Posts Tagged ‘Nia training’
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 »
Posted by terrepruitt on May 30, 2013
Nia Technique’s Outstanding Routine DVDs (Part 2)
Three years ago I posted about Nia Routines and I stated in that post that I would describe what the training DVD is like. Here I am with that information. Also, I want to share about the whole routine teacher training package that a Nia teacher receives. It is turning out to be three (sort of four) posts long. This is the second post. That is how much we get in our Nia continued education Routine Teacher Training package. I am just sharing briefly about it. These posts are to give you an idea of what you would receive. As a reminder you receive a CD, DVD, and pamphlet. The CD and DVD are shipped to you and the pamphlet you can view online, save to your computer, and/or print.
The DVD consists of the Focus, Move the Move, Learn the Move, Energize the Move, and the Music. In post one I talked about the Focus and the Move the Move section. Here you’ll learn a bit about Learn the Move, Energize the Move, and the music.
In the Learn the Move section they explain the move. The way they did this morphed over the years. I have some DVDs where they stood facing the camera and talked about the moves. Showing you the move and going into detail about each move. I also have some DVDs where the teacher is just dubbed over the actual class as shown in the Move the Move portion. So you are seeing the same thing over again and the creator is talking about the moves as the routine plays. The explanation includes both the physical description and little tips. Sometimes they might explain alternatives even if they have not done them in the Move the Move portion of the DVD. They also sometimes explain why we are doing a move. “‘Holding a ball’ allows a body to move systemically, connecting the upper body with the lower body.” This portion at times can help with figuring out how to do a move if it is a little challenging to you or your students.
With Energize the Move the creator explains the energy involved. For example “the energy at this part of the routine is meant to be focused and very intentional.” And, “the energy of connecting to your body and space around.” This section can help provide pearls and additional verbiage that you can use to get your class moving.
The last section of the DVD is the Move the Move with just the music. There is no teacher instruction. This is where you do the Nia Class without being told what to do. You get to watch and just listen to the music.
The music portion of the DVD always makes me remember I have always wanted an option in the Move the Move portion to be able to turn up the music. I have an exercise DVD (Turbo Jam) where you can “pump up” the music. You can still here Chalene Johnson giving you instructions but you can make the music much louder. I think it would be of great help to me if I could turn the music up on my Nia Routine DVDs but still listen to the teacher talking. I have yet to suggest that to Nia HQ. It would really be nice for me to hear the music louder so I could practice my listening to the cues, yet still get the benefit of the instruction. I’ve tried to time the music say from my iPod to the DVD so I COULD turn up the music myself, but I can never get it synchronized. 🙂
In my post Continuing Education – Nia White Belt Principle #12, I talk about the three stages of learning a routine. I mention there are steps in each stage. The Learn the Move and Energize the Move are couple of the additional steps. Watching and learning the information contained in each of these sections of the DVD can be very beneficial to leading a routine.
In my next post I share some information about the pamphlets and you’ll see how there is even MORE information to learn!
Are you getting a clearer picture of what is contained in a Nia Teacher’s Routine DVD? Can you somewhat understand that there is a lot of good information?
Posted in Nia | Tagged: Chalene Johnson, Energize the Move, Nia CD, Nia choreography, Nia class, Nia continued education, Nia Music, Nia routines, Nia Teacher, Nia Technique, Nia training, Nia White Belt, Routine DVD, Turbo Jam | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on May 28, 2013
In my post about Nia Routines in February of 2010, I stated I would explain more about what we receive on a Nia Routine Teacher DVD. A comment with questions on a recent post (Nia Routines I’ve Learned), reminded me that I needed to do that. Over three years later, I am explaining what we get. I also wanted to share what is in the Nia Training/Continued Education package as a whole. We get a LOT. It is more than just music and routine. The amount of time and effort and all that goes into our training DVD/package is awesome. I know that even though I see the results and I think it is a lot, there is probably so much more that goes on in the background I would be even more impressed. Since we get so much I am finding as I type this that it is a longer explanation than I like to have in one post. So this will be part one of what is in a Nia Routine Teacher Training package. When a Nia Teacher receives a “Nia Routine” there is a CD and a DVD. We used to receive a pamphlet within the package, but now we have to print those out ourselves if we want a hard copy. But basically a training routine package is CD, DVD, and pamphlet.
The CD and DVD are in a cardboard holder, one side has the list of songs with the 8BC and the time shown. The other side has the Focus and Intent that the routine was created with. The back of the holder states the name of the routine and the creator, along with a paragraph about Nia Technique’s thoughts on routines.
The CD is a typical music CD. It has music on it. But as a Nia Teacher or student you know there is nothing really typical about Nia routine music. 🙂 The songs play one after the other with no pause unless the song itself has a pause before the music begins or after the song ends. Or I guess the engineer putting the CD together could put a pause in.
The DVD consists of five sections: the Focus, Move the Move, Learn the Move, Energize the Move, and the Music. The “Focus” portion of the DVD is the creator (or one of them) talking about the focus and the intent of the routine. Often times they explain a bit about how the focus relates to the choreography. For example if the focus is “Steps and Stances” it might be mentioned that there are a lot of opportunities in the routine to experience all six stances.
“Move the Move” is the routine filmed almost as if you were taking a class. Sometimes they change the camera angle, but it is still basically as if you are taking a class.* The music is playing and the teacher is teaching. *There is one routine I have in which it was filmed with the class FACING the camera the entire time. I do not care for that at all. I like it when the camera is BEHIND the teacher with the mirror in the shot and it is as if I am standing behind the teacher taking a Nia class. I don’t know if there are other routines in addition to Birth that is filmed with the teachers and the class facing the camera, but I will inquire before I purchase additional routines.
Often times in addition to the teacher demonstrating different LEVELS of a move, they will demonstrate a lot of different moves that CAN be done while doing the routine. I always have to remind myself that just because they are showing us multiple ways to do the move or multiple ways in general to move to the music it does not mean I need to put them all into the routine when I am leading it. They are just showing examples as to what can be done. I find it very funny that a lot of the times Carlos was not even doing what he explained the choreography to be. To me, he often just let his spirit go and he danced to the music that he clearly loved. In his spirit dance he was able to show a lot of different things that could be done to the music.
As you can see this post is a bit long in itself. I have only touched upon two of the sections included on the training DVD. So stayed tuned for part two where I give a brief summary of the sections: Learn the Move, Energize the Move, and the Music.
Do you like to take lead follow exercise workout classes where the teacher is facing you? Or would you rather have the teacher’s back to you?
Posted in Nia | Tagged: "Steps and Stances", 8BC, Birth Nia Routine, Carlos AyaRosas, Energize the Move, exercise classes, exercise workout, focus and intent, Nia CD, Nia choreography, Nia class, Nia continued education, Nia Music, Nia routines, Nia student, Nia Teacher, Nia Technique, Nia training, Nia workout, Routine DVD, workout classes | 4 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on March 26, 2013
One of the things I learned in a Nia workshop at the end of February, 2013 was the phrase “stay with your enoughs”. Trainer Helen Terry, currently located in Texas, was here in the San Francisco Bay Area to teach us how to dance a Nia Routine that she adapted to an entire album of different music. When Helen said that, I laughed. Because there has been so many times when I thought, “this is enough of that move, it MUST be time to move on” and I wasn’t REALLY clued into the music and I went onto the next move and sure “enough” I hadn’t stayed long “enough”. It was really funny at the time that I took the training because I was doing a Nia routine in which I almost always moved on before I should in accordance with the choreography. Shortly before the workshop I had just started telling myself (and listening to myself—what a novel idea!) that when I THOUGHT we were done is not when we should be if I were going to match the original choreography. There was at least one more bar to go through. And so when teaching that routine, my mind would say, “This is it. This is enough.” And my body would say, “Terre, we’ve been through this before. If you THINK this is it, then you KNOW it is not. Stay.” So Helen’s words “Stay with your enoughs” are perfect.
Nia is so lovely that pretty much most of the time if I lead us into the next sequences of moves before we are actually supposed to go or if we stay longer than the original choreography intended it doesn’t really matter. We might miss that wonderful “perfect match up” to the music, but it never really feels badly off. The choreography flows very well with the music so most of the time it doesn’t feel WRONG. We have the flexibility to stay and go as we please, but when coached to “stay with the enoughs” sometimes it is the perfect idea to help with those troubled spots.
In the workshop that Helen was leading since she was teaching us how to dance a specific Nia Routine to a specific album, there were specific songs and specific examples of where she thought it might feel like as if it is enough. The idea is to keep the faith and “stay with your enoughs”. Just stay past the point you think you should be done with that move. She said one track in particular would “give you a lot of ‘enoughs'”. Which for me that is not the “enough” song, but that is ok. She reminded me of the tool so I can apply it to any and all songs where I have enoughs. I get to relax and stay with them!
There were so many wonderful things presented in the workshop I could probably do a month’s worth of posts. But for now I’ll say “enough” . . . . until my next post . . . .
Do you stay with your enoughs?
Posted in Nia | Tagged: Helen Terry, Nia, Nia choreography, Nia routine, Nia trainer, Nia training, Nia workshop, San Francisco Bay Area, San Francisco Bay Area Nia, stay with your enoughs, Texas Nia, Texas Nia Trainer | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on November 27, 2012
The Nia Blue Belt has 13 principles as does the Nia White Belt, Nia Brown Belt, and Nia Black Belt. The principles for the Blue Belt were created to layer onto or weave through the Nia White Belt Principles. The 13 Nia Blue Belt Principles are:
1. The Joy of Being In Relationship
2. The Power of Two
3. Awareness, Insight, Clarity
4. Developmental Anatomy
5. The Power of Three
6. Split, Ellipt, Blend
7. Nia Class Format
8. The Power of Silence & Sound
9. Form and Freedom
10. FloorPlay
11. Music, Movement, Magic
12. Observe, Listen, Guide
13. Vertical Routines
Even though I have been introduced to 13 new principles, I can still work with the 13 Nia White Belt Principles. I still have a lot I can learn through them. Nia actually made practicing them easy by creating the Blue Belt principles to weave into the White Belt Principles. The Nia White Belt Principle #1 is The Joy of Movement. 
When Nia creates the principles they create catch phrases and other things to help explain what the principle is about and help people remember the principle and what it is about. One of the things they use as a tool is a triad with words or phrases. The triad for principle #1 in the Nia White Belt is the same as the triad for principle #1 in the Nia Blue Belt. The triad is choose, sensation, and universal joy.
The Nia Blue Belt Principle #1, The Joy of Being In Relationship, the catch phrase is “with”, so you choose, sense the sensation, experience universal joy. You are in relationship with all three in addition to “the other” you are in relationship with. The “other” does not have to be a person, it can be a movement, a body part, a person, a thought, an idea . . . . anything. As an example, you can be in relationship with your hips as they move when you walk. You are not just aware of them, but you are in relationship with. There is communication going on. It is not just you moving them, you are listening, sensing, aware . . . in relationship with. They move and you receive information from them. Maybe you sense them tilting forward. Why? What is that the result of? Can you move them so they are not tilting forward? You ask. They say yes. You move in a way that adjust them. You move on. Energy and information going back and forth between you and “the other”. This is applied to dancing Nia. This is applied to teaching Nia. This is applied to everything. This is applied to life. We choose. We sense. We have the opportunity to experience Universal Joy. We have the opportunity to be in relationship with.
So this is a new idea for me. This is how I am perceiving it today. This is how I am understanding it today. I welcome others who have taken the Blue Belt Intensive to comment. I believe this principle is one of the things that takes practice. It is something that can be played with and experienced. And I actually feel as if my relationship with this principle changes. So, yeah, there will probably more on this as I explore the Joy of Being In Relationship With!
Do you somewhat understand how you can be in relationship with?
Posted in Blue Belt, Nia | Tagged: 13 principles, Awareness, Blend, Clarity, Developmental Anatomy, Ellipt, floorplay, Form and Freedom, Insight, Joy of Movement, Magic, movement, Music, Nia Black Belt, Nia Blue Belt, Nia Brown Belt, Nia class, Nia Class Format, Nia Intensive, Nia relationship, Nia training, Nia White Belt, Split, the joy of being in relationship, Vertical Routines | 7 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on November 20, 2012
Ha, ha, ha, ha. So I received another new thing in the organic produce box I have delivered, Delicata squash. It was delivered on the day before I was going to go to a week long (53 hours) training for Nia Blue Belt. The box came Friday morning and I had a lot to do so I put the veggies in the fridge. I was hoping that I would get to cooking it during the week, but I didn’t really count on it. The training was an hour away from 8:00 am to 6:00 or 7:00 pm. 
I think I had seen the squash on the list that comes with the delivery and I was thinking comparable to a zucchini. I didn’t get around to cooking with it until the week after it was delivered. It was the Sunday of the following week. Since I was thinking zucchini like consistency and cooking time, I was going to bread it and cook it in the oven. When I cut it I laughed because it was HARD. It was like a pumpkin. I didn’t know if I could roast it. I didn’t think it would cook in the time I had alloted. And even after I cut the ends off I didn’t think about it being seedy like a pumpkin. It was. So switching gears, I didn’t know what to do with it. I decided to slice it in half and roast it with olive oil and salt —- big surprise, huh? Me ROASTING a vegetable. I was going to FILL it with cheese and just bake it. Well, I cooked it a bit then decided to taste it. It was really good without the cheese. It was also sweeter than I had thought it would be so I didn’t think the cheese I was going to use was the flavor combination I was after. So I switched cheese and decided to just put a little bit of cheese on it instead of filling it. Instead of a lot of parmesan, I used a little cheddar and gouda.
I had also peeled it. I didn’t know if the outside would become edible during cooking. In my quest to cut it up I had started cutting it in slices so I had ended up with one slice with the skin/outside. I cooked it to see if the skin would be edible. It was. I was disappointed that I had peeled the rest of it.
Well, this turned out to be one of those surprise vegetables that was just delicious. As I said it was very good without the cheese. So I would definitely cook this squash up with just a salt, a little pepper, and olive oil. Adding anything to it is not necessary but could end up being great. Just like the cheese. I am glad that I tasted it before just piling on the cheese on it because it had a delicate flavor and so I used a lot less cheese and didn’t add any other seasoning.
I am not sure that I have seen these in the store or anywhere before. I probably have but didn’t know what they were so I didn’t pay attention. Now I will purposeful look for them. (I have been looking and I cannot find them.)
According to Wiki, this type of squash is a winter squash also know as the Bohemian, squash, peanut squash or the sweet potato squash. Further info states it belongs to the same species as the zucchini.
The World’s Healthy Food lumps winter squash together, their site states that it has the following percentages of the RDA of the nutrients listed:
vitamin A 214.1%
vitamin C 32.8%
fiber 22.9% (5.74 grams)
manganese 19%
vitamin B6 16.5%
potassium 14.1%
vitamin K 11.2%
folate 10.2%, in just a cup of baked squash. I think it is a great addition to a healthy diet. It is really delicious. And this is one of the reasons why I decided to get an organic produce box. I never would have thought to buy this!
Are you familiar with the Delicata Squash? How do you cook it?
Posted in Food, Vegetables | Tagged: Blue Belt, Delicata squash, fiber, Nia Blue Belt, Nia training, olive oil, organic produce box, peanut squash, pumpkin, RDA, roasted squash, roasted veggies, training for Nia, vitamin a, vitamin B6, vitamin C, Wiki, winter squash, World's Healthy Foods | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on November 13, 2012
Last week I cancelled my Monday and Wednesday Nia class and got a substitute for my Tuesday Nia class with the City of San Jose. I decided to take the next level of Nia training. I was a White Belt, now I am a Blue Belt. Nia calls their trainings intensive. I cannot assume to know why, but I am glad they do. They are very intense. The training is part lecture and part moving. The moving can be dancing or types of exercises to further the learning process. People tend to learn better when they are doing, so there is a lot of doing. In my rough calculations it was about 53 hours of instruction, including the Master Classes. It was Saturday through Friday. It was exhausting. It was energizing. It was incredible. As I have mentioned before and I will continue to mention Nia is a cardio dance exercise. Come to a class. Move. Have fun. Sweat. Get your workout in. But Nia is also a practice. I compare it to yoga in that a person can go into a yoga class and work out and do the exercise and then leave and not give it a second though. Or they could give it a second thought. They could take on some of the aspects of yoga, they could practice breathing and/or meditating or anything else that might be attached to their yoga class on a deeper level. That is what a person can do with Nia too. So some people take the intensives for self-growth with no intention of teaching at all. Even if they are not planning on teaching or are not currently doing so, the training is just as intense.
Each belt level has its own focus and intent. Blue Belt focus is Communication, Relationship and Intimacy with the intent to energize personal connection through self-discovery and communication by following The Body’s Way. Sounds like a lot. Ok, it IS a lot. LOL!
In addition to a focus and intent, each belt level (aside from Green) has its own set of principles. With the Blue Belt, the principles were made to layer onto or over the White Belt Principles. Some of the information is very close to being the same, but with a little more added to it. It is very interesting the way Nia does things. It is very amazing the training they come up with and the delivery of it.
In this training we were shown many things, one was an enlightened way to use the Nia 5 Stages or the Developmental Anatomy to measure all types of things and where we might be in a process. It is a pretty cool tool. It is part of the Body’s Way.
I am 100% positive I will have more posts regarding the Blue Belt Intensive, the Blue Belt Principles, and my thoughts on it all. I am still processing it right now. My mind is racing with thoughts, ideas, things I learned, things I didn’t learn, just a lot of things. There is so much that I want to share. There is also a lot I don’t want to share. Nia is not a secret society by any means. There are no secrets to the intensives, in fact most of the information is things that have been around for as long as I can remember. The information is stuff you have probably heard before. It is just the WAY they deliver it. And the way it is connected to the body that is somewhat unique. If I decide not to share something or talk vaguely about some things it is because I don’t want to ruin the surprise of some things for those of you that will be taking the Blue Belt. Since the Blue Belt Principles are layered onto the White Belt Principles I will probably write more post about them too. And we will see what comes up. I have chosen to participate in Nia as a practice. For now, I will revel in Blue!
Is there something that you have in your life you consider a practice?
Posted in Blue Belt, Nia | Tagged: 13 principles, Blue Belt Principles, cardio dance, cardio dance exercise, cardio dance exercise classes, City of San Jose Nia Classes, dance exercise, Developmental Anatomy, focus and intent, Master classes, Nia 5 Stages, Nia Blue Belt, Nia dancing, Nia exercise, Nia Intensives, Nia Practice, Nia training, Nia White Belt, TBW, White Belt Principles, Yoga, Yoga Practice | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on October 9, 2012
As I have shared with you before, there are four different levels to Nia Training; White, Blue, Brown, Black. These are trainings anyone can take. Each level has its own focus, intent, and principles. You do not have to be interested in teaching. If you are interested in teaching and hold a current license there is an additional level, Green, that may be taken. The Green belt does not have its own principles because it focuses on teaching skills. I have been a White Belt since December 2008. In November 2012, I am going to be turning blue. The focus for the Blue Belt is Communication, Relationship and Intimacy with the intent to energize personal connection through self-discovery and communication by following The Body’s Way. I’m excited to see all that entails. I do know that when I stepped into my White Belt I had NO IDEA the type of training I would be receiving. I thought that I would spend 40 hours learning routines and learning how to teach. But that is not what it was. The White Belt is currently about (Focus) physical sensation with the intent to embody the foundation of Nia. Back in 2008 is was (focus) the physical body, the anatomy of the body, the Nia Technique, and the Nia moves. Which did not equate to learning routines. I can’t wait to see what the Blue Belt Intensive has in store.
Nia’s training is very intense. It is very deep. It is very detailed, well-thought out, well presented, and well documented. Recently a graduating Green Belt said it was “stellar”. That is a great description.
Per the main Nia website the description for the Blue Belt states:
“Blue Belt, the second level of Nia education, explores how to create healthy relationships through body-centered communication. This intensive introduces the next set of 13 Nia principles, which focus on the mental, emotional and spiritual realms of the body. While the White Belt curriculum focuses entirely on awareness of physical sensation, Blue Belt applies these skills to explore internal sensations as perceived through – but distinct from – physical sensations in the body.
Blue Belt Principle #1: The Joy of Being in Relationship, integrates the sensation of Joy with the awareness that Joy is something outside the self, which we can invite into our physical experience. As a result, we begin to deepen our ability to listen with clarity and sustain awareness of details outside our body.“
If you have never been to a Nia Intensive it is impossible to describe, but I know it will be wonderful. I know I will learn a lot. I know that it is what I need because it is happening, so I am going to do my best to keep my energy allies present along with having a beginner’s mind so that I am able to get all that I can out of it. You know that I will be sharing a lot when I get back. I am so excited to be changing from White to Blue. Just because I am moving to the next level doesn’t mean there won’t more posts about White Belt things, there is still a lot to share and learn about the White Belt, I will just have that much more to share!
Can I get a, “Woohoo Blue!”
**update: I forgot to clarify and tie in to my title, silly me! First I went Green as in drinking green smoothies and now I am going Blue. I have not yet taken the Nia Green Belt. I am hoping that there will be one in this area again. There has only been one.
Posted in Nia | Tagged: 13 Nia principles, beginner's mind, Black Belt, Blue Belt, Brown Belt, communication, Energy Allies, focus and intent, Green Belt, https://terrepruitt.com/2010/03/30/energy-allies/, Nia Belt levels, Nia Blue Belt Intensive, Nia Intensive, Nia license, Nia Teacher, Nia training, Nia website, NiaNow.com, relationships, White Belt | 12 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on August 2, 2012
I learn A LOT when I teach Nia. I learn a lot when I teach anything, but since my focus now is teaching Nia, I say I learn a lot when I teach Nia. One thing I learn or I am reminded of is not everyone has taken a class that has taught them basic steps. It is like when I take a Zumba class and the teach calls out a basic Latin dance and I have no idea what she is talking about. I always laugh to myself and say, “I don’t know what the steps are to that basic Latin dance!” But then I remember my Nia training and my Nia practice and while I try to do whatever dance it is she says we are doing, I remain in Joy and just allow myself to move my body in a way that is dance to me. But not everyone has had Nia training and not everyone practices Nia so it is not as easy for them to just allow their bodies to move and not think so much. One of the tools that Nia uses to help teachers instruct the dance and to just help one dance in general is the clock. I posted about how we look at the clock in a Nia class — ok that is just me because I need the actual reference. I have posted about our step called the “Slow Clock” . This post is about the movement called the Fast Clock. The Fast Clock is one of Nia’s 52 Moves
The Fast Clock is similar to the Slow Clock in that we are stepping on the “hours” of a clock (oh, imagine that!), but with the fast clock we don’t return to center before stepping on another number/hour. So if you stand with your feet together imaging you are in the center of the clock, then step your right foot to 12 o’clock, then back to 6 o’clock (without stopping in the center) that is the fast clock. There are a lot of combinations that can be done when doing a fast clock. You could step to 12 o’clock, then 3 o’clock, then 6 o’clock, then return to center. Then your other foot could step to 12 o’clock, then 9 o’clock, then 6 o’clock, then return to center.
POP QUIZ: Which foot would step to 12 o’clock, then 3 o’clock, then 6 o’clock, then return to center? 🙂
Just the same as the Slow Clock you can actually take a step where you place the weight on the foot that is on the number/hour or you can touch or make it a tap. Sometimes you might even get fancy or really dancy and just do it in the air. But all that fancy stuff is obviously added after you learn the basic Fast Clock. As with many things, Nia does have basic steps and proper ways to execute them, then as we dance we add on to them to make them a more animated part of the dance.
As with many of the moves in Nia the participant is responsible for providing their own desired intensity. You can easily work up a sweat in Nia if you make your movements bigger or louder. We sometimes refer to it as turning up the volume. But again, that is up to you and how you are feeling during that class. A “louder” fast clock could have lengthier steps making the imaginary clock face you are dancing on very large. Or your “bigger” could be going deeper into the steps, bringing your body closer to the earth. Having tools like the face of the clock to assist in knowing where to step, allows the Nia student to focus on their body and what it needs and not be so caught up in whether they are “doing it right”. With the clock it makes it easy to teach and easy to follow!
Ok, now get up and practice your clocks! Which foot goes to 12 o’clock? Which foot goes to 9 o’clock?
Posted in 52 Moves (of Nia), Nia | Tagged: fast clock, Latin Dance, Nia class, Nia Dance, Nia focus, Nia Move, Nia participant, Nia Practice, Nia student, Nia Teacher, Nia training, Nia's 52 Moves, slow clock, Zumba, Zumba class, Zumba dance, Zumba moves, Zumba teachers | Leave a Comment »
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