Posts Tagged ‘Nia’
Posted by terrepruitt on January 31, 2013
I go to Starbucks when I have a gift card. I like Starbucks Chai Tea Lattes. When I first started getting them they were almost too spicy for me. Then they seemed to change a bit. They got less flavorful. Then one time I got one at a store I don’t normally frequent and I thought my teeth were going to fall out. It was soooooo sweet. Yes, I know that the fancy drinks at Starbucks and other coffee houses are a huge source of sugar. That is ONE reason why I don’t buy them. I DO have them on occasion when I am blessed with receiving a gift card. To me they are a nice treat. But this one hurt my teeth and my stomach. I chalked it up to this store making them different. But then I went to the store I usually go to and it was the same thing. Ugh. I posted a Facebook status asking if they had changed their recipe. I know places and manufacturers do that all the time. One of the responses I received was to make my own Chai. The response even included the recipe.
A few days after that I was in the grocery store and I actually remembered while I was in the spice aisle that I needed cardamom to make the chai. I looked and looked and when I finally found it I almost choked. It was $12.99. I didn’t realize it was that expensive.
So, again, I posted on Facebook, I said that I would stick to using my gift cards at Starbucks instead of spend $13.00. And again the replies were awesome. People near and far reminded me that I live in an area rich with many cultures and that I could find cardamom at Indian Spice stores. The major benefits to that would be that it would be cheaper and more than likely better.
But before I could remember to get to a store one of my amazing friends brought me a little box of it. She is awesome like that. She frequents an affordable spice shop so she picked me up some.
Here is the recipe that Danielle Woermann (a Nia Black Belt) posted for me on Facebook. I am unaware of where she got it.
Masala Chai. Serves four.
Boil 3 cups (.7 liters) of water with
4 cloves
2 pinches ground nutmeg
2 pinches ground cinnamon
2 pinches ground cardamom
1/2 inch (1.27 cm) piece of grated fresh ginger
Add 2 tea bags (black, green, redbush, etc.) and simmer for 2 minutes. Add 1 cup (.2 liters) almond milk or milk of your choice, and heat until hot, but not boiling. Add sweetener of your choice. Serve and enjoy!
I decided to measure my “pinches” so that I could have a more accurate measure and adjust accordingly. I used an 1/8 of a teaspoon as a “pinch”. I think that I need to work on it a bit. Either the person doing the pinching who created this recipe has REALLY LARGE pinches or they like a more mellow tea. I think that this might be really good if I made it ahead of time and let all the flavors really seep into the water. The time that is stated in the recipe didn’t seem to do that. Also it does help if, when you are drinking it, you actually get some of the spices in your mouth . . . . which also makes for an oddly textured and a bit chewy tea. But I’m ok with that.
I think I might experiment with chopping the ginger. For some reason I don’t might little tiny chunks of fresh ginger as opposed to what came off my grater . . . . it was odd.
That is a GREAT thing about recipes though, right? I love to try them the way they are then adjust them to my tastes. Maybe this is one that you can make and enjoy — either adjusting or not.
Do you like Chai Tea? Do you have a recipe? Doesn’t this one sound yummy?
Posted in "Recipes" | Tagged: almond milk, black tea, cardamom, chai, chai tea, Chai Tea Latte, chopped ginger, cinnamon, cloves, Danielle Woermann, expensive spices, Facebook, gift cards, ginger, grated ginger, green tea, honey, Indian Spices, Indian store, Masala Chai, Nia, Nia Black Belt, nutmeg, pinches, spicy, Starbucks, sugar, sweetener | 14 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on January 29, 2013
As the New Year approached and very shortly there after, I started seeing pictures of jars with paper inside posted on Facebook. The idea was simple, write down something good that happened and put it in the jar, at the end of the year read it, and be reminded of all the good things that happened to you during the year. Even though I loved the idea and I wanted to do it, I got caught up in other things and I forgot about it. Just this past week a friend posted a picture of her jar saying, “Do you remember this?” And I hadn’t. I had completely forgotten. I want to do that. I want a “good thing jar”.
First of all I don’t have a jar. So I am going to use a pitcher that I love, but hardly use. This way, I will be using something that I love and it will be pretty. Second, I don’t remember how often one is supposed to put something in the jar. Was there a rule? Was there a timeframe? I THINK it was “whenever” something good happened. I like that but I also want to make sure something gets in the pitcher. I am going to impose an at-least-once-a-week rule. It is not that good things don’t happen daily, I just think that life gets busy and I might not write something everyday but I want to make certain I do it at least once a week. I also don’t think there was a guideline on what “good” means. So for myself I am going to define it a bit. I am going to keep track of things that make me smile and the memory of which will make me smile. It does not have to be a significant thing, something say “to write home about”, but I want it to be something where I can say, “Oh yeah, I remember that. That was great!” Another thing I thought of, which I think might add to the experience is to date the note so I can remember better as I am reading about all the good stuff.
I love when I make deals with you and we have check-ins. Even though this is just a feel good kind of thing, I know that sometimes projects — even fun ones — get pushed aside and/or forgotten altogether when time is short, so I thought I would do a weekly check-in.
If you want to join me you can just post a comment on the post. I am going to do it on Fridays. My first check in will be Friday, February 1, 2013.
I have my first paper already in my pitcher. Of course is has to do with Nia and teaching another class for the City of San Jose.
Then on Tuesday, December 31, 2013, I will read about all the good stuff that happened throughout the year. I will be reminded of the things big and small. I am sure I will get warm fuzzies. I think this is a fabulous way to end a year and go into a new one.
What do you think? Is this a project you would like to join? Are you going to–join me?
Posted in Good Things in the Goodie Jar | Tagged: City of San Jose, Facebook, good things happening, New Year, Nia, Nia class, Nia San Jose, Nia Teacher, something to write home about, warm fuzzies | 9 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on January 26, 2013
I know I have mentioned before that I teach Nia as a substitute Group Exercise teacher for the City of San Jose. What that means is when a teacher can’t teach a class s/he will send out a message saying that a substitute is needed. In order to give our clients/students what they want we work to keep the substituted class close to what the original class is. If a Boot Camp teacher needs a substitute the first choice to have instead would not be yoga. Or vice versa. As you can imagine, when someone plans on going to a class and shows up and it is not what was expected it can take a little wind out of someones sails. Sometimes in order to keep the class from being cancelled a different format will be allowed, but that is rare. Usually someone is able to step in with a similar format. It is a real challenge when people have not even heard of the type of dance exercise that you are going to do in substitution for their normal class.
It seems like with many people the first time they hear of something they are a little resistant. To me this is understandable. It seems like a natural thing to shy away from something that is unfamiliar. And as I said, it really can be disheartening when you are looking forward to a specific thing/type of workout and you walk in and find it to be a class of something you have never heard of. I don’t take it personal when people decide not to stay or leave in the middle of class. I’ve learned a long time ago that Nia is for everyBODY it is just not for everyone. It can be a HUGE step for some people. It can be a huge switch in thinking and moving and a lot of things, I understand. So when someone comes in not knowing what they are in for and completely embraces it — I love it. I find myself thinking, “YES!” I admire the person and their openness.
I have been teaching a class where I am listening to the music, dancing, cueing, sensing, and looking out into the room and as my eyes survey the students I will see someone who is completely new to Nia and utterly unfamiliar with it, dancing with all of their body, mind, and spirit. It is so amazing. For someone to come in and not having even heard of Nia before the class to just embrace something so fully–it is so wonderful. That is one of the best moments ever. The challenge for me is to keep going myself. There are times when I just want to stop and watch because it is such a beautiful thing to see someone dance with all of their heart. It is as if they are glowing and all of a sudden they are all I can see. It is so incredible.
I appreciate the people who say, “I’m open to anything.” Or even, “What the heck? I am here. I might as well try it.” But it is really amazing to look out and see the ones that are just INTO it. In a Nia class where people come to DO Nia, it is typical to see people dancing with everything they have, but to see it in a class that is usually not Nia . . . . ahhhhhhh!
I felt like sharing this today. Thank you for letting me share a bit of joy with you. Today has been a GREAT day. Nothing spectacular or even note worthy has happen but there has been a lot of laughing and any day with a lot of laughing is a great day. Don’t you think?
Posted in Nia | Tagged: Boot Camp, City of San Jose, dance class, dance exercise, exercise class, Group Exercise classes, Group Exercise teacher, Nia, Nia class, Nia exercise, Nia in San Francisco Bay Area, Nia student, Nia Teacher, Nia workout, San Jose exercise classes, San Jose Group Exercise, substitute teacher, teach Nia, workout class, Yoga | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on January 24, 2013
Regular reader? Familiar with Nia? Then you know that Nia has different levels and that they use belt colors to distinguish between. White, Blue, Brown, and Black. Each belt has thirteen principles (except Green Belt*). The trainings for the levels are called intensives and the intensives can be attended by people who just want a to explore self growth and/or learn how the body is connected to many things. If you are a new reader and/or not familiar with Nia . . . . there you have it. In November 2011 I took the Nia Blue Belt Training and I am using my blog to make notes on it. It is taking me some time to get through the principles, but I am jotting down my thoughts that come to me as I thumb through my notes. My intent is to continue to work and play with the 13 Nia Blue Belt Principles after my initial posts and come back to some of them and share some more. The principles can be deep because they are very rich. So like many things they have layers and the layers can be peeled back to expose more and more. This post is about Nia Blue Belt Principle #11, Music, Movement, Magic – Manifesting the Ultimmmate Nia Experience. Yes, ultimate is spelled with three m’s, representing music, movement, magic.
One of the ways we learn to bring this to class is to use objective and subjective descriptions. We can do this for many things. We can do this when stating the class focus and intent. We can do this when leading the class through a move. We can do this when talking about music. The following are examples:
Focus and Intent:
Objective – Today we are going to focus on the rhomboid muscles. These are muscles in your upper back that assist with shoulder blade movement. They pull your shoulders back and down.
Subjective – I like pay special attention to my rhomboids so I feel as if I am standing upright and not hunched over. I feel they need extra love. We can give them that during class with the intent to stand tall.
Move:
Objective – Pull your shoulder blades down.
Subjective – I feel as if my shoulder blades are in my back pockets!
Music:
Objective – This music was part of an Oscar Winning Score.
Subjective – This music makes me want to close my eyes and ride the peaceful notes to happy.
This objective and subjective way of looking at things is a key to Nia. It can be compared to THE Body’s Way and Your Body’s Way. There is a way the body was designed to move — objective. There is a way that YOUR body, and my body moves — subjective. There are specific ways to do the Nia 52 Moves — objective. There is a way that each individual Nia participant does the Nia 52 Moves — subjective. All of this helps to create the “magic” that is part of Nia.
The Music is the core. We dance to the music. The Movement is what we do. We move. We dance. We play. The Magic is what we bring, which with all of it put together there is resulting magic.
This is just a tiny portion of Nia Blue Belt Principle #11, just off the top of my head. There is much, much more to Music, Movement, Magic – Manifesting the Ultimmmate Nia Experience and I look forward to delving into it more.
Have you experience the Nia Music, Movement, and Magic yet for yourself?
*Green Belt is specifically for Nia teachers.
Posted in Blue Belt, Nia | Tagged: 13 Nia Blue Belt Principles, Black Belt, Green Belt, Magic, Nia, Nia 52 moves, Nia Blue Belt Principle #11, Nia class, Nia experience, Nia Intensives, Nia Music, Nia participant, Nia student, Oscar, rhomboid muscles, rhomboids, the body's way | 7 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on January 22, 2013
One of Nia’s magic toys! Floorplay. This is where we actually get on the floor and play. The most common comment I receive from people about floorplay is, “I don’t like to get down on the floor because I can’t get up.” And sadly that is the most important reason one SHOULD get on the floor is so that they can LEARN to get up. Even though most often with Floorplay we stay ON the floor, there is a time when we do get up. Floorplay is both Nia Class Cycle #6 and the Nia Blue Belt Principle #10. The tagline or second part of the principle is Movement on the Floor.
Floorplay can bring up all kinds of fun stuff. It can bring up memories of infancy. With the scooting, the crawling, the getting up to walk, and the falling. It can bring up memories of childhood. Children often play on the floor. They do somersaults and gymnastic moves. They drive their cars around and roll and play. It is a fact of life that most adults lose their playful connection to the floor. Watch a group of children when they are told in a room to go play. The first thing most of them do is get down on the floor. They go to their knees and start to play. Most adults I know don’t ever think of the floor as a place to be.
Floorplay allows us to reconnect to the earth. It allows us to reconnect to the ground. It allows us to sense gravity and the strength and energy of the earth. There is a pull that we can play with. There is the sense of falling that we can use.
Floorplay is a way to explore. It is a safe place and a safe time to move and sense the body. Sometimes the floor can assist in a particular movement. The gravity can work to enable additional flexibility. It is truly a place of wonder to let go and move. Rolling around, letting limbs fall to the earth, pushing and pulling, stretching and yawning . . . . floorplay is a magical toy in the Nia toy box. It is a powerful time in the Nia workout for body, mind, and spirit.
Floorplay in a Nia class can be a choreographed cycle or a FreeDance. Either way it is an important time to explore both The Body’s Way and Your Body’s Way. It is an opportunity to play with movement and to progress to your ideal. Even when the routine being done in class has choreographed Floorplay participants are free to do their own FreeDance. I often encourage my Nia students to do a “body check” asking their body what desires attention. If they want they are free to do what they need in order to give their body what it needs.
Because most Nia routines include this cycle. It is recommended that Nia participants bring a mat to class in case they are more comfortable moving on a mat. A mat sometimes is exactly what is needed to ensure bone comfort and let the student move more freely on the floor. Most places I teach in San Jose have mats, sometimes there are just a few.
The Nia Blue Belt reminds us that being on the floor is not just about static postures and stretches, it is truly about movement on the floor. That is why this cycle is called Floorplay and with the Blue Belt lens, the way we look at things, we are reminded to play and have fun. We are encouraged to use all of Nia’s 5 Sensations along with gravity and the energy from the earth to connect to the vertical, horizontal, and spiral and to connect with our bodies in a dance on the floor that we call Floorplay.
So when is the last time you got on the floor and rolled around? When is the last time you got on the floor and played? What is stopping you?
Posted in Blue Belt, Nia | Tagged: FAMSS, five sensations, floor, floorplay, freedance, gymnastics, movement on the floor, Nia, Nia Blue Bel Principle #10, Nia Blue Belt, Nia choreography, Nia class, Nia Class Cycle #6, Nia Class in San Jose, Nia magic, Nia participants, Nia routines, Nia San Jose, Nia toys, Nia's 5 Sensations, play, playful connection, San Jose Nia, somersaults, tagline, TBW | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on January 17, 2013
I participated in a Nia Blue Belt Intensive in the beginning of November 2012. Nia trainings are accurately named as intensive because they are intense. They are intense because it is 50 plus hours of moving and thinking and learning and listening and exploring, etc. It is a lot. Nia is a great cardio dance workout, but if you want, it is a lot more. The way things are connected is pretty amazing. I am writing posts somewhat off the top of my head as to what my initial thoughts are in regards to the 13 Nia Blue Belt Principles. After I get through all 13, I want to go back and write more as I read about each one and live with each one. I also want to review the 13 Nia White Belt Principles. At this time, I am on Nia Blue Belt Principle #9. The principle is Form & Freedom. The tagline is The Yin and Yang of Nia. As I have stated in my other posts about the principles there is a lot more to them than I am writing about. Nia is deep. This is just off the top.
There are forms in Nia. Some of the forms are:
-The 52 Nia Moves
-The Nia Routines
-The Seven Cycles of a Nia Workout
-All the Principles
-All the Triads
-The music
-The movement forms
-The Nia 5 Sensations
Some of the freedoms are:
-The energy variety
-Personal creativity
-Silence
–FreeDance
–Natural Time
-Adapting the Choreography
-Movement variety
-Mixing routines
-Transubstantiation
We have a lot of things that give us form. We have a lot of things in which we have freedom. There is yin and yang. The form and the freedom can be separate . . . we could just dance a song entirely FreeDance with no form at all. Just everyone dance their own way, no choreographed steps, no guidance, no form. Or we can marry the two. I love that. I love sharing with my Nia class that we are free in our form to do what we want. We can think about what we are doing and the moves we are doing or just let the music dictate to us.
Right now the routine I am doing is full of places to have the form and the freedom. There are many places in the routine where our feet have a specific form. The moves, according to Carlos AyaRosas (FKA Carlos Rosas), are precise. Our feet have a specific place, but our arms are free to move. While our arms are moving when the concentration is on the feet you can sense the form, the structure, the precision. But when the concentration is on the arms . . . .even if you are just letting them dance on their own to the music . . . you sense the freedom. You can sense your spirit. When you’ve had enough practice you can do both, have the form and the freedom.
The form is what many of us are accustomed to having, it is what we were trained to have in an exercise class. The freedom is what helps Nia be unique. With the Nia Blue Belt Principle #9 – Form & Freedom -The Yin and Yang of Nia we get to play and it makes the possibilities endless.
Have you ever played with form and freedom? Why don’t you try it? Put on some music you like to dance to and get your feet moving in a specific pattern. After a few rounds of the pattern just allow your arms to go. Let them move freely. Can you see how that can add up to an amazing workout?
Posted in Blue Belt, Nia | Tagged: 13 Blue Belt Principles, 13 White Belt Principles, 52 Nia Moves, cardio dance workout, Carlos AyaRosas, Carlos Rosas, Form & Freedom, freedance, Natural Time, Nia, Nia 5 Sensations, Nia Blue Belt Intensive, Nia Blue Belt Principle #9, Nia choreography, Nia class, Nia Music, Nia routines, Nia trainings, Seven Cycles of a Nia Workout, The Yin and Yang of Nia, Transubstantiation | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on January 15, 2013
For two weeks we didn’t have a working stove or oven. The oven started beeping one night. We turned off the circuit breaker and it stopped beeping. I used it the following night. But then the day following that it started beeping again. It beeped and displayed a code. The code indicated a part was broken. My husband concluded via internet research and taking the control panel off the appliance that he could order it and replace it himself. Part of the reason it took two weeks to get fixed was that there was a holiday and a weekend in there. The part being shipped was delayed because of the Holiday. By the time we got the part and he was able to put it in, it was the weekend. The part didn’t clear the error. Then there were issues in securing a repairman. For those of you that know how much I love my roasted vegetables you might understand having no oven was really difficult for me. Roasted veggies are not only yummy, but so easy to make. A few minutes prep then in the oven until they are done leaving you time to do other things. That is why I love my oven. During the two weeks we ate take out. We ordered Chinese Food, which for us equates to a few nights of Chinese Food. I also used my toaster oven, my electric skillet, my crock pot, and my Cuisinart Grill. So it was not as if I had no way to cook, it just put a cramp in my cooking a bit. On the nights I have a Nia class I like to put our dinner in the oven and have it turn on about the time that class is over. 
By the time I get home whatever is cooking is either done or on its way to being done. Without that I had to come home and start cooking. But alas I have a stove and oven again. YAY! I missed them. While I was not being able to use my stove and oven I tortured myself by looking at a cooking magazine. As soon as my stove was fixed I decided to try a new recipe.
The recipe is from Bobby Deen. I got it out of the Food Network Magazine. The name of the recipe is Monday-Night Red Beans and Rice and is on the Food Network website.
Not your typical Red Beans and Rice recipe. I made some adjustments, of course! I am posting it here as I did made it. I am calling it something different too!
Sausage, Beans, and Rice
Ingredients:
—Three turns of the pan Olive oil
—3/4 medium onion, finely chopped
—8 turkey sausage patties
—1 large green bell pepper, finely chopped
—2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
—1 15 1/2-ounce can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
—1 15 1/2-ounce can garbanzo beans/chickpeas, drained and rinsed
—1/2 cup chicken broth
—1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
—1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
—1 bay leaf
—Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
—Salt, to taste
—Cooked brown rice
—Chopped scallions, for serving
Directions
Cook the onion in the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the sausage, chopping it up and separating it as it cooks. Stirring it and moving it around as necessary. Cook until almost cooked through. Add the garlic. Mix the garlic into the onions and meat. Cook for about 1 minute. Add the beans, chicken broth, cumin, thyme, bay leaf, green pepper, salt to taste, and pepper to taste. Stir the ingredients until it is all mixed well. Reduce heat and cover. Let cook about 10 minutes.
Serve the mixture over rice. Top with the scallions.
This was so good. I used my beloved 14 inch pan that I missed for two whole weeks. Once the beans were added my stirring was gentle as I didn’t want to end up with smashed beans, but I also wanted to make sure the spices were distributed and the bay leaf touched a lot of the ingredients. So I stirred a lot, but not vigorously.
My typical spices consist of garlic and onions. I didn’t even have cumin. I had to buy it with the sausage and onion. Yeah, I was out of onion. I have a stock of kidney beans and garbanzo bean. I have them both for the bean salad I like. Plus I love to roast the garbanzos.
I actually DID put pepper in this while I was cooking it. For those of you that know me (either in person or through my blog) you know I don’t like pepper/spicy hot, but the pepper my friend gave me (SMOKED PEPPER) I can handle a little bit of. So I put a little in the pan while I was cooking. When I served it to my husband I put a lot of pepper on his. While he was eating it he kept saying he was surprised I could eat it. He thought it was too hot for me. I had him taste mine . . . . which had NO extra pepper and he said the flavor was a little different. So maybe the pepper brings out a different flavor.
Either way, we both loved it and I can see this becoming one of those meals I cook often. I can see experiments with different sausages and no meat at all.
I can also see me cooking more with cumin.
Do you like red kidney beans? Do you like garbanzo beans? Doesn’t this sound tasty?
Posted in "Recipes", Food | Tagged: and Rice, bay leaf, beans, Bobby Deen, chickpeas, Cuisinart Grill, cumin, electric skillet, Food Network Magazine, Food Network website, Garbanzo beans, Monday-Night Red Beans and Rice, my crockpot, Nia, Nia class, olive oil, Red Beans and Rice, red kidney beans, roasted vegetables, Sausage, thyme | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on January 8, 2013
There is a stance in Nia called the Riding Stance. It is part of Nia’s 52 Moves. I actually think of it as the Sumo Stance. It is called both. I bet if I actually were to really let my body doing the thinking, my riding stance would be taller than my sumo stance. Stop and think about it. Do you picture a rider with legs straddling a horse and sitting up tall? And a sumo wrestler as legs wider than a horse with his body lower to the ground? A sumo wrestler is still upright and “tall”, but he is closer to the ground. with a wider stance than a horse Ha! I love that. As I am typing and thinking, this is what I come up with. An insight. That is what I love about Nia. Even though there is an ideal there is still the way a body does it. And sometimes a body does it the way the mind thinks about it. My body translates sumo stance as low to the ground. I am going to go to class and use the different terms and see what my student’s bodies do! The Nia Technique states the Riding stance is as if you are riding a horse.
As I stated, riding a horse – to me is at a higher level than a sumo wrestler. So, I actually do this stance much lower and that is because I THINK of it as a sumo stance. I am going to practice this stance as a RIDING stance and see where my body goes.
The book says: “your knees slightly bent and your feet apart, as if you were riding a horse”. I think I have always had a really wide horse! Whether the horse is wide or not, the feet are parallel.
Again, to be clear, the Riding Stance in the Nia 52 Moves is with the knees slightly bent and the feet apart. The feet are as far apart as if you are riding a horse. As I recently posted the sound to make while doing this stance is “ha!”
I think that it would be fun to say, “Yehaw!”
This stance is a great way to condition the legs. It is fun to play with this stance and try different levels. By levels I mean both the planes and levels of intensity. A level/intensity 1 would be a high plane. Then a level/intensity 2, could be the middle plane. And the level/intensity 3 could be the low plane and maybe more of what I think of as a sumo stance. With all moves in Nia the key is pleasure. So the move is not meant to be painful. If you are sensing pain in any part of the leg adjust your stance. If you sense pain in the knees, check your feet, are your toes facing forward? Are you evenly distributing your weight over your whole foot (feet)? Ankle pain? Are your legs/feet too wide apart? So it is important to not always go as low or as wide as you CAN, but to go as low and as wide as is reasonably comfortable.
I love that as I write I learn. That is one of the reasons I am writing a blog. It is so helpful to put things in writing. It is helpful to stop and examine what you already know, right? Sometimes you see things differently.
Either way . . . . Riding or sumo stance, the stance is with knees bent, feet apart and parallel. Everyone’s stance, every BODY’s stance is different. Got it? Horse riding. Ride ’em cowboy.
I am fortunate enough to have wonderful students that are willing to pose. Here are the “riders” of the group.
Are you ready to ride?
Posted in 52 Moves (of Nia), Nia | Tagged: levels of intensity, Nia, Nia class, Nia students, Nia Teacher, Nia's 52 Moves, Riding Stance, straddling a horse, Sumo Stance, sumo wrestler, The Nia Technique | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on January 5, 2013
There are a few posts on my blog about sounding in Nia. I even have a separate category for it. See over there to the left under categories, under Nia? Sounding is what we call making noise in a Nia class. Sounding is great for many reasons. Sounding is a release. It can help release tension, emotions, spirit . . . whatever needs “releasing”. Sounding is fun. Sounding can assist in the stabilization of the torso. Sounding can help ground you . . . physically, emotionally, and your spirit. Often times when I am doing Nia both when I am teaching and when I am a student, my spirit just makes a sound. I don’t plan it, I don’t think about it, a noise just comes out. I “woo” a lot. But sometimes other sounds comes out. Sometimes the sound I make makes me laugh because I really don’t think about the sound, something just comes out. I could be thinking of something, for example, maybe the move we are doing reminds me of a swirling skirt, so then the sound could be a “whosh” as in the sound of a skirt, or it could be a giggle of a girl twirling in a skirt. I don’t always think about the sound I just let it out. Sometimes I do think of the sound. Sounding can be purposeful. The noise can have a purpose. I have posted about healing sounds and sounds associated with the chakras. This post is about the sounds that are associated with Nia stances, which are part of Nia’s 52 moves.
The
picture in this post is an approximation of how MY feet would be placed in the various stances. Remember that your stances would probably be slightly different. The width would be according to YOUR body and your body’s way. The picture is just to give you an idea and maybe help remind you of the various stances. At this time I have a post associated with four of the six stances.
In Nia’s closed stance the sound is the vowel sound “o”. The sound is made to “create volume in your chest cavity”.
In Nia’s open stance the sound is (to say) “balance” or “ground”. Saying the word “balance” can assist you in your balance. The word “ground” can assist with allowing you to feel grounded and sense balance.
The sound for Nia’s “A” stance is “aaaaahh!”. You say it on an exhale. Letting out all your breath until you are ready to inhale.
Sumo stance or riding stance (feet as wide apart as if you were riding a horse) has an explosive sound. Say “ha!” To me this helps with stabilization.
The bow stance has a sound of “u”. The bow stance is done with either foot in front, not just with the left foot in front as shown in the example.
The cat stance (standing on one foot, with the other foot pressed against the standing leg) has the sound “wooooooo” associated with it. This is done on the exhale. This stance is also done on the other foot and not just the left one as in the example.
So as you are practicing the Nia stances you can use the sounds associated with them for added benefit and fun. It is just fun to make noise. To me it adds to the experience. In my classes I encourage people to make any noise they want. I also like to play with the noises, sounds, and words associated with the move.
Do you attend a dance exercise class or exercise that encourages you to make noise?
Information regarding the sounds made with the Nia stances can be found in The Nia Technique book written by Debbie Rosas and Carlos Rosas (NKA, Carlos AyaRosas). The book can be purchased from Amazon.
Posted in Nia, Sounding | Tagged: A Stance, Amazon, Bow Stance, Carlos AyaRosas, Carlos Rosas, Cat Stance, closed stance, core stabilization, Debbie Rosas, making noise is fun, Nia, Nia class, Nia Sounds, Nia Stances, Nia Teacher, Nia teaching, open stance, Riding Stance, sounding, Sumo Stance, The Nia Technique book | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on January 1, 2013
I have already posted about one of the awesome gifts I received for Christmas. I received another one that makes me so happy when I use them I just wanted to share. You might remember I bought a speaker for my iPhone awhile back. I was so impressed with it I wanted to share about it because it is great to have a portable audio source, just in case. It is really helpful when you are teaching a dance exercise class like Nia. Well, more like it came up on Woot. My hubby looks at Woot and he knows how much I love my other speaker so he asked me if I wanted what they were selling on Woot. I glanced at it and said yes because it was LESS than I paid for my other speaker AND it was TWO speakers!
They are REALLY cool. When my hubby showed me I hadn’t even read all the cool features! First of all as I said, they cost less than my ONE speaker I originally bought. They are black but when they are in use and they are open they glow blue! These little guys are so cool.
They have their own bag, I love things that have their own storage. They fit together and stick with magnets. They have a volume control. They have an audio in cord and a connection cord. One speaker has the audio in cord. The other speaker has the cord that connects them. So you can just use one if you want. BOTH cords retract back into their respective speakers. How cool is that? I had just been telling someone over Christmas that I think every electronic device that has a cord (whether optional or not) should have a place that the cord can be stored ON/IN the device. But that is just me because I have what seems like a million cords and I don’t know all the devices they belong to. So every time I put these speakers away I am so impressed because I just pull gently and the cord goes right in. They are great sound for such little devices.
This particular pair came with a “BONUS! USB wall adapter” which the package claims is usually an extra $19.95. The speakers on Woot didn’t even cost that much AND it came with the additional adapter. I loved them so much I looked online to see if we could get more. We can, but at more than twice the cost and without the “BONUS”. I don’t NEED them so I’m not going to spend it. I just really like them and since the places I teach Nia at for the city of San Jose do not always have sound systems I was thinking I could keep a pair in my car.
The iHome/first speaker I bought does not have an electrical adapter. It only charges off a USB. So when I use it at a venue I am teaching at I have to make certain it is charged. But these speakers I just got, I could leave in the car and not have to worry about them being charged because in a pinch I could plug them in and use them. Also the iHome speaker does not have a volume control. Which is fine, because the device it is used with does. But I found out that it is really cool to have two options of volume control!
Of course these speakers would work with iPhones, iPads, iPods, MP3 players, MP4 players, and laptops!
Yeah, no post about goals and resolutions, just an excited post about something that makes me happy. I hope you enjoyed your New Year’s Eve. I wish for you to enjoy 2013.
Posted in Misc | Tagged: awesome gift, Christmas gift, City of San Jose, iHome, iPads, iphone, iPods, laptops, MP3 players, MP4 players, New Year's Goals, New Year's Resolutions, Nia, Nia class, Nia Teacher, retractable cords, small speakers, USB wall adapter, Woot | 4 Comments »
Terre Pruitt's Blog 