Posts Tagged ‘Nia Teacher’
Posted by terrepruitt on January 5, 2012
The principles of the different belts in Nia provide a foundation for our Nia practice. There are 13 Principles in the Nia White Belt. The fourth principle is FreeDance, this principle has eight stages. Eight things you can focus on that can become a part of FreeDance. When I attended my Nia White Belt Intensive we danced through these stages when we danced FreeDance. Dancing through the stages is something that can be done for fun. It doesn’t have to be because you do Nia. It can help you express yourself by turning on some music and applying the stages to the music. Dancing through the stages is also used as a technique for Nia teachers to become better aquainted with the Nia music. It is a tool that can help in learning a Nia routine. The seventh stage of FreeDance is Choreography, the tagline is: The Accidental “Click”.
I mentioned in my post about the eighth stage of FreeDance, Nia Class – Levels 1, 2, 3, that I often skip over dancing the first six stages of FreeDance when learning a Nia routine. Part of the reason is because I actually forgot about it being a step. I don’t skip them entirely, I do FreeDance about four of the stages to the music, but I don’t do all of them. I do believe that doing all six can be a great tool, so as I mentioned, I am working on implementing this action back into my “learning of a Nia routine”. Today in fact I started employing it with a the next routine I am learning.
Stage 7 of FreeDance, Choreography – The Accidental “Click”, is something that probably happens to all dancers and group fitness teachers alike. It kind of seems to happen in more than just dance actually, but with dancers the “click” is to the music. Often with the eight stages of FreeDance you are using more than one stage at a time. With experiencing the accidental click there is going to be stage two going on. There is going to be a lot of listening. The listening is to ALL of the music; the silences, the beat, the tempo, the instruments, the words the vibrations–all of it. With Nia we are taught to dance to all music, not just the kind that we turn on and can’t help but move too. We are taught to move to music we might not actually like. Many people are the type that when you turn music on something on their body starts moving. A foot might start moving, a head might bob, fingers might tap, this happens often. There seems to be some songs that EVERYBODY moves to, they just can’t help it. But then there is music that often clears the dance floor. The “everybody move to” music is easy to dance to. But the floor clearing kind sometimes can be difficult to dance to. In Nia we are taught to dance to it all. We are taught to listen to it all.
I will be the first to admit that sometimes there are songs I don’t like in a Nia routine. Sometimes there is just one noise that is to incessant or a beat that feels off, whatever the reason, I don’t like it all. Sometimes I like the music but not the moves. Sometimes I just can’t get the choreography and the music to mesh—in my head or in my body, whatever it just doesn’t work. So I keep doing that kata until it “clicks”. Eventually it will because Debbie Rosas Stewart and Carlos AyaRosas are great at creating routines, but sometimes it takes me a bit. The “click” is what state seven is about.
Stage seven is connecting to the sensation of your body. I think that often times I “don’t like it” (it being either the music or the move or whatever it is that is hanging me up) is all in my head. So if and when I stop thinking and get into the sensation of the body, I will find that the moves DO go with the music, I was just thinking they didn’t. Amazing how the thinking gets in the way of moving so often.
Here you have it the seventh stage of Nia FreeDance. Yes, I am posting about them backwards, from 8 to 1. It just happened that way. The days I went to type up a post my eyes fell on “Nia Class – Leve 1, 2, 3 for inspiration. So now I am going through the stages backwards. I bet even if you aren’t trying to learn a dance routine you can think of or recognize things in your life that click. Could be you are trying to remember a way to do something and you do it over and over and keep referring back to the instructions then one day “click”. In Nia it’s Choreography where we eventually find The Accidental “Click”, but in life it could be with anything. “Clicks” happen all the time. Even if you aren’t learning a dance routine, you’re familiar with that click, right?
Posted in FreeDance, Nia | Tagged: 13 White Belt Principles, Accidental click, Carlos AyaRosas, choreography, dance class, dance routine, Debbie Rosas Stewart, Free Dance, freedance, levels of intensity, Nia, Nia choreography, Nia class, Nia Dance, Nia foundation, Nia Practice, Nia routine, Nia student, Nia Teacher, stage eight, Stage seven | 2 Comments »
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 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 10, 2011
The studio I teach Nia at in the Willow Glen Area of San Jose is having their annual Holiday Party. I have been teaching at the studio for almost three years (three years in January 2012). This is the first time I have been able to make it to the party. I am very excited. They have food, performances, demos, make-up, drumming, dancing, and just plain fun. If you are local and you are able join us. (02.16.12 The even has taken place, see my next post https://terrepruitt.com/2011/12/13/halanda-studio-holiday-party-2011/ for a little summary and pictures.)
I think that people are not comfortable turning their head. While out today I was watching people back out of parking spaces in parking lots and I was amazed. Most of the people I watched did not look back while backing up? What is up with that? You are actually supposed to TURN YOUR HEAD AND LOOK BACK while backing up. I saw so many people glance left then right then front and just start going and KEEP going. I understand sometimes you look left, then right, then front as you start easing out, but then you turn and keep looking back. Nope, not the people I saw. They just zipped out as if people coming around the big huge car parked besides them could see they were backing out and would stop. Crazy. I am surprised I didn’t see a lot of collisions.
Last night we went out to dinner with a group of friends. It is our second annual Christmas dinner. Last year it was at a friend’s house. This year we went to a restaurant. We ordered a few of everything from each section of the menu and we shared it family style. It was all very good. Some of it was very unusual. It is one of those restaurants where the menu changes all the time so you can’t go there expecting to get something you got last time. One of the stand out items for me was Pumpkin Ravioli, Sage-Walnut Pesto, and Pomegranate. The Pomegranate just pushed it over the edge of yummy. The Lasagna of Pork Sausage, Zucchini and Mozzarella was excellent too. One of the weirdest things was Pumpkin Ice Cream, Hazelnuts, Aged Balsamico. I cannot say that I would recommend this. The Balsamico was not sweet enough to tie the flavors together. In fact when it hit the portion of my tongue that registers sour my face did the lemon taste face and my eyes started pouring water. A bit TOO much of a contrast to me. I am not usually a fan of the family style eating but since there were so many things to taste I really enjoyed it last night.
We got a bum tree this year. I picked it. I thought I did GREAT. My husband was shocked when he came home and I told him to be careful. We can’t understand why it is perfectly green and looks great, but it acting as if it is dead and brown. Needles are falling off it at an incredible rate. I am bummed. It will be a very short Christmas tree time this year. The cat will be happy. She is really good with a tree in the house for about 30 days. She will tolerate it. Maybe bat at an ornament once or twice. But on the 31st day. She had been known to give an ornament a whack. To me that is her telling me that she is done. When we have a tree we move her cat tower away from the best window to another window. The other window is not as tall so she can’t see as well on the top. Plus it is just not in the “right” spot. There is a TREE in the right spot. This displacement doesn’t really make her happy. At first she is a little excited to be in a new spot but that wears off quickly. Also the tree is in the best sun spot. And with this tree I am not even opening the curtains to let the sun and heat on it. For as long as we have had her, she will let the tree be until we are over 30 days. Then she tells me in a very catly way that she is done. So this year she will be happy because it will not last 30 days. Sad but true.
I am still working on my 31 Things Project. How about you?
So, do you have anything to share? An event? Perhaps some thoughts? Anything happening with you? What about Christmas; have you decorated? Are you done shopping? Anything?
Posted in Misc | Tagged: 31 Thing project, Cats and Christmas trees, Christmas decorations, Christmas party, Christmas Tree, dance party, dance performances, dance studio, dangerous drivers, family style restaurant, helpyouwell.com, Holiday dinner. Christmas dinner, Holiday party, Nia San Jose, Nia Teacher, Nia Willow Glen, Pumpkin Ravioli, San Jose Nia, teach Nia | 6 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 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 October 18, 2011
One of the things we practice in Nia is something we call RAW. We are Relaxed, Alert, and Waiting. It is listening to music by listening to the silence and the sound. The body is relaxed. The mind is alert. The conscious is waiting. We sit and listen. Our spines are upright, tall, and lengthened, even though the body is relaxed. Our muscles are not tense, but they are ready. Within our spines there is space around each vertebrae. The mind is alert. There is no inner dialog with ourselves going on in our head. We are waiting. What we are waiting for is the next sound or the next silence. We are listening to both the instruments and the silence. We are curious. We are listening to the music as a whole. Listening for specific sounds and silences that can allow us to sense many things. The specific sounds and silences can also be used as cues when teaching a Nia class. We might hear a flute every so often. So we might train ourselves to listen for that soft sound. Then we might notice that always after the flute there is a ting of a triangle. Eventually we might notice that right after the triangle there is a moment of silence. We are relaxed. We are alert. We are waiting, either for a sound coming out of silence or a sound of a familiar pattern, as in the triangle after the flute.
With this tool we are to listen and observe what transpires in the music. We aren’t to form an opinion of whether it is “good” or “bad” or whether we like it or not. We are just listening and learning. Part of RAW is not moving. This to me is one of the most challenging parts of RAW. We are to listen and not dance. We are to listen and not move to really be able to LISTEN and in order to be in the sensation of RAW and not allow the sensations of the body interfere. Sometimes it is really hard to do. Nia routines are set to music that inspires the body to move so to have to sit still and just listen is not always easy.
Additionally, I slip out of the tall, upright, and lengthened spine. Once I start barring the music I tend to lean on my arm. Ya know, elbow on the desk, forearm upright, chin resting in the palm of your hand? Without fail this makes me sleepy. The combination of being relaxed, and alert – so I have no conversation going on in my head, and I am waiting. I start to fall asleep. Then I realize I missed the instrument I was waiting for. So I sit up and start again. Sitting up tall and with a lengthened spine really is the key.
It’s a practice; Nia and RAW. It works too. Listening to the music in this state of concentration really helps me learn my music. It is fascinating to think of the silence as music just as much as the instruments are. RAW is a great tool that Nia has taught us to help with our Nia practice both as teachers and as students.
Posted in Nia | Tagged: barring the music, Nia, Nia class, Nia inspiration, Nia Music, Nia Practice, Nia routine, Nia students, Nia Teacher, RAW | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on October 11, 2011
I never wanted an iPod or a cell phone until I started teaching Nia. After I got it, I realized how great it is to be able to create playlists from Nia routine music and not have to burn a CD. Same thing with a cell phone, I have a business so I have a cell phone. I don’t really need a cell phone, but a business does. A business needs to have a number to use for business. Which brings me to . . . when I first met my husband he was a “Mac” man. Always had been, always would be . . . . . until, that is, we moved in next door to a guy who gave us a computer that was not a Mac. Then all of a sudden my hubby had something new to learn. He decided to learn how to put computer components together to make a personal computer. He realized that he could buy all the parts and put it together for a lot less than a Mac costs. PLUS the money spent would allow him a machine that would be faster and more powerful than the least expensive Mac. So we got rid of our Macs. Then the iPhone came out. At about that time I was thinking about getting a cell phone and I would need something to play music AND . . . . it was a new toy for hubby to have. So we got iPhones and they stoked the burning embers of love for Apple that had never actually gone out in my hubby’s heart. THEN he started working at a Mac company . . . you know one of those companies whose computers are Macs and not the “other” ones. Then there is the iPad. (eyes rolling). Whenever I have a problem with either of my “i-s”, my hubby says, “Well did you flash it?”
When we first got our iPhones, they had a few issues or kinks, whatever you call them it would often not work properly. My husband being familiar with Macs figured out how to “Flash” the phone. He said it resets the parameter random access memory. This is the memory that is stored which allows the for quick start-up. Since my iPhone frequently went squirrelly back then, I got really used to doing it. I would do it probably at least once a week without being prompted. Then with one of the updates it went away. It either went away and then came back with another update or it changed. I actually think it went away, then came back different. The way the device responded when flashed was different so it seemed as if it was not going to actually do it. Whatever the actual case was, I got out of the habit. Plus the phone stopped being so buggy. So not only did it change so I thought the option of Flashing wasn’t there, I didn’t need to do it that often. So I forget that I can do it and sometimes need to do it.
Have you ever worked for a company that has an IT department? When you have a computer issue what is the first thing the IT department asks you to do or ask you if you did it? “Turn it off then turn it back on.” Right? And then even once you do that, if they have to come to your work area to work on the computer that is the first thing they will do again. So we are all used to turning electronics off than on again, right? That is the FIRST thing we do. Well, flashing it is not quite turning it off and then turning it on. It resets the PRAM.
Yesterday I wanted to listen to the music for a Nia routine for class, I plugged my little iHome Speaker into my iPad and it didn’t work. I rolled my eyes and thought, “Well so much for that.” I got my iPhone to see if the speaker worked with that. It did. So I plugged my earbuds into the iPad to see if they worked. They didn’t. So I just figured I broke it somehow. I mentioned it to my hubby when he was on his way home from work and he said, “Did you flash it?” I felt so silly for not having done it that I said, “Well, of course I did because that is always the first thing you ask.” And then I went on to say that I didn’t and I hung my head like a scolded puppy.
I forgot about it until today and guess what? Of course. I flashed the iPad and my speaker works. I got so caught up in telling my story that I almost forgot the point of this post—to tell you how to flash your phone. Sometimes the rewritable section of memory get to full or a little messed up so it needs to be reset. For the iPhone and the iPad, you hold the On/Off button down at the same time as the Home button. Hold them both down until the screen goes blank AND the Apple logo appears. Then let go and let the device do its thing. Then it will be ready to wake up again shortly. See if that works for you the next time your iPhone or iPad is acting buggy. I don’t know if works for the other iProducts. But it has always worked for mine . . . . . when I remember to do it. 🙂
Posted in Helpful Hints, Misc | Tagged: apple, iHome, iHome Speaker, iPad, iphone, iPod, Mac, Nia, Nia business, Nia class, Nia playlists, Nia routines, Nia Teacher, parameter random access memory, PC, personal computer, PRAM | 7 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on October 8, 2011
I teach Nia. Nia is a cardio dance workout done in bare feet. It is no impact (or very low – I tend to hop a bit because I am having so much fun!) but allows for high intensity. Impact and intensity are different. I love Nia, but I also love other types of workouts. When I do other types of workouts they usually require shoes because often times the workouts get their intensity from impact. You might already know all of this because I have shared it before. You might also know — because I have shared this before — that I also love Turbo Jam. That is the exercise program designed for home use, as in DVDs, by the incredibly cute and bubbly Chalene Johnson. You have probably read me say before, “No matter how many times I do Chalene’s DVDs she makes me smile.” Her energy is infectious. Well, I’ve done the DVDs I have a lot over the years so today I decided to do them a little different. I decided to combine two things I love. I wore my MBTs while doing Turbo Jam.
Because of my toe/foot situation I had not been doing Turbo Jam a lot, but I am starting to do it again. I do it regular tennis shoes, just some cross trainers, and I sometimes have to think a lot to not move my foot in a toe position that hurts. When you do any type of workout in which you wear shoes you have to think about it a bit more when you are on carpet. Carpet tends to make it a little more difficult to twist on your toes and things, so sometimes it is better to not do that so much in order to 1) save the carpet and 2) save your knees. Even though I have always wanted to do a Turbo Jam workout in my MBTs I thought it would be more strenuous on my recovering foot. But it wasn’t really. It was fine. It was fun. MBTs really have the body using different muscles because the way the sole is engineered. So it was really fun to do a workout I have done at least a hundred times and have it feel different.
The MBTs really made me concentrate on what I was doing. When I do my Turbo Jam DVDs I have a tendency to think about other things. I just follow the moves and think or sing, I am not always concentrating on what I am doing. The Masai Barefoot Technology footwear really had me thinking about balancing properly and not just throwing my limb out. When I threw it out too far without being aware then I somewhat got off balance. Not just off balance in a way that the shoe is designed to make you be unbalanced, but my foot was positioned incorrectly in the MBT so I had to be aware of how I was extending. It was really nice. As I said it was nice to experience the workout in a very new way even though I have done it at least a hundred times. It was nice to have to really think about the muscles that enable balance. It was nice to have to think about balance in order to make certain my alignment was not off.
Now that my foot is so much better and I have confirmed that using my MBTs to do my cardio workouts that require shoes will not bother my foot, I plan to use them all the time. That is really one of the reasons I bought them. But I was not ready until now because I thought it would challenge my foot too much. It actually made toe movements easier because of the curve of the sole. The curve allows for easy almost automatic ball of foot or on the toe movements.
Yay! Newness in an old-but-beloved workout! Do you workout to DVDs? If you do, what is your favorite? Have you done them enough that you are ready to change ’em up a bit?
Posted in Exercise and Working Out, Just stuff | Tagged: bare foot workouts, cardio dance workout, Chalene Johnson, curved sole shoes, high intensity, high intensity workout, low impact workout, Masai Barefoot Technology, MBTs, Nia, Nia Teacher, no impact workout, Turbo Jam, workout DVDs | 8 Comments »
Terre Pruitt's Blog 