Posted by terrepruitt on March 4, 2013
Monday, Monday, Monday, Monday. I have a Nia class to teach in the morning. I might even add this in! Ooohh! That would be good. No, that would be great, huh? I could get my plank in during my Nia class. Ha, ha, ha. I might just do that. I might also forget because I am doing a new routine and so adding something in might slip my mind! I will be back to let you know.
In the meantime, how about you? Planked today?
Posted in Planking | Tagged: Monday Nia class, Monday plank, Nia, Nia class, Nia on Monday, planking in Nia | 5 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on March 1, 2013
I wanted to share one of the good things I put in my jar. It actually happened last week so I could have included it in my Goodie Jar – Check In #4, but I was so excited about the wrapping paper idea I got carried away with that. Anyway, last Thursday was Valentine’s Day and it was my second Nia class at the new time at one of the places I teach for the city of San Jose. I did not have one person in my class. Even though I don’t take it personally I still am usually a little sad when that happens, but this was a cause for a note in my goodie pitcher.
You might be wondering why I would think no one showing up for my class is a good thing, well, as I said it was Valentine’s Day and I was happy because no one being with ME meant that they ALL have SOMEONE to be with! Whenever I think of that I cannot wipe the smile off my face! HOW GREAT IS IT THAT ALL OF THEM HAVE SOMEONE TO LOVE?????? I am not even talking about romantic love. I know some people like to be with their friends, their kids, their parents . . . . WHO is not the issue . . . . LOVE is the thing! They were all too busy with a loved one to be with me. I’m good with that. I am better than good with that. I LOVE that.
So that is one of the things in my goodie jar! It is a GREAT thing that my students have someone to love!
Oh! That is another good thing for MY jar . . . . I have someone to love . . . . how about you? Are you adding things to your good things jar?
Posted in Good Things in the Goodie Jar | Tagged: check in #4, check in #5, City of San Jose, good things jar, Goodie Jar, love is great, loved one, Nia, Nia class, Nia San Jose, romantic love, San Jose Nia, San Jose Nia class, Valentine's Day | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on February 26, 2013
Have you seen this stuff before? Doesn’t this look as if it is a vegetable from another planet? The first time I saw it I was at a farmers market and I asked the vendor if I could take pictures. This vegetable made me laugh. I thought it was one of the funniest vegetables I have ever seen. I thought she had called it an Italian Cauliflower. She had me believing it tasted like cauliflower. I am not really a fan of cauliflower so I wasn’t interested in buying it and trying it. But lo-and-behold I received some in my organic produce box that I have delivered. Yay! AGAIN, I received something that I would not have bought. Often times I don’t think about somethings so I don’t buy them, but this particular vegetable I was once faced with buying but declined because I didn’t know what it was! So here I had some delivered and so I “HAD” to try it. Well, I actually received two. One head on one delivery and another head the next. Yeah, that is kind of long for vegetables to sit in the fridge, but . . . sometimes even though I get it delivered I am still not all that enthusiastic about trying it. Plus, I am still trying to get my new schedule down. I have just started teaching Nia classes two nights a week and so I need to have my cooking schedule down and when I don’t know how to cook something a night I am rushing off to teach is not a good night to experiment. So, I received a new bunch just this past delivery. Plus I still had the first bunch. So I decided to cook them both at once.
I bet you know how I cooked them . . . . you got it. I chopped it up and put it on a pan with olive oil and garlic salt and I roasted it. I decided to cook it a little later than I normally would have started my roasted veggies – meaning the rest of dinner would be done really quick – so I really cranked up the heat. I started it off at 450. I cooked it for about 10 minutes. Then I turned it down to 400 and cooked it for about 10 minutes. Then I think I turned it off and cooked it for about 10 minutes. It seemed to cook faster than both broccoli and cauliflower. It browned very nice.
I thought it would take a long time because it seems dense like cauliflower. Well, it seemed to cook up faster. Yay!
Well, I was very surprised at the sweetness of it. It tasted really sweet. It was very funny having that cornucopia shaped veggie on my tongue. It is pokey. It has a mild flavor. A little sweet. Well, I have to say that I like it.
Here is what Wiki says about it: “Romanesco broccoli, or Roman cauliflower, is an edible flower of the species Brassica oleracea, and a variant form of cauliflower. First documented in Italy . . . ”
I am unable to find nutritional information on it. Maybe as it gains popularity the nutritional information will start showing up on the internet?
Have you seen it? Have you tried it? What do you think?
Posted in Food, Vegetables | Tagged: Alien vegetables, broccoli, cauliflower, Farmers Market, Italian cauliflower, Nia, Nia Classes, Nia schedule, organic, Roman cauliflower, Romanesco broccoli, vegetables from another planet | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on February 23, 2013
Just as there are specific moves in Nia (Nia’s 52 Moves), there are different asanas or poses in yoga. There is an asana (pose) in yoga that is standing still, but it is called Mountain Pose. In Sanskrit, what I think of as the language of yoga, it is Tadasana. While this pose is a still pose and the body is standing erect, it is an active pose. The body is not just upright and relaxed, there are muscles engaged and energy moving. It is more than likely that there is no straining involved and one might look relaxed and even feel relaxed yet there is more than just standing there happening. Mountain Pose is an active pose often used as a transitional pose. Yet can stand on its own, no pun intended.
In Tadasana toes touch and feet are parallel. Of course, as with many things, there are many variations, and people have their own way of doing them. In this post in the pose our toes touch, feet are parallel forming a stable base. For some the heels might need to be fanned out a bit or feet may need to be separate. The goal is to have a stable base so adjust the feet as necessary in order to ensure stability. One way to assist with stability is to relax your feet allowing the toes to spread. Imagine your feet becoming wide and open. The feet do not grip the earth, they spread out. Weight is evenly distributed. Take time to sense all points of the feet.
The ankle joints remain open. The shins and calves are rooted into the floor. The knees are not locked, yet they sense stability because the quadriceps are reaching up lifting the knee caps. The thighs are turned ever-so-slightly in. The buttocks are lifted yet there is no arching in the lower back. The belly (abdominals) are engaged. The spine is long.
With the crown of your head reach for the sky, lengthening the entire back. Keep the chin parallel to the earth and your head in alignment with your chest, hips, knees, and feet. Shoulders are gently pulled back with shoulder blades down, the chest does not stick out, yet the sternum is presented up allowing the collar bones to open wide. Arms are along the side of the body, not hanging, not touching the body, not rigid, but active. Hands are active with fingers gently fanned open.
Energy is moving up allowing for the lengthening of the entire body, yet there is a sense of being rooted and stable. As I mentioned this pose is often used as a transition. You might see it performed in between standing poses. It is perfect to reset the body in order to correctly move into another position. It can also be used as a resting pose. Even though it is an active pose, it still can be a rest for the body.
As you can tell, if you got up to try it, this is not a passive pose. There is a lot of muscle engagement, so maybe you can see why this pose could be practiced on it’s own and not just used as a transition. It is not just standing still, it is a strong, stable pose, like a mountain.
So if you didn’t already do it, are you ready? Get up and try it!
Posted in Yoga/PiYo/Pilates | Tagged: active pose, asanas, Mountain pose, Nia, Nia's 52 Moves, poses, sanskrit, standing still, Tadasana, Yoga and Pilates, yoga poses, Yoga/PiYo/Pilates | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on February 16, 2013
In Nia we have a lot of acronyms. Seems as if all groups do that. I know in the mortgage business there were many. I know in the world of computers there are a lot. That is just the way it is. In Nia some of ours are FAMSS, OLG, TBW, SEB, and BMES to name just a few. BMES stands for Body, Mind, Emotions, Spirit. We can call these voices or realms. I have recently posted about Spirit. It is not the religious type of spirit, but the school-type or the team-type. It is the part of you that — wheeee! — you just let out! The others are pretty easy to describe, but it is very interesting to allow them into all aspects of Nia. They are each separate and unto their own, yet they are all connected.
The body is the physical. How we move, what we sense. If we are open and listening to the body we can learn many things. I know that sometimes I hear but I don’t listen. I might “hear” my body tell me it is tired, but I don’t listen and do something about it because I am busy. It can “tell” me it is tired by how many mistakes I make while typing, or that I keep nodding off while doing something. But sometimes I don’t listen because I want to finish what I am doing. In dance we can hear our body, we can choose to listen and act upon what we hear or we can continue on. We could be moving a certain way and then feel pain (“hear”), and we can listen by giving that pain attention and tweaking our movement to remove the pain from our dance. Also we can just let the body dance and in doing so without thinking it often moves in ways that it needs without our interruption or interpretation.
The mind is a powerful voice. It can dictate our entire dance and life if we let it. In Nia we use our mind to provide imagery that allows us to move our bodies in a particular way, but it is important to turn the critical part of our minds off. We use our minds to progress us, not hold us back. Letting thoughts flow through the brain and keeping what is useful in the dance. Criticizing ourselves and others during Nia is not helpful or progressive. We do not avoid moving a certain way because it looks “bad” or “not pretty”. We do not avoid moving because people will think it is silly. We move in safe and harmonious ways to bring FAMSS to our bodies, to relax, to rejuvenate, to allow our inner child out to play, but we don’t criticize. We also practice turning off internal dialog or chatter. We let our bodies dance us and not think about our to-do list. We do use our minds when we dance, but we do not allow it to control our dance.
With our emotions we have an almost endless array of energy. We can play with the emotions in our dance and they can provide movement and force. While we dance we do not have to actually FEEL any of the emotions we call upon we just can ACT as if. How would you walk around if you were angry? Might you stomp? How would you walk if you were happy? Might you skip? How would you walk if you were distracted? Might you move slow or in an awkward pattern? Emotions are a great part of Nia because they are feelings and feelings can be felt and/or experienced without taking over. We can allow an emotion to happen or act as if, but in neither case does it have to control our dance.
As with many things in Nia this aspect or look at BMES is just one way to look at it. Just one way we can connect to BMES. Another way is with Nia Blue Belt Principle #3 where we use these realms to assist in teaching. Nia is deep like that. Many of the ideas, principles, “things”, can be separate and unto their own, yet they are all connected. 😉
Posted in Nia | Tagged: acronyms, AMSS, BMES, body, Body-Mind-Emotion-Spirit, dance, emotions, mind, mortgage business, Nia, Nia Blue Belt, Nia Blue Belt Principle #3, Nia Dance, OLG, realms, religious spirit, school spirit, SEB, spirit, TBW, team spirit | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on February 15, 2013
Here we are checking-in on our Goodie Jar or Good Things Jar. Remember any good thing can go in the container. Whatever you want it to be! We are filling our jar for an entire year. I am looking forward to a time when I have to empty my pitcher to make room for more good things! Then on December 31, 2013 we are going to read all the good things that happened throughout the year. We will ring in the New Year with a joyous feeling!
My friend who is participating in the Good Things Jar sent me a picture. She has given me permission to post it . . . so here is her family’s jar. She is smart and has paper and pens right next to it! I am going for the colorful and abstract look so I try to find different color paper and different sizes. I have even folded some notes in different ways. Oooo . . . maybe a fun time to take up origami. Have some paper cranes in the goodie jar!
I will tell you that not all my good things are Nia related. 🙂
How full is your Goodie Jar? Are you able to focus on the Good Things?
Posted in Good Things in the Goodie Jar | Tagged: 2013, December 31, good things jar, Goodie Jar, Nia, origami, paper cranes | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on February 12, 2013
If you’ve read a post or two of mine you know there are many things I love about Nia. I think that Nia is a great workout, but I also think that a lot of the ideas, principles, values, and “things” can be used in everyday life. That is one reason why I share so many things about Nia here. I am working to get Nia out there so people know what it is, but I understand not everyone likes to do dance exercise as their type of workout, but there is a lot of Nia that can be applied to every day. Nia has a lot of ideas that can be applied to more than just the original place you hear it. For instance in the Nia White Belt, the manual states:
“New Ways – It Can Be a Stretch!
Some of this information may shake up your reality. Nia may disrupt your normal methods of doing, being and communicating. We do not intend to create disharmony or fear. We have no desire to aggressively challenge who you are, what you believe in, or what you stand for. The information we share with you is intended to assist you, inspire you, and to celebrate human potential.”
The Nia Technique – White Belt Manual March 2001, V3, page 1-5
I love that. I love that when taking a Nia intensive it is explained that you might come across new things. You might be shown a different way or something new, but they are not out to change you into what they believe, but to allow you to see something in a new way. All that is really asked of you is to have an open mind, heart, and body. It is even suggested not to examine or think about stuff too much. The belief is that you will get what you need when you need it. That is a great relief too because there is so much information it really takes the pressure off when it is understood that you will not get it all or remember it all upon first being exposed.
What is so tremendous is that this same information, this same philosophy can be brought into a Nia class. If you have never done Nia before the first time can be a surprise. It can surprise your senses, your body, your mind, your spirit. It can leave some people feeling a little unsure. I mean not every exercise class has you parting clouds, swimming in water, stepping in goo, and prancing like a pony. Some of this type of stuff can shake up someone’s reality. This type of movement might completely disrupt what they think of as normal methods of exercise. They might not be able to “get into” prancing like a pony. Prancing might not fit into their idea of exercise. But I know that if they have an openness of mind they will wake up the next day and realize that ponies get in a good work out. The “normal” methods of being might not have them pulsing their pelvis, shimmying their shoulders, or doing a sexy hip bump. Nia doesn’t want to make people uncomfortable with these things, but this type of movement is “normal” for the body by design. These moves aren’t meant to challenge you or what you believe in, they are meant to allow you to move your body as it was designed to move.
With the fun movements and ideas included in a Nia class it can easily inspire your and allow you to celebrate the human potential—to celebrate your body’s potential. This can kind of go along with my last post about spirit. It could be your spirit that lets you just let loose and gyrate those hips without fear. The idea here is to come to a Nia class with an open mind. Don’t let they way you’ve been taught exercise should be to keep you from experiencing something new. Don’t let fear of something unknown and/or different scare you off. Don’t think that just because it is unknown to you or different that the goal is to change you into something you are not. Just come and let your body move and let IT tell you what it thinks of Nia.
This week (February 10 through February 16, 2013) I am teaching EIGHT Nia classes. If you are local it would be GREAT to see you in at least one. They are at all different times on different days in many different places (most in San Jose, one in Santa Cruz). I bet there is one that would work for you: http://www.helpyouwell.com Also, in case you are not local or one of the eight doesn’t work for you check out Nianow.com. There are classes all over the world! Dare to dance?
Posted in Nia | Tagged: dance exercise, Dance Workout, exercise workout, Nia, Nia class, Nia classes in San Jose, Nia Dance, Nia Intensive, Nia principles, Nia San Jose, Nia Santa Cruz, Nia White Belt, Nia White Belt Manual, San Jose Nia, The Nia Technique | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on February 7, 2013
I found Nia back in 2008. I was looking for an exercise that was more like dance. I had several people in my life at that time that loved to dance, but their partners wouldn’t dance with them. They claimed they would love to do exercise if it was more like dance. I also had people in my life at that time that were younger than me, my age, and just slightly older and they couldn’t move very well. They moved with pain and/or it was an extreme challenge for them to balance and just a mixed bag of things. I believed that movement could help some of the issues facing them and many others. I also loved to dance and thought it would be great to have an exercise class that was dance. I looked at doing Jazzercise, but I think at the time the franchise thing (or however they did it/do it) was not something I wanted to do. And back then Zumba was not yet the rage and I had thought it was ALL Latin music (I know better now). I remember I came across a website that was talking about Trance Dance. So I researched that a bit. That sounded interesting, moving your body in your own way to music. But the information I found said that you kept your eyes closed and/or were blindfolded while dancing and someone would watch to make certain people didn’t injure themselves. That part and the fact that some sites stated there actually was a form of “Trance” that people entered into kept me from wanting to do that. But somewhere there was a mention of Nia. So I tried to find all the information I could on this Nia. Back then it might have even been NIA. I don’t remember when it changed and even now some places still call it Neuromuscular Integrative Action. It has gone through a few name changes, but at present it is just The Nia Technique or Nia.
It IS non-impact aerobics and it IS Neuromuscular Integrative Action, but the name is Nia and it no longer “stands” for anything. And in the four years that I have been doing it and learning about it, it has changed. It was originally created by Debbie Rosas and Carlos Rosas in the early 1980s from a desire to help people exercise in a different way, a way that addressed more than just the physical body.
When I joined Nia there were really starting to talk a lot about the next phase of Nia. You see, even though Nia remains true to the original concept of a Joyful workout, it does change and it does grow. Anything that wants to survive has to change or at least be flexible enough to endure the change that happens around it. Nia changes, they change the way they deliver training from the routines to the intensive — so the continued education changes. Nia’s training material is phenomenal. When you read through a newsletter or a manual or listen to a conference call you can sense the care taken in creating the material. It is nice to be a part of Nia.
It is interesting. It is amazing to see how far Nia has come and how much is has changed in the short time that I have been a teacher. The roots of Nia are still there they are just always finding new ways to share it.
As with any an all certifications I have earned I did my research beforehand. It is important to know how much the initial training cost and how the licensing and/or certifications works. It is important to know about continued education and re-licensing or re-certifiying. I liked everything I saw about Nia. It took me four classes before I decided to invest the time and money needed to teach.
I took the training in December of 2008. I started teaching in February 2009. I have been teaching Nia ever since. I have had the same Monday and Wednesday class since February 2009. I have had other classes at other studios and gyms on different days and different times. At this writing I am teaching Nia five times a week in San Jose – not including subbing dates. I have three classes for the City of San Jose; a Tuesday morning and a Tuesday evening class. I also have a Thursday evening class. My schedule is update regularly on www.HelpYouWell.
I took a second Nia training in November 2012. I just finished posting my way through the #13 principles of that belt (Blue Belt).
I am excited to have so many opportunities to share Nia with people each week. As I said, I have five classes and as I said things change. So when you are ready to join me in one check my site to confirm time and place and all those details. I would like for the number to grow. Just as Nia is growing, in leaps and bounds and for the better.
Posted in Nia | Tagged: City of San Jose Nia, Community Center Nia classes, dance class, dance exercise, dance partners, Dance Workout, Jazzercise, Neuromuscular Integrative Action, Nia, Nia Blue Belt, Nia Classes, Nia San Jose, San Jose dance exercise, San Jose Nia, trance dance, www.HelpYouWell.com, Zumba | 4 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on February 5, 2013
I believe that in 2013 the training material for the Nia Blue Belt is going to change. While it is not changing significantly the change will be significant. 🙂 The ideas will remain the same, but the verbiage and way it is delivered will be updated. While I was attending the Nia Blue Belt Intensive in November of 2012 we were being shown the new slides. The word that was used most often — or that I remember most is – simplify. The idea was to simplify the training. The Nia Blue Belt principle #13 in the manual* shows it as Vertical Routines. We were told it is going to change to Conscious Transubstantiation with Creating a Vertical Body and Life as the tagline. Not a simplification to me, but . . . . there you have it.
I will state again as I have been stating in many of my posts about the Nia principles, what I am sharing is somewhat off the top of my head, what I remember being discussed and it barely scratches the surface of each principle. The principles are deep, I could write pages about them alone and the taglines add yet another dimension with even more information. Here I am just sharing a little portion, just one aspect. Now for the purpose of Nia, transubstantiation does not mean the bread and wine will change into the body of Christ. But Nia is using it to mean change and change the body. 🙂 So, maybe that is the tie in and the reason to use that word. Nia is using the term Conscious Transubstantiation to mean consciously change your body to match the body of the teacher.
This somewhat ties back to Nia Blue Principle #12, which is funny because that also helps explain the vertical portion. It is common for a participant in a lead follow type of dance exercise class to do the move and follow the leader trying to change at the exact moment the leader changes the move. Even if the leader is excellent at cueing the participant could feel rushed into the next move. Sometimes the participant is concentrating and doesn’t hear or see the next move only to look up and realize they are a step behind or not matching exactly so they rush to catch up and do what the teacher is doing. Well with the conscious change it’s ok not to rush to catch up. Get there when you can. No need to disturb the nervous system and interrupt the flow, just catch the next round or the next step. Consciously changing instead of rushing into the move because that is where you are “supposed” to be. Allowing yourself to change consciously allows for a smooth transition. While this is not exactly the same as Nia Blue Principle #12, it is similar in that you are not having to rush to the next move.
The “Vertical” means how things are connected and built upon one another. The Nia Blue Belt Principles are built upon and woven into the Nia White Belt Principles. Nia’s 52 Moves are built upon each other. The “vertical” routines speaks to the moves in the a kata and how we change from move to move, the songs in a routine and the transition between the two and even the bigger picture of routine to routine.
So . . . in a Nia class you are encouraged to move in your own body’s way and “get to” the next move in your own natural time. The idea is not to upset the body, mind, and spirit by feeling as if you are not doing it right because you are not RIGHT ON the mark of the change as it first happens, Conscious Transubstantiation. Take your time and enjoy the movement and the moment you are in. Allow yourself to change when you are ready enabling you to sense the “vertical-ness” of Nia so your workout can be one of Joy.
It might be a challenge to break the habit of interrupting your move to match the teacher when you notice the change, but you might be surprised at the effect it has on your body, mind, and spirit once you do get the hang of it. What do you think? Are you willing to give it a try?
*The Nia Technique – Blue Belt Manual August 206, V4.0
Posted in Blue Belt, Nia | Tagged: blood to wine, body, body of Christ, bread to body, Conscious Transubstantiation, dance exercise, Dance Workout, mind, Nia, Nia Blue Belt, Nia Blue Belt Intensive, Nia Blue Belt principle #13, Nia Dance, Nia workout, Nia's 52 Moves, to Nia Blue Principle #12, Vertical Routines | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on February 1, 2013
This is my first “Goodie Jar” or “Good Things Jar” check-in. Where we are putting a note of “good things” that have happened into a jar to read on December 31, 2013. The idea of this — for me is to remember to notice the good things that happen. No matter how big, no matter how small. It is to also serve as a reminder that even if or when there are things that might not be considered things that are a cause for celebration going on there are still good things happening. Have this jar will be a fun way to review some of the good stuff that has happened throughout the year!
If you are participating you don’t have to share what is in your jar unless you want to tells us your good thing.
So far I have two things in my “jar” and they are both Nia related. How about you? Do you have good things in your jar?
Posted in Good Things in the Goodie Jar | Tagged: 2013, December 31, Good Thing jar, good things happening, Good Think Jar, Goodie Jar, Nia | 4 Comments »
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