Terre Pruitt's Blog

In the realm of health, wellness, fitness, and the like, or whatever inspires me.

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Posts Tagged ‘Nia White Belt 2020’

Nia White Belt P10 – X-Ray Anatomy – 2020

Posted by terrepruitt on September 7, 2020

This is a great principle . . . ok, ok, yes, I know I say that about all of them . . . Debbie does, too.  I laughed at her today when she said something like that.  Again this principle has not changed since I originally took my Nia White Belt back in 2008.  Like I continue to say, the language has changed, the way it is presented, and the knowledge behind it has greatly increased but it is still the basic principle – look at the clues of the body to help you see what is “inside”.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia online, San Jose Virtual classes, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, Nia Technique, Yin Yoga, stretch classes, online exercise, Zoom classes, virtual yoga, City of San Jose online exercise, live classes via Zoom, Nia White Belt training via ZoomNia White Belt P10 – X-Ray Anatomy.  The triad, as you can see is Bones/Joints, Ligaments/Tendons, and Soft Tissue/Muscles.  These are the things we can “see”.  We make observations then move from there.

If you see one arm able to reach higher than the other or a pant leg shorter than the other, is it a mechanical situation or is it a structural one?  Is there muscle tightness in the shoulder that is preventing the arm to reach high or is one leg actually shorter than the other?  X-Ray Anatomy is just about looking and observing.  With the insight we gain from observing we can decide how to proceed in moving in a class, in teaching a class, and/or just moving through life.  We can then apply our knowledge of movement and anatomy to move in ways to help create ease in the shoulders that will allow the arm to reach its full potential and ease in the legs to allow for their full length.  We can also learn to give our body what it needs to find balance and ease even when it is not equal on both sides.

One way we learn X-Ray Anatomy is by Zorro.  Zorro is just a term Nia uses to describe making note of the flow of energy or the lines in a body.  You can do it by observing people – they can be people on TV or people you see in person.  Just quick strokes on paper (or if you have a device you can use) to note the movement of a body.

As I have said, I have posted about Nia Principle #10 X-Ray Anatomy and Zorro before so no reason to go further in this post.  Please click on over to those posts to learn more.

X-Ray Anatomy is just what we in Nia call observing a body and how it moves and we use Zorro as a tool to see the flow of energy all with the goal of helping ensure that we and our students are moving in the most safe and efficient way available.

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Nia White Belt Principles 2020

Posted by terrepruitt on July 6, 2020

Back in December 2008 I took a training for a movement practice called Nia.  I had only taken a couple of classes and that was only to see if I liked it enough to teach it.  I liked it enough to want to teach it so I signed up for the week long training at the headquarters in Portland, Oregon.  I went having no idea what I was getting into and thinking I would walk out with routines learned enough to jump start into teaching.  Well, no, that is not what a week training for a Nia Belt is.  But it is pretty amazing.  Back then the TWO founders were still a part of Nia, whereas now-a-days it is just one of the founders.  Turns out Nia is a practice . . . like yoga is a practice.  You can do just the physical exercise part of it or you can add it to your life.  Adding it to your life is pretty easy since the main idea of Nia – to me – is to notice your body and how it moves.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia online, Zoom meetings, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, Nia Technique, Yin Yoga, stretch classes, online exercise, Zoom classes, virtual yoga, City of San Jose online exerciseOne thing Nia does is have principles for every “level” (called “Belts”).  I listed the principles of the (2008) White Belt in my post Nia Or Nia Technique Is A Specific Practice.  Then I wrote a post about each principle individually.  With an amazing and unprecedented opportunity to take the training again with one of the Founders online at an astronomically generous discount, I couldn’t say no.

It is the first time a Nia Belt has ever been offered online.  Nia is very much about the body and movement so it really does make sense to do it in person – to be in the same space with people learning and doing the same stuff.  But . . . Nia is amazing in its ability to adapt and change and do what needs to be done to continue on yet keep its members and participants safe, so we are doing it online.  Debbie Rosas (one of the founders) is determined to give it a personal feel and touch so we are on Zoom doing a portion of the training.  Then we are assigned to a POD, with over 200 people taking the training I thought the PODs would be big, but there were only five people on my POD list.

Anyway, the principles’ wording has changed a bit so I wanted to post an updated list.  With the slight changes I am confident that the principles are still the same.  I mean, that is what Nia is based on.  It is just that sometimes language can be updated, sometimes to more marketable friendly words.  But still stay the same.  We will see as I go through the training.  I never like to give too much away because it is something you need to experience for yourself, but I do plan to post more about it . . . the information and my experience.  That is the reason I started this blog in the first place.  I wanted to share Nia with everyone.  And now that so many things are having to be online, maybe you can experience it yourself.

Principle 1 – JOY OF MOVEMENT

Principle 2 – NATURAL TIME + MOVEMENT FORMS

Principle 3 – MUSIC + 8 BC SYSTEM

Principle 4 – FREEDANCE

Principle 5 – AWARENESS

Principle 6 – BASE

Principle 7 – PLANES + INTENSITY LEVELS

Principle 8 – CORE

Principle 9 – UPPER EXTREMITIES

Principle 10 – X-RAY ANATOMY

Principle 11 – CREATING A SENSORY LIFE

Principle 12 – BODY + LIFE TRANSFORMATION

Principle 13 – LIVING WHAT YOU SENSE

As I said I don’t think these have really changed, because if you compare lists they are basically the same but with slightly different wording.  Number 11 is what always changes the most.  I don’t know how many times it has changed, but I know I kinda didn’t care for some of the versions . . . but again, I think it is all BASICALLY the same.  I am looking forward to seeing.  This is not only new language to me, it is NEW to everyone . . . Nia just finished crafting it so this is really exciting.

As I said, I hope to be following up this post with more information as it unfolds.

Have you participated in any type of training or lesson online that you were/are enthusiastic about?

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