it to my Nia class. I think about creating choreography to it. I was thinking the other day about what music would appeal to one of my classes. My train of thought took me on a little journey. First off – before I share my journey – this is not a rant about how modern technology has caused huge chasms between people because while there are some disconnects there are some great connections. This IS a little about how things have changed and how we miss out on somethings but it is more of a ride down a memory rail line then a rant. Many of you that lived through the time period that I am about to mention, have probably heard the “remember when” about when you had to listen to the radio “all” day before you could hear that song (ya know, whichever one you wanted to hear) again. There was no device to turn to that could play it instantly. Unless you held your cassette recorder up to the radio and recorded it, you had to wait for it to be played on the radio. There was also the accidental sharing of music that today’s technology prevents happening.
When I wanted to listen to my music I had to go into the living room and play my records. I usually had to ask if I could. Then I would turn on the stereo with the turntable for the whole house to hear. I am not saying that I played it loud, I am just saying that it was played through speakers so everyone had to suffer through me playing my latest obsession over and over and over. That is why I had to ask permission to play my music. If I was playing it, the people present would have to listen to it. So I am sure my mom got to “know” my music. I shared with her that “latest” tune. The pop music. Now-a-days people have personal devices with which to listen to their music, so it could be that parents never actually hear what their kids are listening to. They don’t get to connect on that level.
Not that parents and kids ever connect on the same level when it comes to music, but sometimes it could happen. I imagine my parents became very familiar with some of my music. I bet they even learned some of the lyrics via pure repetition. I bet that they even grew to like some of it. With these thoughts rolling through my mind, like a leisure train, it made me think that this might be the case with some of my students. I would love to bring music to my Nia classes that reminded them of connections with their children. The connections could even be so tenuous as them not even really liking the song but the sense of familiarity and family would allow their bodies to connect to it. They could move and enjoy the sensation of movement without really thinking about it. They would be able to associate memories to the music.
Ha. These are the thoughts of a Nia Teacher wanting to MOVE her students. But, as I first mentioned, I bet other cardio dance workout teachers think the same way. What do you think? Do you think songs like that could get you moving? Do you think songs with that type of connection could allow you to dance?
Posted in Exercise and Working Out, Nia | Tagged: cardio dance, cardio dance workout, dance choreography, dance exercise, dance teachers, Dance Workout, exercise music, exercise teachesr, memory lane, Nia, Nia choreography, Nia class, Nia Music, Nia students, Nia teachers | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on April 12, 2014
I posted some information on Facebook, but there are Nia students that are not on Facebook, but who read my blog. There are also yoga students who I am not friends with on FB who read my blog . . . and there are many of you who have sent love and support while my mom was dying. I am very grateful for all of the love, support, stories . . . and just everything that has been sent to my family and me. It has helped me more than you know. I will probably go back and tell the story of my mom’s last two years (or so) just because I really feel like sharing the story of the brave woman that she was. Also, it will serve as therapy for me and as a log. I will probably share more about my feelings on this whole “process of dying” that so many people just accept as the way it has to be. I do not agree nor do I feel it is an acceptable way for someone to spend their last days on this earth. The purpose of this post, though is to share with you that my mom died around 11:00 pm on Friday, April 11, 2014.
The hospital called me at a few minutes before 1:00 am on Saturday, April 12, 2014. So I keep thinking date of death is today, but I was told it was about 11:00 pm on Friday. I don’t know the exact time, but that is not all that important. What is important is that she is done with the twelve days of the “process”.
She went to the hospital on Saturday, March 22, 2014 because she could not breathe. They placed a tube in her throat to open the airway because they thought that they would be able to do more for her on the Monday. But her team of doctors decided that there really was nothing more they could do. One of her doctors was willing to perform a very risky surgery if my mom elected to go that route, but she did not. So she was told that she needed to pick a day to die . . . the conclusion reached by her medical team was that once the tube was removed her damaged trachea would collapse shortly there after and death would be relatively quick.
It was a common occurrence though, for my mother to not do anything according to what the doctors have previously experienced or think would happen. That is just how it has always been. She reacted badly to drugs that no one EVER had reactions to. She was always surprising her doctors and teaching them things by way of her body responding to treatments/procedures/etc differently than they had ever seen. This always served as a reminder to them, over and over, that each body is different.
The tube that was in her throat was thought to be keeping her throat open. As I said, the medical professionals thought once it was removed her throat would collapse. While the tube was hooked up to a ventilator it was rarely breathing for her. She was breathing on her own. Only once in a while — when she was tired — did the machine take over. And most often it was only for a few breaths. So she was able to breathe on her own, it was just an airway issue. Because trachea’s can’t be fixed or transplanted she was told she would die and that she needed to decide when that would be.
She sat in bed for 10 days contemplating death. All the while she worried about us — did we eat, we should go sleep, etc. She joked with us and allowed us to talk while she listened. The day for the scheduled extubation was stressful and nothing went as planned. In fact it was twelve days after the tube was removed that she died.
I want to emphasize that the hospital staff and my mom’s medical team was very kind and caring and they did all they could to make the dying process “comfortable”. My issue with the process is not with them nor the hospital. As I said, that is another post altogether, but I wanted to explain that she received good care.
We are now able to enter into the grieving stages of “after a loved one dies” . . . because up until now it was a horrific place of limbo. So, if you are able, please keep up all the wonderful stuff you have been doing. Please keep sending positive thoughts and prayers. Throw over that glitter, sparkle, and shine. I have really been lapping it up and I appreciate it so, so, so, so, so, so much.
Make a toast, take a bite, relish the breath . . . . .
Thank you.
Posted in Diane Bacho | Tagged: April 11 2014, death of a loved one, dying process, extubation, Facebook, horrific dying process, love and support, Nia, Nia students, positive thoughts, prayers, ventilator, Yoga | 15 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on March 15, 2014
Sometimes after a Nia Class or even a yoga class a student will come up to me to explain why they weren’t doing something I said to do. This is a HUGE education for me because some times what they say they can’t do is not what I intended for them to do. When my students share with me it helps me teach them better. Their understanding of what I am instructing them to do helps me hone my teaching skills and at times has me finding different ways to say things. Could be an entirely different way of saying something or it could just be a matter of me explaining it a little better. Either way, I am always learning from my students.
As an example, one day after one of my yoga classes a students explained to me that she has a very high arch so she cannot use her whole foot. Many standing poses in yoga require you to stand on the entire foot and in Nia we also use our whole foot at times. Whole foot meaning your weight is distributed over the entire foot. Not standing on the toes or leaning back on the heals, or even to either side of the foot, but to use the “whole foot”. Since I say whole foot all the time it didn’t even dawn on me that someone could take it as the WHOLE foot. To be fair, she is correct. When I say whole foot, I actually mean your whole foot PRINT. I don’t mean to include the arch of the foot which would actually be covered in the term “WHOLE foot”. I am not certain if this was ever a thought for any of my Nia students, but just to be clear, I throw whole foot PRINT out there every once in a while in all of my classes so people understand when I say whole foot, I mean the foot PRINT. Not the arch. Flash! I learned something.
There was another time when we were on our hands and knees doing the cat pose. In this pose I have my students look “down” into their lap. If the individual’s neck allows and they are comfortable with that, I go for the big stretch all the way down the spine. So when we arch down with belly towards the earth, I tell them to look up since I consider looking into the lap looking “down”. After class one day, one student told me she can’t look up because of a neck issue and when she said it we were standing and she looked up at the sky. At that moment, I just said, “Ok. Good for you for recognizing a position your body cannot do and not doing it.” I wasn’t exactly certain what she was talking about because I hadn’t instructed anyone to look up at the sky, but if her neck can’t do that, is great that she not do it. The next time I was doing the combination, I thought “look up” and – FLASH! (the light bulb again) – I understood what she was talking about. When I said look UP, she thought I meant UP at the SKY and not just up from the “down”. So, again, I learned something. I can still say look up, but I clarify that I mean up from your lap (or the other options I give).
It always amazes me and make me happy that I learn so much AS I TEACH. I think I have shared before in a post that there comes a time in my process of learning a Nia Routine where I just have to take it to the class. No matter how much time I spend at home by myself learning it, I always learn more in that hour of teaching it than all of that before time. Awesome. I might have even posted something similar to this before. It just goes to show that I am always learning something from my students! Ta-da! Students are teachers too.
Do you ever talk to your teacher about stuff? Did you ever thing that you could be teaching them something?
Posted in Nia | Tagged: cat pose, foot print, Nia, Nia class, Nia routine, Nia students, Nia Teacher, whole foot, Yoga, Yoga class | Leave a Comment »
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