Posts Tagged ‘Nia training’
Posted by terrepruitt on November 4, 2020
I keep hearing new teachers ask about teachers’ setup. In this post I am specifically talking about Nia. Since Nia has started conducting training online we are just getting a wealth of opportunities to meet (via Zoom) and learn various things. I feel as if in every meeting there is one question about the Trainers’ set up. I am posting this because when I hear the question about set up posed to a TRAINER the answer usually is $$$$$$. I have been Zooming classes for seven months. I started using a borrowed microphone. It is an awesome mic, but it wasn’t GREAT for movement classes because it, the computer, or Zoom would decide what was “noise” and needed to be canceled, sometimes my voice and/or the music would get silenced. Students need to hear both. I just want to share about my set up because it might help someone get online. Once online and teaching one can upgrade from there.
Some Nia teachers work in studios so they have a lot of equipment available to them. Some Nia TRAINERS are the same. But some Nia teachers, especially ones just starting out might want to keep it simple (less expensive) at first. It is a HUGE investment to spend $400 on a microphone. That was the cost of what one trainer shared she was using — and that didn’t include all of the equipment needed to make it work.
We are all doing it differently and we all have different needs, so I am not here saying anything is better than the other, I am saying that if you are new and you want to jump on Zoom and start teaching and you don’t want to invest in an expensive microphone and all that equipment (mixing boards, cables . . . I don’t even know) it requires, there are other options.
I am borrowing a laptop and a monitor with a camera in it. I am using my ION Block Rocker. I bought a wireless mic. And my husband bought me a cable so the computer can be directly connected to the router (all the way across the house) and not use wireless.
First of all, connect directly to the internet . . . in other words avoid using wireless if you can. If you can’t then try to make sure your device is in “line of sight” of your router. I found doing that made a difference.
The wireless microphone I purchased came with a splitter. The splitter connects the wireless microphone transmitter to the computer AND it has a place for the AUX cord for my speaker. My speaker is wireless, but I want to eliminate any factors that can cause lag so I connect via an AUX cord. The speaker is also battery operated, but I plug it in. My music is playing from iTunes via Zoom directly to the students, the speaker is for ME to hear the music.
For Nia I used a big monitor with the camera. It is easier for me to see my students when I am moving around the studio (ie. living room with white curtains as back drop). For the yoga and stretch classes I teach I use laptop and its camera. Since I am more stationary in yoga and stretch I can see my students fine on the laptop.
Since I am not teaching a lot of classes right now the Kimafun Wireless Microphone I bought works great. As time goes on and needs change so may the equipment, that is usually the case, but for now, I am just sharing, in my opinion, to start out you don’t have to spend a lot of money. It is kind of like teaching, starting small . . . keep is simple with the option to expand as you go.
What are you using? Do you have any advice for new teachers? Do you have any advice for teachers new to online/Zoom teaching?
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I do hope it helps someone!
Mic on Amazon
Posted in Online Classes | Tagged: affordable wireless mic, Block Rocker, Kimafun Wireless Mic, new Nia teachers, new to online teaching, Nia, Nia trainers, Nia training, online Nia, online stretch class, online yoga, wireless microphone, Zoom | 18 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on October 12, 2020
Ahhh, today there were two meetings on Zoom to introduce the new options for Members and Teachers. There was one for brand new Nia White Belt Graduates, since I just attended that training I was able to listen to that one. Then there was one for people who are current Nia Members and I am a current Nia member. So in light of those meetings I feel like it is the perfect time to post this post that has been sitting on my desktop. I want to remind readers that I am a Nia teacher, I teach a dance exercise class called Nia. Nia is really much, much more than that, but that is how I describe it when talking about what I teach. I have written many posts about it and I have a lot of information about it on my website. Nia was initially created by two people, Debbie Rosas and Carlos AyaRosas. Carlos left the organization in, I believe it was 2010. Debbie has continued the work. It is so difficult to describe what “the work” means. She continues to learn about the body and why it needs to move and then applies that to trainings. It is multi-dimensional. I am posting this as a reminder that anything I post about Nia has come from their/her teachings. As I have said many times before not everything in Nia is new . . . they did not invent the moves we do in Nia, but they have added their own way of doing them and learning them and showing how they can help you move in your body more comfortably. In addition to that reminder I want to remind people that many of the movement class forms (Zumba, PiYo, etc.) that you may take require the teacher to be licensed. Nia is one of those things. I pay a fee in order to market my class as “Nia”. And Nia is introducing new ways that people can be licensed.
When I directly quote Debbie or the material I state it. As a Nia teacher we are encouraged to share information about Nia. I have taken pictures of our routine covers and I have created documents myself. I have also used pages of The Nia Technique Book. But I don’t post pictures of the training material from the belts. ANYONE can buy The Nia Technique Book, but only a participant receives the training material – well, now I can say only a graduate as a current member receives the training material. 🙂 (This is part of the new options.) I share the information about the belt trainings to entice you into wanting more.
Nia is giving options on licensing. It used to be that if you wanted to teach you paid a licensing fee – either monthly or annually. That fee came with a lot of things . . . DVDs of the routines (music, the choreography, and the additional training for a routine), teleconference calls, written articles, handouts, and various stuff, now the routines are on NiaTV and there are podcasts and other recorded things. There are meditations and various types of movements including routines with the 52 Moves and Moving to Heal . . . there is a plethora of stuff. Nia is going to have three tiers in which people can stay connected to the wealth of Nia training, they will still have the monthly NiaTV subscription if you just want access to Nia Workout Videos, Music, and Podcasts. The tiers just relate to the additional stuff that is part of Nia.
They are putting up a new website this week (hopefully Wednesday, 10/14/20) so you will be able to get all the details there. I do not want to start to list them because I don’t want to misstate anything. It is better for you to get the information from the source. I am just giving you a heads up to let you know that there are options now. And with Nia there is always a huge amount of material to access. So as a member you can get a lot of information and if you want to teach you get more. Each tier adds on stuff we will have access too.
Since the old website is going away and it will have a new look, I thought I would post my profile page as a photo for this post. I really hope that you will look into Nia . . . you can look into as a movement practice (if you like to dance) or if you want more. Keep in mind the new website should be up this week.
So exciting! Who wants to talk about Nia with me?
Posted in Nia | Tagged: Carlos Rosas, dance exercise, Dancing Through Life, Debbie Rosas, Nia license, Nia members, Nia Practice, Nia routines, Nia teachers, Nia training, Nia website, Nia White Belt Graduates, NiaNow.com, NiaTV, Sacred Athlete, Sacred Livelihood, Zumba license | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on October 5, 2020
Ahhh . . . so today was the actual last day of the FIRST EVER NIA WHITE BELT TRAINING ONLINE! Ok, I just want to clarify it was not only the first Nia White Belt Training online, it was the first Nia Belt Training online – ever. So it was super special! If you have read this journey from the beginning you may know, but just in case you haven’t I want to summarize briefly. Nia is a holistic wellness system, I call it a practice (like yoga) . . . through it, I teach cardio dance classes. Nia has levels of learning called belts. The first one is the Nia White Belt. The belts have thirteen principles (yoga has limbs). The principles can be applied to everyday life so you do not have to have teaching Nia in mind when you take the training. The Nia White Belt is all about the body and living in sensation. For some it is a reminder to dance through life and enjoy living in the body — for others that is a totally new and unique concept. Regardless it is a really amazing experience. I have said over and over Nia isn’t always about NEW stuff but the way Nia describes things and relates it to life it very cool. The training was two hours, once a week over sixteen weeks and it is over. I am going to go out on a limb and say we are all sad. I know that is very presumptuous, but I really believe it to be true. We are all sad that it is over. It was an amazing experience and we are sad it is done. But we are also happy because there is a lot more to come. With Nia there is always more.
Today was not really what I was thinking it would be . . . a little disappointed that it wasn’t more of a ceremony, but it was very celebratory and joyous. We actually spent most of the time moving. We spent A LOT of the time dancing. We danced and Debbie reviewed the Nia White Belt Principles 2020. It was awesome.
Last week we were told there is new stuff and we would be told about it today, but I am guessing they couldn’t fit it all in so we are having another meeting next week that is going to explain the membership. If you want to teach you have to pay to do so . . . pretty much like every single licensed thing out there. Instructors pay for Zumba, PiYo, and all the things out there so that isn’t new, but the pay structure is going to change . . . so that is what I wanted to hear about today, but that didn’t happen. We danced and that was fun.
Even though we were not together in a room dancing, it really did feel like community. Especially when the host (we were on Zoom) shared everyone dancing, my entire screen was full of people dancing all over the world! That is amazing to me. I so love the idea of that. I know that I danced with a woman in Africa, a woman in Germany, a woman in Tennessee, a woman in Washington, two women in Texas, a woman in Idaho, and a woman in Chile. I don’t know where everyone else was but we were all together and we were dancing.
This was the second time I have taken the White Belt, the first time was in 2008 and an audit in 2009, but this was a full retake and the material was new. Again, the way it was presented was new, the language was new, but the core teachings are the same. I keep emphasizing that because that is important to me. Nia is not an opinion, which can change, it is a system based on science and ancient teachings so the base is consistent, yet it adjusts and grows.
Today was really fun. I loved moving and dancing with everyone.
I hope that you choose to explore more about Nia. I have posted about the thirteen Nia White Belt Principles 2020 I just studied (and will continue to study) and I have posted about Nia before. There is information on this blog and my site and of course, information about the trainings on Nianow.com
In Joy!
Posted in 2020 Nia White Belt Principles, Nia | Tagged: dancing via Zoom, Debbie Rosas, First Nia Belt Training online, graduation, holistic wellness system, licensing fees, Nia Classes, Nia Practice, Nia Technique, Nia training, Nia White Belt Principles, Nia White Belt Training, NiaNow.com, PiYo, Yoga, Zuma | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on September 30, 2020
I can’t believe it. I was just agreeing with a Nia friend via Facebook that the time in our Nia training went really fast when we thought it would be a long training. Sixteen weeks. We started in June and we are approaching our last meeting. It just proves to me that time really is relative. I don’t know what the last meeting will be like because the most recent meeting we just had was the introduction to the 13th and LAST Nia White Belt Principle – 2020. So we have been through all 13 principles. The last one is Nia White Belt P13 – Living What You Sense, with a tagline of Crafting With Sensation. A Sensory Study of Somatic Leadership.
Live what you sense through your body. As a top level example: if you sense you are cold, put on a jacket. 🙂 Somewhat basically what we do daily. Listen to the body and express yourself accordingly. And, actually a lot of us don’t do that. Some of us can’t do that for many reasons. One could be something as necessary as a job. Sadly sometimes we have to ignore our bodies to do our jobs. A person may not be able to go to the bathroom because of their job . . . if you are out in the field or can’t leave your post. A person many not be able to eat when they are hungry because they can’t eat on the job. So sadly, in our society, sometimes we have to repress our body’s communications with us. But hopefully when we are able we can listen to it.
This principle has three triads, the main one: Listen, Sense, Express and two others. P13 (t1) is Wait, Receive, Act so a drill down of the way we can respond to a body’s message from “taste, touch, listen, look, smell”. And P13 (t2) which I think can be applied to life and students of Nia, but has a big impact on Nia teachers as it is Listen, Dance, and Share. In between the Dance and Share corners is a little insert triad of Ask, Wait, Receive. So a Nia teacher is taught to dance what s/he senses. So we listen to the music and really dance to it. We are taught that the choreography is important. We are told that everything is crafted with science in mind, with the BMES and the FAMSS in mind, and with the choreography in mind so it is very important, but it is not as important as DANCING to the music. And so we are taught to “ask” our bodies what we sense, then we wait allowing us to receive and answer and THEN we share. So while we are dancing we might ask for some information and then notice that our hip is tight so we invite our students to sense THEIR OWN HIPS, by saying, “Everybody sense your hips . . ” , or our shoulders seem tense, so we can say, “Everybody sense your scapulae or your wings” or that our feet are light with a sense of ease and we may say, “Everybody sense the energy in your feet” . . . . We invite everyBODY to sense any number of things to help everybody to bring awareness to their body.
Also included in this portion of the book aligned with this principle are the 7 Cycles of Nia.
This is one of the principles that has changed, the core of it is the same, but it has changed to be more of an”anyone and everyone type of principle” instead of just being geared towards people who want to teach. Keep in mind this belt, the Nia White Belt is what needs to be taken in order to teach Nia, but not everyone that takes it goes onto teach Nia. It is NOT just for those that want to teach. So the principles have been morphed over the years to be more broad. There is a specific belt that may be taken for those that want to teach or are teaching, but it is not required only the white belt is required to teach Nia.
I want to again remind you and invite you to look into Nia further. Maybe buy the book – keeping in mind it is from 2004. Definitely take Nia classes.
As always, I am sure that as I keep learning I will keep sharing, so stayed tuned.
Posted in 2020 Nia White Belt Principles, Nia | Tagged: 7 cycles of Nia, Ask Wait Receive, BMES, FAMSS, Living Through Sensation, Nia Technique, Nia training, Nia White Belt P13, Nia White Belt Principles 2020, Nia White Belt Principles. Nia teaching, Sharing What You Sense, teaching what you sense, Wait Receive Act | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on September 21, 2020
This week we quickly reviewed Nia White Belt Principle 12. It is a pretty involved principle and there is not a lot of time to really dig deep into it. There are four triads to this principle. That information alone is an indication of how complex this principle is. Nia White Belt P12 – Body + Life Transformation with a tagline of Purpose – Potential – Possibility.
Like many places, here is where Nia and Nia training can translate into something that a person that doesn’t want to teach can benefit from. Even twelve years ago when I participated in the Nia White Belt Intensive it was not ALL about teaching us how to teach Nia, but as Nia continues to grow it has shifted even further into being a “life style practice” to include those that don’t want to teach. The description of this principle is Sensory Study of Personal Enrichment and Growth. The first triad is about Past, Present, and Future with the center being Knowledge with wings of NiaTV and Nia Training. Basically it’s representing oneself and indicating that we can continue to learn and gain knowledge with the things available to us.
The additional triads each have a tagline and description, which you can learn about when you take the training. As often is the case, I don’t want to give it ALL away and really can’t get into each principle or triad in depth because I do – believe it or not – try to keep my posts from being too long. P12 (t1) is about oneself with purpose, potential, and possibility making up the three corners of the triad. Tapping into our ideal of ourselves. P12 (t2) is very complex and is about potential with a top-level “map” on how a teacher learns a routine. But, it can be applied to a student too as it represents lo
oking, moving, then sharing a routine. It reminds us of how we blend science, craft, and art into our dance. The science has us looking, listening, and imagining as tool to learn and do the moves. Then we can energize the moves with the nine energies (movement forms), crafting the routine. And the art is the part where we share, having really connected through the music we are able to dance to the music sharing the science and craft.
P12 (t3) is class, core, magic where we learn, embody, and share. I feel like these two triads should be switched, but I also feel the main triad should have a different order. Which reminds me, there are a lot of different ways people learn and to me I would Learn – Embody – Share Nia Routines (t3 tagline) as a way TO engage the Somatic Wheels of Transformation (t2 tagline), but I also see needing to engage them first in order to share Nia.
While for me, aspects of the principle that are related to teaching Nia are the most intriguing I see how it is all related. That is what is amazing and fun about Nia . . . the principles can be applied to daily life. One does not have to want to teach Nia to be able to relate it to life.
This principle is about purpose, potential, and possibility and the triads are little maps or signs to remind us of the tools that we have in our Nia toolbox.
Can you see how this (thinking about your purpose, potential, and possibilities of your life) can be MORE THAN just an fitness practice?
Posted in 2020 Nia White Belt Principles, Nia | Tagged: Learn Embody Share, Life transformation, Nia belt training online, Nia class, Nia Practice, Nia routines, Nia training, Nia White Belt, Nia White Belt Principle 12, NiaTV, personal growth, Triads | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on August 5, 2020
First of all, to clarify, Nia uses triads in their training and they are continually updating them, they may change the language or possibly rearrange the order, but they have used and are still using triads. This week our lesson was on Nia White Belt Principle 5. It has four triads, one for the main principle and three more to help with understanding the principle and being able to have it. The Nia White Belt Principle 5 is Awareness. White Belt is all about the body so Nia White Belt P5 – Awareness is about body sensory awareness.
The main triad’s three points are: Body, Message, Response. There is the body and we get messages and there is our response to the messages. We have a relationship with our physical body and our energy body which are shown on the “wings” of the triad. Your nose could have a tickle and your body sends you that message. You have a relationship with that sensation in your body and with the energy/feelings it generates. And your response could be to scratch your nose. That is a very simple example.
The idea goes much deeper than that and it has three additional triads. The first one is about skin, joints, and connective tissue and our perception of pain and pleasure. The second one is about awareness, stimulation, and self-healing with a temperature gauge for pain and wings of logic and mystery. And the third is about Dancing Through Life, Living Meditation, and Life as Art with the sacred athlete at the center and body and life as wings. Dancing Through Life is the “doing” and Living Meditation is the “Non-Doing”.
There is so much that I can say about each triad but I always want to leave a little mystery so that when you get the book or take the training and dive deeper into it yourself you will have somethings still new to you. I just want to say a few things about some of the points, self-healing in Nia is not telling you that you can heal yourself without medical assistance, it is more to the effect of moving to heal or in a way that allows your body to heal and not cause injury. If in your dance you step really wide into a sumo stance and you feel pain in your knees, you could “self-heal” by adjusting to a smaller sumo stance. This is a simple example, but it is about having awareness and moving to stimulate self-healing.
Also, I wanted to get a little more detailed about Dancing Through Life . . . one of my favorite sayings and ideas of Nia. A part of the idea is to — literally, DANCE THROUGH LIFE. Again, remember that Nia has a broad definition of “dance”, so this doesn’t mean do the waltz or plies though life, it is more like noticing everything you do is your dance. Brushing your teeth is your dance, making your dinner is your dance – the DOING of life is your dance, The non-doing is living meditation. Stop and notice things. Then allow Life to be Art.
Remember there is The Nia Technique Book that covers all of this. As I have been saying the language now in 2020, is a bit different, but the core of the information is the same. So even though The Nia Technique Book was published in 2004, you would still get a lot out of it. Also, this training is available to anyone, you don’t have to want to teach Nia, you just have to want to maybe look at things – things that are not new to you – a little differently, from a body centered outlook. Currently there are many trainings happening (about to happen) online.
What here sparks your interest about Nia White Belt P5 – Awareness? Are you living in a body that is always in pain? Do you think of yourself as Dancing Through Life? Are you living in a body that is always in pain?
Posted in 2020 Nia White Belt Principles, Nia | Tagged: Awareness, Dancing Through Life, Nia Teacher, Nia Technique, Nia Technique Book, Nia training, Nia Triads, Nia White Belt P5 | 2 Comments »
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 2, 2014
If you have read more than one post on my blog you know (probably) that I teach a movement class called Nia. Nia is very much about “dancing” and moving to the music. The training required in order to teach is called the Nia White Belt Intensive. The training is over 50 hours long. Believe it or not there is hardly anytime in that 50 hours learning a routine. In fact, I don’t remember learning any part of a routine in my White Belt. But I know people who have taken the training more recently and they said they did review a song. I remember when I first arrived at the training I literally had NO IDEA what it was going to be like. I signed up rather late and if there was any pre-training at that time, I didn’t get it. I had thought I would walk out of the training ready to teach. Ha. Nope. I was given tools to help me be ready to teach. There might be people who are ready to teach when they walk out of the first training . . . but I wasn’t. I wasn’t that familiar with Nia to begin with so the way we were taught to learn a routine was very new to me. As you may know we were taught to map our music by “barring” the music.
I know that Nia is making an effort to make things easier on teachers. Nia Headquarters actually documents the choreography on the bars now. So, I feel that the focus has shifted a bit away from barring the music the way I was taught. I think the way I was taught was very cool. I love the way Nia had at one time had us learning the music. But I also understand the need to learn quickly or to have tools available to allow people to do things faster. That is just the way our society is. Things need to be done fast.
I also understand that we all learn differently. We all have our own ways of doing things. I honestly don’t do EVERY step that I was taught to do. I also mix it up and I don’t always do each routine EXACTLY the same. But pretty much.
For all the routines so far, I do bar the music myself. Sometimes I have trouble with some of the songs so I might rely on the bars from HQ a little more than with other songs. But I bar the music and I document the choreography myself. I “fix” any discrepancies I might see on the DVD. But I do this in steps. First I bar the music. I count the music and I dress my bars. I have found the more detailed I am with the dressing the better it is for me. I put as much detail as I want on there. I don’t just put the sound I hear for the cue for the Nia routine. I put the music on the page. Then I scan the paper into my computer. Now I have barred music. So what I can do with that the barred page — without the Nia choreography on it — is use it for whatever I want. I can add my own choreography. I don’t just have the places marked where I would do or cue the already-created-Nia kata, I have sounds that I am familiar with document. So noting my own choreography to the page is easy.
Then, on my paper I just scanned, I add the Nia choreography. Once I do that then I scan my sheet again. So now I have an electronic image of my complete and final bars. I always know where it is. I admit to taking my sheets of barred music with me either to teach or around the house, then I misplace them. Or I mixed routines up so I have one song in with another routine. Then after a year when I go to do a routine, I am missing a song. I am pretty particular so I will look for it, but sometimes I let go and just look at my electronic copy. I know that eventually I will find the hard copy so I just use the one I know where it is.
I am so happy though because I finally got a HANGING file system. So much easier to file my routines that way. I used to have them in a pile on a shelf in a cabinet. So in order to get to them I had to take out the entire pile and go through it to find the routine I wanted. Or to put one away . . . that is why I would end up with “lost” songs because I didn’t always want to take the time to take out the stack and deal with it. But now, it is so much easier with them hanging! Yay.
So, if you teach a dance class, how do you document your moves? How do you note your choreography? How do you store your notes?
Posted in Nia | Tagged: barring music, dance class, dance exercise, mapping music, movement class, Nia, Nia choreography, Nia class, Nia Dance, Nia Music, Nia Teacher, Nia training, Nia White Belt Intensive, scanning your bars | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on July 30, 2013
I have been teaching Nia for over four and half years. I have students that are Nia teachers. I have students who have taken the training but are not teachers. The Nia Intensives are open to people who do not intend to teach. So I have people in my classes who have experienced the training, but this is the first time that I have people who are taking the Nia White Belt Training because I introduced them to Nia. Well, one for certain, she did not know about it until she had taken my class and the other one I think didn’t know about it until she came to one of my Nia classes. Now this is not me saying I am so great that I have inspired two individuals to take the intensive, this is me saying, “Yay!” to the power of Nia. It is fun cardio dance exercise class . . . but if you want to take the intensive it is a lot more.
I am so excited. I have not had a chance to talk to my student much. She just returned and we have yet to meet so I can get the scoop, but she did express awe. She is in my Tuesday morning class. The Tuesday before she left for her training she was so kind she said that she was bringing a laptop and she would be able to send me some e-mails and we could communicate the week she was in the training. I told her no we would not. I told her that she is going to be so full she will not be able to e-mail. For me, while I was in the intensive, any time that I was not actually IN the training, I was either trying to absorb it and remember and think about all that I had just heard or I was do a little bit of socializing. The training is intense. I have mentioned before. It is not so physically intense that you feel as if you are at military boot camp, but it is physical. There is a lot of moving. I did send her an e-mail during the week and she said she was too tired to respond. I laughed. It is a lot.
Usually there is a Nia class at 7:00 in the morning or so. And when I was in the training we were not required to go to them all, but why not? So the day starts with movement at 7:00 am. Then there is lectures and movement and all of it together. And – something else I’ve said before – not everything you hear is a new concept or a new idea, but the way it is presented or tied into Nia and/or movement makes it seem new in the sense that your brain and your body want to examine it. Learning can be exhausting. Intensives are about 50 hours. The day usually ends about 7:00 pm after an evening Nia class. I know I said most of this just this past November when I took my blue belt. But I am just so excited to have two students becoming Nia White Belts I wanted to share. I want to shout it out!
The brief moments I did get to speak to my student she expressed exactly what one expects after a training. She was happy and grateful and just full of new things. She was amazed to see how much anatomy is part of the Nia training. One of the co-founders wanted to be a doctor so she is very interesting in anatomy. Plus knowing how the body is designed helps know how to create choreography that will allow the body to have a wonderful sensation while moving. Nia is amazing.
I really just wanted to share my joy that one of my students took the next step in the amazing journey that is Nia. She was very kind and as a thank you for introducing her to Nia, she brought me these lovely gladioli.
If you are interested in taking a class from me see my website www.HelpYouWell.com. If you are anywhere else in the world and you want to see if there is a class near you see http://www.nianow.com/find/classes and if you want to learn about Nia trainings see http://www.nianow.com/training
Well, what are you waiting for?
Posted in Nia | Tagged: Debbie Rosas, Nia, Nia and anatomy, Nia Blue Belt, Nia choreography, Nia co-founder, Nia Intensives, Nia people, Nia student, Nia Teacher, Nia training, Nia White Belt | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on June 4, 2013
I have written a series of three posts describing what is contained in a Nia Routine Training Package. I was reminded by a comment on one of recent posts about Nia Routines (Nia Routines I’ve Learned) that in 2010 I stated I would explain more about what we receive on a teacher routine DVD. Because the package put together by Nia Technique is so packed with information and learning material, my explanation took up three posts to summarize all that you receive in a Nia Routine Training Packages for Teachers. This post is just a quick summary and “map” so to speak of the three posts. I hope all of this information helps you understand that “with love, we [Nia Technique] have carefully crafted this ‘body of work'[meaning each routine] to offer you an in-depth body, mind, emotions, spirit experience.”** They do that so that we may pass on music, movement, and magic to our students.
When I RECENTLY mentioned I would write up a description I didn’t realize it would take so long and so many posts. But back in 2010, I must have known on some level that it would be more than one post because it has taken me three years to do it!
Nia’s Routine Training Packages for Teachers consists of a Music CD, a DVD, and a pamphlet.
The first post – Nia Technique’s Outstanding Routine DVDs – explains the CD, the components of the DVD, and two of the components on the DVD, the Focus and Move the Move
The second post – DVDs Nia Teachers Learn From, Nia Technique’s Outstanding Routine DVDs (Part 2) – explains the last three components on the DVD. DVD Components: Learn the Move, Energize the Move, and the music.
The third post – Nia’s Routine Pamphlets, Nia Technique’s Outstanding Routine DVDs (Part 3) – explains the pamphlet.
Each post while a full post in itself still only briefly describes things. I could write so much more and do many more posts, but I think I summarized it well enough to give you an idea of the training. I hope that those of you that are interested in teaching have a good idea of what type of training you get when learning a routine. If you are fortunate enough to live near Nia Headquarters in Portland, OR then you know that they often have workshops and things to even further your education regarding routines. Sometime in my basic area they have immersions where two days are spent learning a routine. We all learn differently and I am convinced that no matter how you learn, with all the different ways available to learn a routine there has to be something that will do it for you.
There is an annual license renewal required to teach Nia. The fee includes four Nia Routines. You get to choose the routines you want. For more information see: Nia Livelihood Membership for Body + Life Education
If you have any questions please ask. If you are a Nia teacher or one that receives these wonderful training gems and you want to add anything please do.
**this is copied from the back of the CD/DVD holder. It is just a portion of the paragraph.
Posted in Nia | Tagged: Energize the Move, Nia body of work, Nia DVD, Nia education, Nia focus, Nia Headquarters, Nia Livelihood Membership, Nia Music, Nia pamphlet, Nia Routine Training Packages, Nia routines, Nia Teacher, Nia Technique, Nia Technique's Outstanding Routine DVDs, Nia training | 2 Comments »
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