Posts Tagged ‘Nia’
Posted by terrepruitt on December 18, 2012
So today is Tuesday. On Tuesdays I have a Nia Class at 9:00 am for the City of San Jose. The community center is closed on Christmas Day. And I have not heard, but I am thinking it will be closed on New Year’s Day too! So for two weeks I will not have a Tuesday morning Nia class. (Sad face.) But there is class today so I am going to be back to check in after class and after I do my 30 minutes.
Hmmm . . . . maybe I can get the people that are going to miss Nia for two weeks to come over to my Nia Classes on Monday and Wednesday? Maybe offer a deal? $5.00 with a community card ID?
Yay you for being here to check in!
Posted in December 2012 30 Minute Movement Challenge | Tagged: Christmas, Christmas celebration, City of San Jose, City of San Jose Community Center classes, class, December 30 Minute Movement Challenge, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Tuesday morning Nia in San Jose | 3 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on December 13, 2012
I don’t know the Nia Blue Belt Principles by heart yet. I think I should, but I don’t. I will work on that. I was doing my 30 minutes for the December 30 Minute Movement Challenge, while I was doing it I was wondering if I could get ready to go teach the Nia class tonight, make a salad, straighten up the room, and write a blog all in the 30 minutes I had left before I had to leave. While I realized that was not possible I thought I could at least come up with a topic for my post. I thought about posting the fourth principle of the Nia Blue Belt, but I couldn’t remember what it is. At the end of my 30 minutes for the December 30 Minute Movement Challenge I did the Nia 5 Stages. As I was doing the Nia 5 Stages I thought I could post about them, then I thought not because I would want to spend more time writing about that. I decided to see what the Principle #4 is. When I saw it, I had to laugh out loud. Nia Blue Belt Principle #4 is Developmental Anatomy. The tagline is Reaching Your Ideal. I find this too funny. The reason it is funny is that the Developmental Anatomy used as a tool to assist in reaching your ideal is the Nia 5 Stages.
The Nia 5 Stages are the stages we go through in development. The stages are: Embryonic, Creeping, Crawling, Standing, and Walking. In the womb we are embryonic, we move with comfort through fluid, we are safe, comfortable, and warm. Once born most infants creep. Creeping is not crawling, but it is getting us around, but not very efficiently. At one point there is crawling. We are much more mobile and active. We see a lot more and often we go after it in this stage. Then there is that stage where we “stand”. The standing usually starts out with the help of something or someone. While in life this stage for a child involves a lot of sitting . . . get wobbly and fall on their butt, it does not in the Nia 5 Stages. The standing in the Nia 5 Stages is more of a low to the ground squat. Then there is the stage of walking. The Nia 5 Stages is actually a movement practice. It is based on science. It is a tool to help the body move more efficient. As I previously stated, I would love to do a more in-depth post or even posts on it, I will do that at a later time.
What Nia did for the Nia Blue Belt Principle #4 was allow us to use this movement, the practice of the Nia 5 Stages as a tool to reach our ideals. It is very interesting how Nia uses the body for this. If you have a goal in mind, the idea is to think about it and go to the body to find out where you are in reaching it. Again, to me, another brilliant connection made by Nia. It really makes sense to find out where you are in the stage of reaching your goal so you can work on what you need to work on to complete it. Are you in the embryonic stage of the goal? Maybe just thinking about it? Are you are far as the standing stage? Doing the movement to find out really helps the entire process. There is no triad for this principle as it uses the Nia 5 Stages pictographs. If you are at the point of taking the Nia Blue Belt you would be familiar with the 5 stages and the pictures so they work as the symbols for Nia Blue Belt Principle #4.
So, it was funny to me that I was thinking about posting about principle #4, but couldn’t remember what is was. Then I thought I would post about the Nia 5 Stages. And it turns out they are very much connected.
Do you see how there could be stages of a goal?
Posted in Blue Belt, Nia | Tagged: Crawling, Creeping, December 30 Minute Movement Challenge, Developmental Anatomy, Embryonic, Nia, Nia 5 Stages, Nia Blue Belt Principle #4, Nia class, Reaching Your Ideal, Standing, walking | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on December 13, 2012
Wow! Thirteen days in. Even though these check in posts are short. It is time consuming writing and posting every day. I don’t know how people do it. I mean, I can easily think of stuff to blab about every day, but sitting down and writing it . . . . way too much. But some people are so much better at writing. Writing takes me a long time. But so does reading AND doing your 30 minutes. And here you are checking it.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE!!!!!
I’ll be back. I have to do my 30 minutes “early” because I am subbing with Nia tonight!
Posted in December 2012 30 Minute Movement Challenge | Tagged: December 30 Minute Movement Challenge, Nia, writing posts | 5 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on December 12, 2012
Yay! Here it is day 12! Thank you for being here. I know it is a busy month. I know it is a busy time of the year. Even if Christmas is not YOUR thing there are others who are off doing theirs so you might be busy because of other people taking vacations and time off. So getting that 30 minutes in is a challenge. The reason I called it a challenge is because I know it is a busy time. But it is so worth it. So, again, thank you for participating and being here.
I am teaching Nia this morning. Then with nothing else on my schedule, I am going to do more Nia. I want to review a routine I have been doing for four years and finish learning one that I am in the middle of learning. I am presently teaching two different routines. In my morning classes we are ready to move on. Nia routines are so rich it is easy to keep learning with them. So that will be my 30 minutes.
I will be back to check in.
Posted in December 2012 30 Minute Movement Challenge | Tagged: Christmas, December 30 Minute Movement Challenge, Nia, Nia Classes, Nia routines, Nia schedule, Nia Teacher | 3 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on December 6, 2012
Do you move fast? Do you do five things at once? Do you have more than one project going on? Are you doing one thing while your mind is thinking about another? It is hard to slow down, huh? I think part of it is technology. We have cell phones that can do so many things we get instant gratification so we don’t have to wait for anything. We can call someone while we are doing something else. We can look up something on the internet while we are talking to someone all the while doing something else. Multi-tasking is expected. We must be productive and in order to do so we have to do more than one thing. I posted about multi-tasking in September 2009. I actually attempted to stop and only do one thing at a time. It proved to not be possible for me. As an example, when cooking dinner I have to do more than one thing at a time. 
It is not feasible to cook the pasta, then the meat, then make the salad — or any order of that. More than one thing has to be going on at a time. So I realized that multi-tasking is necessary, but there are ways I can be more aware of what I am doing. There are some tasks that I can do without doing something else. Part of this for me is just slowing down. I need to have patience to get through one task before I move onto the next.
I have been thinking about this a lot this week as I have been decorating the house for Christmas. I love to have it look like Christmas every where you look. It doesn’t have to be Griswald-y, but an ornament here, a candle there—just SOMETHING. While I have been doing this I have been using a ladder. In our garage it is a bit tricky. We park both of our cars in the garage so the “edges” tend to get a little cluttered. We also have bicycles hanging from the rafters near where the Christmas boxes are stored. All this week I have been having to tell myself, “Slow down.” Literally. I want to get it done quickly — plus I am excited because I just love all this stuff. So I would bolt up the ladder and realize once I was up there that I couldn’t move freely, I had to think about the fact that I was on a ladder, the fact that I was wearing floppy shoes, that there was a bike an inch from my head, back, butt (depending on where I was on the ladder). I had to think about how I was going to move once I got the box in my hands. I had to think how I was going to climb down the ladder with a box in my hand and a handle bar at my shoulder.
It is not easy for me to do some things slowly and I have been pondering that this week. I think that being more patient is part of it. If I were more patient with getting some of the things done I want to get done then I wouldn’t be rushing through what I have to do. Part of it is also because there is going to be some work done involving the house at the end of this week and I was rushing to get things done before that deadline. Also, I wanted it all done before I my Nia Class on Thursday evening! But still . . . . it is not easy to slow down.
I want to say that I HAVE been JUST brushing my teeth. I have made a conscious effort. But it wasn’t since September 2009, it has been more recent!
Do you find rushing to be the case? Do you rush through things just to get to another thing to rush through?
Posted in Misc | Tagged: Christmas, Christmas decoration, Christmas Ornaments, instant gratification, multi-tasking, multiple projects, Nia, Nia class | 4 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on December 6, 2012
I am so glad you are here. As we get closer to Christmas it might become more of a challenge to keep going, but six days in . . . . YOU CAN DO IT! So can I, right? I am here to GET support as much as give support. I have a few things going on this weekend and I need to get stuff done. I could easily skip 30 minutes, especially since I am going to teach a Nia class tonight. With my class I will be getting in my aerobic exercise. But I will be back to let you know I did my 30 minutes. It might end up being practice for tonight.
What about you?
Posted in December 2012 30 Minute Movement Challenge | Tagged: aerobic exercise, Christmas, Day #6, December 30 Minute Movement Challenge, evening Nia class, Nia, Nia class | 5 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on December 5, 2012
Yay! Day five! How are you doing? Feeling good, huh? You’ve done five days and you are gonna keep on trucking! (Remember that term? Where did that come from?)
Post a comment to let me know you are done. I will be back to let you know. I have to teach my Nia class and then run some errands, but I will be back with to comment with my 30 minute done!
Thank you for being here!!!
Posted in December 2012 30 Minute Movement Challenge | Tagged: Day #5, December 30 Minute Movement Challenge, keep on trucking, Nia, Nia class, Nia Teacher, teach Nia | 5 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on December 1, 2012
So today is the first day of the December 2012 30 Minute Movement Challenge. There are so many things you can do, you know that right? On the days I am teaching a Nia Class I will obviously get in 30 minutes of movement, but at this point, right off the bat, I don’t want to count that as my 30 minutes. I would count Nia as my 30 minutes if I am doing it as a student. Being a teacher and being a student are different, so I am going to count them differently. I will be back today to check in with my 30 minutes completed. But first some ideas on what you can do, yes? You can walk. Walking for 30 minutes is a great exercise. If you walk fast enough and get your heart rate up it can be an aerobic exercise. With your challenge you decide whether your 30 minutes will be aerobic or resistance training. You can also add to it. Moving for longer than 30 minutes. Just make certain you are moving (in an exercise-y type of way) for at least 30 minutes.
There are so many things you can do. I already mentioned walking. There is my ten minute workout. You can do that for 30 minutes consecutively or do three different 10 minute sessions. If you have a device that allows you to create playlist of music you can make up a great playlist and dance for 30 minutes. You could do 30 different exercises for a minute each. Some examples: squats, bicep curls, lunges, triceps kick backs, donkey kicks, push ups, inner thigh lifts, sit ups, triceps dips, frogs, hamstring kick backs, lateral flies, knee lifts, rows, reverse curls . . . . . . and 15 more.
The key is to get AT LEAST 30 minutes in. The thirty minute time length was originally brought up to help people STAY healthy. Many people need more than that to GET healthy in the first place. But we are just doing a challenge for the month of December to make sure we are moving EVERY DAY. With all that is going on during this season it is easy to skip the workout. So committing to 30 minutes EVERY DAY will help.
Keeping to a schedule helps a lot. Committing to a goal, also helps. We also know that sometimes things do come up and even though we have a schedule and made a commitment there might be a day where we just didn’t get the 3o minutes in. To help ensure you get it in I recommend doing it first thing in the morning. I know that when I put things off for later in the day sometimes they don’t get done. The things I do first thing always get done . . . . funny how that works huh? If you happen to miss a day, that is fine, just pick it right back up the next day.
Remember you don’t even have to comment about what you did, just comment that you DID move/exercise/workout for at least 30 minutes! So . . . . what do you think? Do you have a plan? Are you done with your 30 minutes?
Posted in December 2012 30 Minute Movement Challenge | Tagged: 30 Minute Movement Challenge, 30 Minutes In December 2012, 30 minutes of exercise, dance exercise, Dance Workout, December 2012 30 Minute Movement Challenge, lunges, Nia, Nia class, Nia Dance, Nia student, Nia Teacher, Nia workout, running, squats | 6 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on November 29, 2012
In two days it will be December 2012. Wow! The end of the year really seemed to go fast. Like that last half of tank of gas. 🙂 This is the busy time of the year for many of us. There are holiday obligations that might include work and family. There is the weather you might be dealing with. There is all of the days off. There is a lot to deal with. And two things often fall by the wayside during this season. One is eating healthy. With all of the holiday treats around and so much more of food in general, eating more than we might normally and eating differently that we might normally is too easy to do. I say be aware. Don’t graze at the party because it is there and you are not paying attention. Don’t eat something that you normally wouldn’t just because “Tis the Season.” The second thing that gets put away for the month sometimes is exercise or working out. The month is so busy and it is so cold. It is easier to bundle up and sit by the fire. It is easier not to get out of bed early to get some movement in. But let’s not allow that to happen. Let’s make a pact with each other. Let’s move for 30 minutes EVERY DAY in December. My ideal is 30 consecutive minutes, and for you, personally, I would like to have the 30 minutes be consecutive minutes, but I am not going to be picky. It can be 15 and 15 or 10, 10, 10. Just get in 30 minutes. It can be walking, dancing, lifting weights . . . .whatever, just make it MOVING.
Let’s start Saturday, December 1, 2012. Let’s do a challenge, let’s make a pact. Let’s check in here every day. I will schedule a post for midnight Pacific Standard Time. And you all (yes ALL OF YOU!) can just post a quick, “I did my 30!” If you want to tell us WHAT you did great? But let’s just keep moving throughout the entire month. Let’s be a team. A support group. Let’s not let our exercise and workouts and just moving fall down the cracks because it is “that time of year.” Yes, we are all busy, but this is really important. You know exercise actually helps relieve stress yet it is usually one of the first things to get crossed of the schedule where there are a lot of things to do. Let’s not do that this year. Let’s ban together and keep moving.
Two of my regularly scheduled San Jose Nia classes are on Monday and Wednesdays. So we will be doing Nia on Monday, December 24, 2012, Christmas Eve and Wednesday, December 26, 2012, the day after Christmas. AND there is Nia on Monday, December 31, 2012, New Year’s Eve and Wednesday, January 2, 2013! PLUS I just agreed to teach Nia as a substitute class on Mondays AND Thursdays from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm. So I am keeping my regular Nia Class schedule during the Holidays and have added more, so we can keep on dancing. Be sure to check my website for all the dates I will be teaching because when I teach for they City there are center closures. For instance, my Tuesday Nia class is with the City and they are closed on Christmas Day so I won’t be having that class. Do whatever it is you like to do. Do it for 30 minutes. Every day!
What do you say? Who is in?
Posted in December 2012 30 Minute Movement Challenge, Exercise and Working Out | Tagged: 30 minutes a day, Christams 2012, Dancing, December 2012, December challenge, Holidays 2012, Nia, Nia class, support team, walking, weight training | 8 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on November 22, 2012
I have so much to be thankful for I work on giving thanks all year long. I tell the people who I am thankful for that I appreciate them. I do feel so much gratitude that I don’t feel bad taking one of my posts for sharing some things and people who I am thankful for. Why not, right? It is my blog and Thursday happens to be one of the days I post. And since Thanksgiving is set up to occur on Thursdays it just happens that I will be posting on that day.
I did have a conversation recently with my Nia students and we agreed that it would be nice if the United States celebrated Thanksgiving in October as our Canadian neighbors do. We were talking about how it would be beneficial to have the Holidays spread out a bit. Having more time in between Thanksgiving and Christmas could ease some stress. It wouldn’t be one big rush. Plus the fact that not all of the days off from work would be so close together. Sounds like a good idea.
As I type this (a bit before Thanksgiving) what is really in the front of my mind to be thankful for is my Nia Students. I am very grateful to them for holding space for me while I took the Nia Blue Belt Training, the next level of Nia. As a dance exercise teacher there is a fear that students won’t come back if a class is cancelled. It takes commitment to come to a class day after day and week after week and sometimes once that habit is broken it is easy to let it go. So knowing that my students are committed to Nia and to supporting me really helped me let go of the fact that I had to cancel my classes and it allowed me to really BE where I needed to be.
I am also very thankful for the people involved with my Nia Blue Belt. I am thankful for the organizer. She kindly kept in communication with me when I didn’t know if I should sign up for the intensive because my mom had been having health issues and at one point she was going to be scheduled for a major (MAJOR, MAJOR) surgery the very week of the intensive. She let me know that I could register as close as 30 days prior. 
I have huge gratitude towards the Nia Trainers who each have their own story, one flying from Hurricane Sandy to come teach us, and the other having had a bee sting, a car accident, and surgery. And the class, my fellow Blue Belts. Some of the trainees are actually other belts retaking the blue, but they will be fellow blues to me. I appreciate the warm and welcoming space that was created and held. There were many people going through personal situations and they were able to step into the space strong and ready to learn. They put the issues aside and focused and made it through. Thank you so much, Blues!
My husband was so great during the entire week of training. I am a firm believer that the body and brain needs nutrients throughout the day so I make sure that I make him lunch every night. He is one of those worker-people that will just power through his day not giving a thought to food. So it is really important that he have lunch right there to eat. During the intense week he made sure to make his own lunch (AND DINNER) because he knew that if he didn’t I would. He helped it feel as if I were on vacation from my home duties. This helped tremendously.
I am very thankful for my mom’s health. She has been going through some issues this past year and true to my mom she has stumped her doctors. At first they didn’t know what exactly was going on, then every time they had a treatment plan it would change because my mom does not follow text books or protocols. She had a stricture in her throat which led to the discovery of lung cancer. And over the past year has had surgery three times none of which were the one that was planned to fix her throat. That surgery was to be a major surgery. And by some miracle (the doctors are amazed) that surgery is no longer needed and her cancer was removed along with a lobe of her lung. She is almost back to normal. She just needs to work on getting used to have less lung. I am very thankful for her health. It was a very long, stressful year.
My friends are always on the top of the list of blessings I am thankful for. I am always amazed at the wonderful people who I have that love and support me. And I am eternally grateful. I am grateful for my family. I am grateful for Nia. It is an amazing practice and through it I have met even more amazing people.
I hope that those of you that celebrate Thanksgiving have a very Happy One. And I invite everyone to take a moment to think of something they are thankful for. Anything you care to share that you are thankful for?
Posted in Misc | Tagged: Blue Belt Intensive, Blue Belt Training, Canadian Thanksgiving, cancer, Christmas, dance class, dance exercise, gratitude, lung cancer, Nia, Nia Blue Belt, Nia class, Nia students, Nia trainers, Practice, Thanksgiving 2012 | 2 Comments »
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