Posts Tagged ‘Nia’
Posted by terrepruitt on March 23, 2013
Whether you do Nia, Zumba, yoga, Pilates, country western dance, motor-cycle race, play tennis, or just about anything there are the “Gods” or celebrities of the practice/dance/sport. Often the “Gods” or gurus are the masters or the top teachers, but sometimes it is the CREATOR himself/herself. That is when the event is really rockin’. That is when the events sell out or get so crowded it is crazy. Well, Nia is going through a lot of changes and they have been working for a couple of years training the top instructors to move up even further to become top trainers. The male of the male-female combo that created Nia, Carlos AyaRosas (FKA Carlos Rosas) retired a bit ago, so that left the female creator to continue on. She is coming to the San Francisco Bay Area . . . . . which is a rather large area. She is going to be in the North Bay, the East Bay, and the Peninsula. And it is going to be rockin’. She and a top trainer are going to be here.
April 2013
Debbie Rosas is the (co-)creator of Nia. Kevin VerEecke is a Nia Trainer. They are going to be in the San Francisco Bay Area in the beginning of April (2013). They are going to have seven classes. It is going to be incredible. Every thing has its superstars, its celebrities and these are ours. It is really exciting.
I took my Nia White Belt Intensive at the Nia Headquarters in Portland. The trainers doing the intensive were Debbie and Carlos. Plus they were here for a “Spirit of Nia” tour within the last four years. So I have met them both. I have never met Kevin.
I am excited that Debbie and Kevin will be here sharing the Nia experience. The classes that they are going to be doing are 52 Moves classes. While we have a basic set of 52 Moves we don’t typically do all 52 in every Nia Routine. We do many, but not usually all. In these classes they are going to lead us through all 52 Moves. There are going to be seven chances to check it out.
The first class that will be held will be with Keven VerEecke only in San Rafael. Then Friday’s classes, Saturday’s Classes, and Sunday’s Classes will be both Debbie and Kevin.
The flyer indicates that all classes will have a different playlist. I guess for some people that is important. I know Nia enough to know that all seven classes could be the same EXACT playlist yet all seven classes could be totally different. That is the beauty of Nia. And with two masters leading the dance it wouldn’t matter. BUT . . . the flyer does indicate all classes will have different play lists.
I hope you will take this opportunity. Nia is always fun, but when you have the creator up in front of a room full of people who are there to dance, move, and have fun there is no way you can experience anything but MAGIC.
Posted in Nia | Tagged: 52 Nia Moves, Bay Area, Carlos AyaRosas, Carlos Rosas, celebrities, country western dance, dance, Debbie Rosas, Kevin VerEecke, master teachers, motor-cycle race, Nia, Nia Dance, Nia Headquarters, Nia instructors, Nia Intensives, Nia routines, Nia San Jose, Nia teachers, Pilates, play tennis, Practice, San Francisco Bay Area, sport, Yoga, Zumba | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on March 19, 2013
While you are doing your plank you might notice some of the muscles involved in doing the plank. As I am sure you know, there are many variations to the plank. Many movement practices/exercise disciplines do planks. There is a plank in yoga, in Pilates, in weight training . . . you probably have seen it all over. That alone tells you that it is an exercise/pose worth doing right? We even do planks in Nia. If there is a version in so many different disciplines it could be that is because does a body good. The plank we are doing in our Plank A Day Challenge is the plank on our forearms as opposed to the plank where your arms are straight (the position of the “top” of a push-up). There are a lot of muscles used in this plank.
The muscles being used in a plank are the abdominal muscles, the back muscles, the muscles in the arms, the shoulders, leg muscles, and butt muscles. So pretty much muscles in every muscle group. You can understand why it is such a great exercise. It is a full body workout. So, while it might not utilize every muscles it calls upon a lot of them. If you are participating in the challenge you might even notice that the endurance in the muscles is improving.
I often think of the plank as a great exercise to work on your core. You might have heard “core” and “core muscles” before. You might even wonder what they are. And just like so many things there are so many answers. I think of the core as a muscle group. I think of the core muscles as the group that allows your body to remain stable and/or upright. So sometimes that could include your quads if you are standing or doing a plank.
Having a strong and stable core helps us accomplish everyday things. From sitting, to walking, to doing things with our arm as in pushing, pulling, carrying, etc. A strong trunk helps us when we need to work with are arms. Especially with our arms extended. If we are do something with our arms out, say opening a window, grabbing a grocery bag and bringing it towards you, or pushing something in to a vehicle for transport, you rely a lot on your torso. So when it is strong and stable it can support you while you do these task.
On top of the strong core having arms that are able to open windows, grab and hold groceries, pull them towards you or push things help with every day life too. Be able to do all of these everyday things might be one reason the plank is in so many exercise disciplines. It is a great functional exercise. It is understood that it can assist with muscle strength and endurance. And it is one of the exercises that gets a lot of muscles all at once!
Are you participating in our challenge? Are you feeling your muscles? You have probably felt the muscles used in a plank, right?
Posted in Core Muscles, Muscles, Planking | Tagged: abdominal exercise, core muscle group, Core Muscles, core workout, exercise, functional exercise, Nia, Nia exercises, Pilates, plank, plank a day challenge, plank challenge, plank muscles, planking, shoulder exercise, stable core, weight training, workout, Yoga | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on March 19, 2013
So here it is day nineteen. Where are you? You can add time any day, it doesn’t have to be Sunday? Have you decided to add some time? Have you tried the stopwatch duration?
As I mentioned on my Sunday comment, planking before planking (as in doing another workout be it yoga or Nia) is a bit easier so I am shooting for a big jump this week. Again, I have my goal duration, but I am letting my stopwatch go to see how far I can comfortable get!
How are you doing? Do you have a goal duration you want to be at when the month is up?
Posted in Planking | Tagged: Nia, Plank A Day For A Month Challenge, planking, stopwatch, Yoga | 5 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on March 16, 2013
My last post was about how I have two late Nia classes in San Jose so I use my “Time Bake” feature on my oven. I think something that would be GREAT to put in the oven to have ready when I get home is the Rantings of an Amateur Chef’s Crispy Smashed Roasted Potatoes. I made these this week for the first time and I don’t think I will make potatoes any other way again.
Basically you boil the little red potatoes in salted water. Then you drain them and let them cool. Then you smash each one individually only so much as to make them a bit flat, but not so much they break apart and end up mashed. Then you put them on a pan that is covered in aluminum foil AND parchment paper. Oil and salt each potato and bake them.
I only used 8 potatoes. The recipe instructions include placing the potatoes on a towel to dry and covering the potato with a towel for smashing, but I am not sure that is necessary. I did it that way because I was thinking the towel helps soak up some of that water and less water makes for a crispier potato. Plus I usually follow instructions when trying a recipe for the first time. I will try it without the towel next time because I don’t need the extra laundry. I will let you know if the towel is imperative.
The initial cooking time (boiling) was longer for me and I didn’t turn it to simmer. “Simmer” on my stove is almost off so I left it a little below medium and boiled them for about 40 minutes. I used the foil and the parchment paper as per the recipe. But my potatoes took a bit longer than 30 to 40 minutes. BUT . . . . I also put asparagus on my pan. The pan I was using is so large it takes up an entire rack in my oven and I didn’t want to put another pan on the rack above or below, so I decided my asparagus and potatoes could share a pan. They both came out GREAT. But the potatoes needed a few more minutes than the asparagus.
I was so excited to eat the piping hot crispy gems that I forgot to take a picture of them once fully cooked. Not taking a picture was due to my excitement AND the fact that we were already eating the rest of dinner and so I was in a rush to get them from pan to plate! But they were delicious.
The smashed potatoes would be a perfect thing to put in the oven on Time Bake. But . . . . maybe not, huh? Parchment paper. That stuff kind of freaks me out in the first place. I mean it is PAPER in the oven. I don’t know that I would want that baking with me not home . . . . .
If you like potatoes these little smashed potatoes are GREAT.
Do you like potatoes? Can you imagine these little crispy nuggets on your plate?
See comment below for an alternative way to make these — all bake, no boil!
Posted in "Recipes", Food | Tagged: Amateur Chef, Crispy Smashed Roasted Potatoes, Nia, Nia at night in San Jose, Nia class, Nia San Jose, oven baked potatoes, parchment paper, roasted vegetables, San Jose Nia, Smashed potatoes, The Foodie Smash | 15 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on March 14, 2013
Since my current Nia class schedule has me teaching at dinner time on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I have been using the “Time Bake” setting on my oven. When talking about using this feature with some of my Nia students one student commented that her oven is really old and must not have that feature. I confirmed with my mom that our oven had that feature and my husband’s childhood home oven has that feature too. Both of those ovens are almost 50 years old. So it could just be that the “Time Bake” feature is not something my student needed to use so was unaware of it. Does your oven have a “Time Bake” setting? I often use mine to cook dinner (meat), but I could understand if someone is going to be gone all day long they might not want to leave meat in the oven all day. I am not gone that long so I don’t worry about leaving meat in the oven for it to start cooking while I am gone. Also the oven isn’t on that long before I’m back to check on it. The oven’s time bake feature is perfect for vegetables or potatoes, ya know, something you would feel comfortable not being refrigerated all day if that is what your schedule requires. Time bake might be something you have on your oven and have not thought of using. It really comes in handy.
On the days I have a 
late Nia class we end up eating dinner really late. I would rather eat late with my hubby than eat early without him. It really helps me get dinner on the table faster when I have it cooking while I am gone. Depending on what I am cooking there might be some partial cooking before I leave. Lately I have been roasting eggplant and I roast it a bit on both sides before I leave. Then put onions and cheese on it and leave it in the oven. I have it start baking before I get home then when I arrive home it is done.
As you know if you’ve read a post or two of mine, I love having leftovers. I try to plan it so that on my late nights I will have a left over protein (pork, chicken, steak) so I only have to cook a veggie. Also, if you’ve read a post or two of mine you know I love to roast my veggies, so there you go; Time Bake is perfect. I can prepare my veggies for roasting and leave them in the oven and it turns on and roasts them while I am gone. When I get home I can heat the meat quickly and have fresh hot veggies. LOVE IT!
But there are other things that “Time Bake” has helped me cook. Pizza, chicken, casseroles, you name it. It is a great feature on my oven. It helps me cook and get dinner on the table.
What about you? Does your oven have Time Bake? Do you use the Time Bake feature on your oven?
Posted in Misc | Tagged: casseroles, Nia, Nia class, Nia Class Schedule, Nia student, oven settings, roasted vegetables, Thursday night Nia, Time Bake, time bake oven feature, time bake setting, Tuesday night Nia | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on March 14, 2013
Hey, it is Thursday, March 14, 2013! It is our fourteenth day of planking! So glad you are still here doing our plank challenge.
I’m going to get my plank in before I teach Nia tonight!
Tell me how it is going for you?
Posted in Planking | Tagged: Nia, Nia at night, plank challenge, planking | 3 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on March 9, 2013
Have you seen t
his simple flow chart? What do you think? Do you think it is this easy? I first saw this awhile ago on FaceBook when a Nia friend posted this picture on her page. I googled it to find out where it came from. I found this to be the creative work of Alex Kopblin. You too might have seen this poster because it seems to get around. It makes sense. Are you happy? If not do something about it right? Sometimes that is easy. Sometimes it is not. Are you happy? To me this is a huge defining life question.
I know that many of us have things in our lives that can make us sad. We could all probably sit down and focus on those things and become sad, if not downright depressed. I believe that is what some people do. I also believe that the people who are happy choose not to do that. It is not that their lives are perfect and they have nothing to feel sad about, it is that they choose not to focus on that. So this flow chart graphic could just be a reminder not to focus on those things. It could also be a reminder to actually make some changes.
This easy to follow chart could just be a reminder to do something that makes you happy. The “thing” does not have to be time consuming, costly, or difficult, just something that makes you smile. Maybe take a walk at lunch. Maybe stop to smell a flower. Maybe go to the ocean. Maybe get all the errands done that you had planned. Whatever . . . . just do SOMETHING that makes you happy, something that fills you with joy and that is a step in a good direction. Those feelings can carry you to the next place.
If you can, if you have the opportunity . . . . if you MAKE the chance do something like that EVERY DAY! If you do just one thing that makes you happy EVERY DAY that can help a lot on the path to happiness.
Please try to realize that if you are happy that does not mean that you are not affected by the things that are going on in your life. There could be situations that are difficult and sad. Maybe you think that being happy is something you shouldn’t do. Maybe you feel guilty because someone else is suffering. I don’t think you should. I also don’t think that someone has to be happy and up all the time. I know that we all have moments and situations that can be sad. This is just me trying to remind you to take sometime for yourself and do something that makes you happy. I like this poster and I believe it, I just also believe that sometimes the “change something” can be a difficult thing to do. So maybe what I am trying to say is start small. Work your way into “happy” if you need to.
Are you happy? Is there something you like to do that makes you happy? Can you do it?
Posted in Misc | Tagged: Alex Kopblin, Are you happy, choose to be happy, Facebook, happy flow chart, happy is a choice, happy poster, happy things, Nia, Nia friend, Nia on Facebook | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on March 8, 2013
Recently my husband took a couple of days off of work. It is good to take some days off to just relax, I think. It great to take days off when you have something planned, but sometimes it does the body, mind, and spirit REAL good when you just take the day off with no plans. Just sit around and relax or work on a project.
Well, on one of the days he had off he decided to attend one of my Nia classes. I was so excited. It was great to have my hubby there. For a moment I thought I would be nervous, but then I realized that he would be fine and I would just be doing what I always do. And that is what we did. He moved, I led, and we went out to breakfast after.
The whole morning was such a wonderful treat to me. It definitely is in a Good Thing worthy of my Goodie Jar!
How is your good things jar doing?
Posted in Good Things in the Goodie Jar | Tagged: body, days off work, Good Thing jar, Goodie Jar, mind, Nia, Nia class, relax, spirit | 4 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on March 7, 2013
At the present time I am fortunate enough to be holding Nia classes at four different locations in San Jose. Each location allows me to meet different people. At one of the locations I have been teaching for four years and some of my students have been coming to my classes that long. At three of my locations I am a new teacher and Nia is new. Most of the people are new to me. It is exciting to met new people and discover new relationships. There is the relationships between my students and me and there is the relationship between Nia and the students. One of my students told me after one class that she loved the part of Nia where we compare things to nature. The specific example she stated was “tickling the clouds”. She said that the mention of nature in Nia reminded her of one of her favorite poets, Mary Oliver. She asked me if I had heard of Mary Oliver or if I was familiar with her. I said no. I also said that I would look her up. Well, the following week, my student came into class and handed me a copy of two poems. As soon as she held out the paper, I remembered that I had said I would look up the poet and that I had forgotten. I gratefully took the paper without reading the poems because class was about to start. After our class there is another class so I did not stop at that time to read the poem either. It was not until today I picked up the paper to read the poem. On the second line I realized I HAD heard this before and I laughed. This very poem or at least a portion of it is in the Nia White Belt Manual.
I thought it was funny that my student related Mary Oliver’s work to Nia and obviously so did the creators of Nia, Debbie Rosas and Carlos Rosas, because they put this poem in the manual. Only the first few lines are in the manual, but I recognized it right away.
The lines are:
“You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.”
From Mary Oliver’s Wild Geese poem.
That portion of the poem is at the very beginning of the section which is Principle #1, The Joy of Movement. The last line of that section really struck me.
I want to continue to share with my students that a Nia class is not just about learning the moves and doing a routine. It is about doing what the body loves. It is about their relationship to their body. It is about their relationship to Nia. To me that is why we do a routine over and over. That is also HOW we do a routine over and over and not get bored with it. If we move and let our body do what it loves then it is moving in a different way. Once we have done a routine a few times we can play. We can move lower . . . if that it what the body loves . . . we can move higher . . . if that is what a body loves . . . all the time moving in the general pattern of the routine. It is when we are not in tune or when we cannot let go, that the routine is tiring or boring. If we are only moving the way it was choreographed and not putting our spirit into the moves it is as if we are walking through a desert on our knees. Suffering through a workout. UGH! Repenting for the cream we had in our coffee, the workout we missed yesterday, or the cookie we had at lunch.
I used to do a different routine every class. I thought people would get bored with the same routine. But then I realized that the more I knew the music and the choreography the more fun I had and the more playful I could be. I asked my class and they said they liked the fact that after doing the routine a few times they, too, could be less concerned with the choreography and more aware of their own spirit, dance, and play. So it is a relationship with Nia and the body that we are building and experiencing in a Nia class, we are not just learning a routine, we are not just moving through choreography.
I have been thinking about this a lot lately as I work on a routine schedule, playing with it to see what works. I want to ensure my students don’t get bored, yet I want them to build a relationship with Nia. I want them to be able to dance and play with the routines.
I love that my student shared her thoughts with me. To me that is me being able to witness her budding relationship with Nia. I love that because of my thoughts about repeatedly doing a routine, I was able to look at this poem and relate it to that. Like many things I might look at it sometime from now and have it relate to something else. My relationship with it might change, just as my relationship with my students and with Nia will change and grow. That is the nature of it all.
Posted in Nia | Tagged: Carlos Rosas, Debbie Rosas, Joy of Movement, Mary Olive, Nature, Nia, Nia choreography, Nia classes in San Jose, Nia experience, Nia locations, Nia Music, Nia relationships, Nia routines, Nia San Jose, Nia students, Nia Teacher, Nia White Belt, poems, poets, Principle #1 of Nia White Belt, San Jose Nia classes, tickle the clouds, Wild Geese | 4 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on March 5, 2013
I had received fennel before in my organic produce box. I didn’t know what to do with it. So I did what I always do with vegetables. I roasted it. It was really good. I was surprised. I might have received it another time after the first, but I am not sure. In my last produce box I received another fennel bulb. I was going to roast it to go with dinner. I had taken some ground turkey out of the freezer to defrost. When I went to cook the fennel I realized I didn’t have anything to cook with the turkey. If I am cooking ground turkey to put in something, like a tortilla, I don’t mind it being just cooked meat. If I don’t have something like that to put it on or in, I liked to add something to it. So I decided to cook the fennel in a pan, then add the turkey to it.
I didn’t have any onions so I used those dehydrated kind. Normally my flavor is onion, as in I use the onion to flavor the dish, but this time I wanted the fennel to do it so I didn’t use a lot of the onion. Had I had a fresh onion I would have used about 1/4 in order to allow the fennel to be the main flavor.
You know I love to cook veggies and ground turkey. It is one of my “staple” menu items. This combination turned out really well.
I didn’t measure as I cooked so I am guesstimating as I type:
Fennel Turkey
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 bulb fennel, chopped
1/4 onion, chopped
package of ground turkey
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp season salt
1/2 tsp thyme
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 bunch kale chopped
2 turns of pepper grinder
Pour olive oil in pan along with the chopped fennel and onion. Cook until tender. Add the ground turkey, the garlic salt, the season salt, and the thyme. Stir the fennel and meat while cooking. Add some salt (not all of it). Cook until the turkey is almost done. The idea is to just wilt the kale so make sure the turkey is done enough. Then put the kale in the pan and add the rest of the salt. Cook only until the kale is wilted. Then add the pepper.
We had this for dinner this week. We ate it will pasta. I like linguine. I put my fennel turkey on the side, whereas my husband piled his on top of his pasta.
I really enjoyed the flavor of the fennel. So much so that when I was in the grocery store the next day I almost bought some more. Then I remembered I am going to get more in my produce box this week. Yay! I am happy that I have received a few things I would not have just gone out and purchased. And I am happy that I have learned I do like these things enough to now go out and buy them. Fennel is really good!
Tonight we had the leftovers in a tortilla with cheese. You know me and leftovers! Awesome. Leftovers really help when I have a late Nia class. Currently my evening Nia classes are late, so being able to have dinner on the table within 15 minutes of getting home is necessary. I grilled my tortilla. It was really good. Fennel has a nice flavor.
Have you tried fennel, the vegetable? If you cook it, how do you cook it?
Posted in "Recipes", Food | Tagged: evening Nia classes, fennel bulb, Fennel Turkey, ground turkey, leftovers, Nia, Nia class, organic produce, quick dinner recipe, roasted vegetables, tortillas | 4 Comments »
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