Posts Tagged ‘Nia Teacher’
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 10, 2014
We have sounding in Nia . . . where we make sounds as we are dancing. Plus people are always invited and . . . in my class . . . encouraged to sing. I’ve written several posts about sounding and put them in their own category under Nia. (Click here for the link to those posts) Although I do not think of making sounds as being regulated to Nia, I just have them as a sub-category under the category Nia. I think sounds are appropriate to make during other exercises and workouts. One that always comes to mind when people seem to need convincing of making noises and exercising is martial arts. Once I remind them that “Hi-Ya!” is a common sound, they seem to relax into the idea a bit. As I probably have mentioned before, I remember it being an unspoken rule that you didn’t make noise while you are doing Jazzercise, lifting weights, or working out at the Lady Spa. Could have been ideal that it was unladylike to make noise. I don’t know, because I never remember being told NOT to make a sound, I just know that no one did it. It was almost as if even breathing heavy was taboo! One reason I love Nia: breathing and making sounds are encouraged. But I think of these sounds as helping with the flow of oxygen and energy. I think of them as stress relieving and joy bringing. So when I was flipping through Yoga Journal and came across an article titled “How To Be Fearless” I thought, “Huh? Interesting.” Mark Moliterno, an opera singer and yoga instructor has paired yoga with voice to create YogaVoice.
This reminded me of one of Nia’s instructors who created Kivo® The Kinetic Voice . . . which is – according to her website – “a vocal practice that uses the whole body. It is designed to harness the power of vocal vibration and movement as transformational tools that unlock energy, activate your true radiance and empower you to go out and create the life you were born to live.” So . . . back to the article when I looked at the chart within the article I realized that the pairings were for more than just overcoming public speaking jitters as the subtitle read. It was for a list of different areas.
Just as we know certain sounds to be related to certain chakras and feelings, you probably also know poses are related to certain chakras and feelings. When sounds and asanas are paired up they can be very beneficial. I would bet many of you are familiar with “OM” as a yoga chant. Different sounds and different mantras can be used. The information on the YogaVoice websites leads me to believe this is different from chanting while doing yoga, there are indications that it goes beyond that.
I just love that more sounding is coming into the workout. Since I believe there is a lot more to sounding — a lot more benefits can be reaped than just breathing — I love movement forms that stem from sounding or that incorporate it.
Do you believe the is benefits to making noises while working out? Do you make noises while exercising?
Posted in Nia, Sounding, Yoga/PiYo/Pilates | Tagged: Jazzercise, Kivo, Lady Spa, Lifting Weights, Mark Moliterno, martial arts, moving sound, Nia, Nia class, Nia instructor, Nia sounding, Nia Teacher, sound and movement, working out noises, Yoga, yoga asanas, Yoga Journal, yoga magazine, yoga poses, YogaVoice | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on May 1, 2014
This class was held in San Ramon on April 30, 2014!
As you probably know I teach a dance exercise called Nia. It is a cardio workout. If you have read any of my information on Nia you will also be aware that many of the people who practice Nia consider it to be more than JUST a cardio dance exercise. But . . . on the surface that is what I call it, in brief, to let people know what it is. If they are interested then we can discuss some of the other facets of it. Like many exercise disciplines there are star teachers or celebrities. I’ve talked about that before. There is always some people who were there from the beginning and so they have the most experience and often times get categorized into star or celebrity “status”. Yesterday we had a long-time Nia Practitioner and Teacher do a 007 Nia class.
Jason Alan Griffin is one of the first First Degree Black Belts. Nia has created an additional training intensive, they have added a “degree” to the black belt. It is so new that not a lot of information is out regarding that, and I didn’t even think to ask Jason about it. I am Facebook friends with Jason and yesterday was the first time we met in person. Jason likes to travel, so he drives around with his dog River bringing Nia to cities around the United States. He created a routine he called Bond Girls, but recently re-named it to Goldfinger and that is what he is delivering on his current trip. He was in the East Bay last year (I believe) but he packs his travel schedule so tight he doesn’t stay long and so I missed the classes he had. Maybe he was in the North Bay too. I don’t remember. I couldn’t make it. So this trip I was very excited to get to take his class, meet him, and his dog.
Jason is one of those dog daddies that takes his pet parenting seriously and he posts a lot about his dog. So through his Facebook and blog I feel I know both of them a bit so I was happy to finally get to meet him.
Not to use the current happenings in my life as an excuse, but I found myself leaving for the class much later than I intended and also the directions I looked up gave me a different travel time than the day before. I ended up being late for class. And while I felt very bad about that . . . I decided to forgive myself which enabled me to jump right in to his already-started-class. It was so fun.
While the invitation to dress up in something shimmery was there, I completely forgot, but Jason did not disappoint. He had on some shiny silver pants. He led us through many of the 52 Nia moves while we focused on pelvis, chest, head. We used our spear fingers in true James Bond fashion. We danced in our own body’s way and laughed and sang while doing so.
Every time I take a Nia class I realize I am not a Nia student often enough. I love being able to laugh at myself because I don’t get the moves on the first (or how many ever it takes) go around. I love being able to just follow as someone else’s lead. I love being able to learn new pearls and moves. It is so fun. I am so glad that I was able to join the East Bay Nia community while they hosted Jason’s class. It was super fun. I want Jason to come to San Jose to deliver his FreeDance Playshop. 🙂
I hope you jump at the chance to dance with Jason when he is in a city near you. He is really fun to dance with. And if you are lucky, River will sneeze on you!
Thanks, Jason and River. I look forward to your next visit!
Jason leading the class in his silver pants!
Janet and I doing our Bond Girl impressions – with spear finger
Jason and River. River was more interested in the grass than posing!
Posted in Nia | Tagged: 52 Nia Moves, Black Belt Nia Teacher, Bond Girls, cardio dance exercise, cardio workout, dance practice, East Bay Nia, exercise disciplines, Facebook, First Degree Black Belt, Free Dance workshop, Goldfinger, James Bond, Jason Alan Griffin, Nia, Nia Classes, Nia dance exercise, Nia information, Nia Practice, Nia student, Nia Teacher, North Bay Nia, pelvis chest head, pet parent, Spear Finger, star Nia teachers | 4 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on April 19, 2014
Truth. This is not from Trainer Terre or Nia Teacher Terre, this is from The-Daughter-Who-Spent-All-Day-Cleaning-Out-Her-Mothers-Closets. Note: this is the second time I’ve type this as my laptop shut down on me. So now all I can say is that I was ok until we watched 47 Ronin which ends in everyone dying — even those in love – and it was more than I wanted to deal with after having gone through a couple of closets and drawers of my mother’s. It was obvious that my mom loved a bargin. Yet she was very fashion conscious. That she cared for her bargins was evident from how she washed her clothes on the delicate wash cycle and how so many of her things were hung up inside out. It was obvious how much she cared for the clothes no matter how much they cost. It was obvious – to me – that she thought she would be around a lot longer to enjoy said wardrobe.
As I went through each item, so obviously and lovingly cared for, I thought of how much she would have been happy to pass these clothes on to someone who would love them and get use out of them. But we all have our own feelings and ideas of wearing clothes from a dead person’s wardrobe. Many people I contacted were very hesitant. I don’t fault them that, as I said, we all have our own feelings and ideas.
But one person’s response brought tears to my eyes. I told her that I might have shoes for her (depending on her size) and that there were earrings that had her name on them. I asked her if she was she interested. She said, “I’d be honored.” After having seen how well my mom took care of her clothes and stuff. And after seeing all the cute shoes she had that I can’t wear because she had such a small foot. After experiencing that weird feeling of, “this person was keeping things for a life yet to be lived”. It was so wonderful to hear that someone would be grateful to receive stuff from her. It made me so happy to think that my mom’s stuff would be enjoyed. Those three simple words made me humbled to be related to such a woman that would speak them. Those words also made me determined to wear stuff from my mom’s closet and fashion jewerly stash to the family’s Easter celebration tomorrow. I pictured myself standing tall in one of my mom’s color coordinated top ensembles with the dangly fashion gold earrings sparkling as I swished my proud-to-be-my-mamas-daughter-head about! —All this from my cousin’s exclamation.
Thank you, Cousin for helping me though this. Thank you for helping me feel like my mom and the way she lovingly took care of the stuff that mattered to her matters to someone else too. It is very difficult to get rid of things that a loved one had and cared for. When such items can be passed on to someone that will get use of of them, it makes it seem less of a loss–to me.
How do you feel? So you think it is great to pass stuff on? Do you want to just throw stuff away? Do you pass it on to Goodwill? Do you keep it forever? What do you think?
Posted in Diane Bacho | Tagged: awesome clothes, clothes of the dead, Diane Bacho, Easter 2014, Goodwill, Nia, Nia Teacher | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on April 10, 2014
If you have read almost any of my posts you have heard me say that I use my blog as a recipe book and my reminder for things. So today I am writing myself a post about the foam roller. I know I have talked before about using tennis balls to roll out a muscle issue in my back. I actually used a different type of ball – like a huge super ball – because I don’t have any tennis balls, but it helped a lot. This time it was not a muscle issue. And I am not necessarily recommending this as something you should do. I was a little nervous doing it myself, but I really was getting to the point where I couldn’t tolerate the pain any longer. I couldn’t move my head. Driving to teach my Nia class this morning I was doing the full torso twist as I changed lanes . . . I had to lift away from the seat and turn my whole torso because I could not comfortably turn my head. So I used my foam roller to roll out my back.
I believe sometimes stress is held in the body. I think that there is a little stress going on right now. Ya think? And I believe I am holding my stress of late in my back. Normally, as I somewhat alluded too above, I might have stress held in the muscles, but this time it was more in my spine. I am more brave when it comes to muscles or connective tissue issues, but a little leery of trying to adjust my spine, but as I said, it was needed. So I laid down on the foam roller so that I could roll it down the length of my spine.
Now I want you to know that if you have back pain you should see a professional. A professional as in a doctor, a chiropractor, an osteopathic physician , etc. Someone that can treat you and your back. If you are familiar with your back issues and you feel comfortable doing this, that is up to you.
So I used it on my back as I did on my hamstrings in my post Roll Out The Hamstring. But on my back I gingerly rolled on the roller. I started about mid-back,then rolled up, then down. I used my arms to support my weight a bit. Ahhhh, it was fantastic. I moved freely the rest of the day, which was great because I had a Gentle Yoga class to teach tonight. I also did the vertical stretch shown in my first post about foam rollers, Foam Rollers are COOL!
Well, this might be something that might help you, again, I caution you. But I know it will help me, but now I just have to remember and that is why I am posting it. I definitely need a reminder for something occurring during this period of time.
Have you ever used a foam roller? What do you use them for? Do they help with massaging your muscles?
Posted in Foam Rollers | Tagged: back pain, back stress, chiropractor, Foam Roller, gentle yoga, muscle massager, Nia, Nia class, Nia Teacher, osteopathic physician, tennis balls | 2 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 »
Posted by terrepruitt on March 4, 2014
There are a lot of yoga poses. Especially since a lot of them I know are the modification of the actual pose. Some of these modifications seemed to have morphed into their own pose with their own name. In addition to teaching Nia in San Jose, I am now teaching Gentle Yoga. And I was thinking. I wanted to make a list of my favorite poses. I was thinking I could have a list and do them every day. But it turns out that I like a lot more than I was thinking. And some I don’t like at all. And some I look at the picture and guffaw, saying, “Yeah, right?” Anyway I came up with about 38 poses that I really like, ones that I would call my favorite. I have a feeling that I am forgetting a couple too so I bet my list could really be in the 40’s. I could do over 40 poses a day, but I would rather do less and repeat a handful of poses then just work my way through all of my favorites. So then I circled ones that I would like to do every day and I ended up with 16. I was thinking I could do those 16 every day. But then I realized that while I will probably do that every once in a while I would be better off just picking some from the list everyday. Whatever strikes my fancy. I feel that if I pick a group every day I will end up getting the exact practice I need for that day. It could end up being my favorite 16 of the favorites.
I do feel that my “favorites” for the day will end up being exactly what I need. I plan to post about some of my favorites. Working my way through the list. I have already posted a few of them. One of my favorites that I have posted about is the Gate Pose. This is a balance pose but it is done on a knee and an extended leg. Not all balance poses are done standing. This is a pose that helps with stabilization, strength and flexibility.
Another favorite with a post is the Locust Pose. I REALLY like this pose. This is one that I do extremely modified. I mean I’ve seen the locust pose where most of the yogi’s body is off the ground and they are resting on just their sternum, upper shoulders, and their chin. That doesn’t even look comfortable to me. I prefer the belly-on-the-earth-with-the-head, chest, arms, and legs-lifted-off-the-ground version. This is a whole body pose. Not only on my favorite list but on the favorite 16!
I also like the Sphinx. This is another backbend, but with this one we rest on the forearms and elbows. Another pose that made my list is another back bend, the Cobra. This one to me is more of a lift using the back. And another backbend – the Updog – made the list. Updog and Cobra sometimes look the same in demonstration – depending on who is demonstrating. Be sure to check out my posts to see the difference. I use Patrick Reynolds’ video to explain the difference. I think of Up Dog more like a hanging backbend. The only backbend that made my top 16 was the Locust Pose.
The Garland Pose made my list of favorites and the top 16. This is a position I try to find myself in every day. Even if I am not doing yoga or any type of practice, I will put myself in this posture to pick up something. I think that this pose is a great way to help keeps hips bones healthy and juicy. Also pushing up from this squat is good for the legs.
So I have already posted about a few of my favorite poses. So I will continue to explore and share with you.
What is your favorite yoga pose? Why is it your favorite?
Posted in Yoga/PiYo/Pilates | Tagged: backbends, balance poses, Corbra pose, favorite yoga pose, Gate pose, gentle yoga, locust pose, Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia Teacher, Patrick Reynolds, Sphinx, teaching Nia, Upward Dog pose, Yoga, yoga poses | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on February 20, 2014
The various surprising health benefits of wine
For centuries, people have derived pleasure from drinking many different varieties of wine. Whether it’s a sensuously versatile Pinot Noir or a divine Chardonnay, drinking wine in moderate amounts has proven to be one of the more effective ways to unwind, relax and allow the stresses of the day to just slowly fade away into the ether. Various studies have emerged throughout the years espousing the health benefits of drinking a glass or two of high-quality wine.
Experts from the world-renowned Mayo Clinic have stated that there are certain substances in red wine called phytochemicals (specifically, flavonoids and resveratrol) that may help prevent heart disease and failure by performing two critical functions: increasing levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (also known as the “good” cholesterol) and protecting against artery damage. It is worth noting that both resveratrol and flavonoids are also recognized as antioxidants (not all phytochemicals are antioxidants, though).
Resveratrol, in particular, is markedly more prevalent in red wine than in white wine; after all, red wine is fermented with grape skins for a longer period of time compared to white wine. Additionally, resveratrol has gotten a lot of attention due to possibly playing an important part in maintaining healthy cardiovascular function. Some of the existing research has linked resveratrol to reduced blood vessel damage, prevention of blood clots, and a decreased amount of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (the “bad” cholesterol). Dr. Eric Crampton, a highly respected University of Canterbury academic, has also opined that based on his interpretation of the current studies available, moderate drinking reduces mortality risk. Furthermore, according to Paul Jaminet of the Perfect Health Diet, animal studies have shown that the harmful effects of alcohol on the liver – fatty liver disease that inevitably leads to a scarred and damaged liver (cirrhosis) – occur only when it is combined with excessive intake of polyunsaturated fats.
Clearly, judicious consumption of red wine not only calms the senses; it’s also a healthful habit in moderation.
Image courtesy of M&S
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This post is a guest post. The conclusion reached is that of the guest author. My approach would be more from a “COULD be” healthful. Many things we eat, drink, and do have the appearance of being healthful, but it always boils down to moderation AND the individual, so to me it is not so clear.
Posted in Misc | Tagged: antioxidants, cardio dance, cardiovascular function, Chardonnay, cholesterol, dance exercise, Dance Workout, Dr. Eric Crampton, exercise, fatty liver, flavonoids, guest post, HDL, health benefits, health studies, heart disease, high-density lipoprotein, high-quality wine, LDL, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, M&S Wine, Marks and Spencer, Mayo Clinic, Nia, Nia Blue Belt, Nia class, Nia Teacher, Paul Jaminet, phytochemicals, Pinot Noir, polyunsaturated fats, red wine, resversatrol, San Jose exercise classes, San Jose Nia, San Jose Nia classes, San Jose Nia Teacher, San Jose Workout, sponsored post, Terre Pruitt, the Perfect Health Diet, University of Canterbury, wine, workout, Yoga | 4 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on February 15, 2014
Well, I am not doing a weekly post to check in on your Goodie Jar, but I do hope you are still doing it or some variation there of. Are you? Are you taking time to recognize the good in life? I hope so. I am. I believe I mentioned that I wanted to us something else to hold my notes regarding the good things. I have a lot of beautiful bowls and plates. I decided to use this beautiful blue bowl shaped like a flower. I think it will be good for another month or so. I love having this little gem on the counter. I started off the year using Christmas wrapping paper scraps. I have other wrapping paper scraps to use and little pieces of paper. It all adds to the “goodness of the jar” to me. So far the year is a good one in which to focus on the good things. As with life there are good things and not-so-good things and that is why we have a good things jar.
I have been teaching Nia at a studio in San Jose where I rent the space. I have been renting there since January 2009. At first I rented an hour on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. But after six months I decided to just rent Mondays and Wednesdays. Well, after five years, I have decided to just rent Wednesdays. So it has been five years of teaching on Mondays at the studio. Monday, February 24, 2014 will be the last one for now. Mondays are a great day to teach because on Holidays people who work are able to attend, but we don’t have enough holidays. It could be that something else will come up for Mondays or it could be that one day I start teaching there again on Mondays, but for now, we will not be dancing on Mondays.
The classes at the community center is growing. I love that more and more people are coming to Nia there. Also I enjoyed my short time substituting a Nia class at the YMCA in Mountain View. I am teaching a Gentle Yoga class on Thursday evenings. And have been asked to teach another Gentle Yoga class on Tuesday mornings. So while one class ends a new one begins.
We are going to have to move our after-Nia-Class-visits to Wednesday. We have one more Monday that we are going to meet. We have been going to Peet’s on the second to the last Monday of the month for about a year now. So we will have to move it to the second to the last Wednesday. I love that our little Nia community gathers after class. I need to get this type of gathering going with the community center Nia group.
So, I am still putting things in my goodie jar. Still looking for, finding, recognizing, seeing those good things. I hope that no matter what is going on in your life you are able to find something good. Something you want to make a note of so that you can read it later on. I really enjoyed reading my good things at the end of the year. Much of it was about Nia but not all of it. Most of it had to do with love. People showing ME love and that is MORE than a good thing, that is GREAT. I hope you have a lot of moments of love that you can jot down and put in your jar.
Well . . . . how is it going?
Posted in Good Things in the Goodie Jar | Tagged: Christmas wrapping paper, community center classes, gentle yoga, good life, good things, good things jar, Goodie Jar, Monday Nia class, Nia, Nia at the Community Centers, Nia at the YMCA, Nia community, Nia January 2009, Nia San Jose, Nia studio, Nia Teacher, Peet's, Peet's coffee, San Jose Nia, San Jose studio, studio rental, teaching Nia, YMCA, YMCA Nia | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on December 28, 2013
Oh my! You might have read my post about me getting to teach a Nia class in Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz, for those of you that might not be familiar, is a beach town in California. It is not very far from me, but I still don’t get over there often. The place where Nia is held over there is lovely. My student and I usually make a day of it when we go over the hill. The last time we went we stopped and had breakfast at a place serving daily toast. That started my fascination with what I call “Fancy Toast” – click here for the post on Fancy Toast. I have tried it with pears and I like it much better with persimmons, which is funny because that was a substitution on the part of the restaurant owner. But the persimmons have to be REALLY, REALLY, REALLY ripe. At the point where they are almost mushy and a little slippery to cut up. Since I eat the Fancy Toast all the time — because I just happened to have had a few persimmons — I thought I would look into the nutritional value of persimmons.
The ones that I have been using are the flat-ish kind. I hear they are the Asian persimmons. According to a document from the California Department of Public Health a medium (168g) persimmon has 118 calories, only 3 of which are from fat. With the following percentages of the government daily values:
Total Fat: 0g 0%
Saturated Fat: 0g 0%
Trans Fat: 0g
Cholesterol: 0mg 0%
Sodium: 2mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate: 31g 10%
Dietary Fiber: 6g 24%
Sugars: 21g
Protein: 1g
Vitamin A 55% / Vitamin C 21% / Calcium 1% / Iron 1%
Persimmons have a lot of sugar and relatively no protein. But a nice amount of fiber and a good amount of Vitamin C, but even better amount of Vitamin A.
Remember, also, that colorful fruit has carotenoids which provide the orange color in the fruits. And the carotenoids act as antioxidants in your body, meaning they attack harmful free radicals that damage tissues throughout your body.
Most of the recipes I saw called for persimmon puree which is a combination of cooking and blending. So I like the idea of putting them on my toast, I cut up the raw fruit and pile it on top, making it “fancy” or putting them raw into a salad. I actually have not tried them in a salad because I have used them all on my toast!
There are two varieties, the Hachiya and the Fuyu. The Hachiya is the taller of the two, with the Fuyu being more flat. The Hachiya is used more for baking whereas the Fuyu is the one that people eat raw. The document I mentioned states “The Fuyu was developed by breeding out the tannic acid from the Hachiya, making it more appealing to taste and easier to eat whole and raw.”
Have you tried making and eating the Fancy Toast? What else do people do with persimmons? Do you have a persimmon recipe?
Posted in Food, Fruit | Tagged: California beaches, California Department of Public Health, Fancy toast, fiber in fruit, Fuyu, Hachiya, Nia, Nia class, Nia in a beach town, Nia in Santa Cruz, Nia student, Nia Teacher, persimmons, Santa Cruz Nia, Santa Cruz restaurant, tannic acid, teach Nia | Leave a Comment »
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