Posts Tagged ‘Nia’
Posted by terrepruitt on May 14, 2011
After my Los Gatos Nia Class yesterday I went to the store. I wanted to get some food to take to the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life today. I grabbed a bunch of celery for a snack. I think people like celery. I don’t. But I didn’t realize how much I didn’t like it until I started cutting it and washing it. I do not like celery. As I was dealing with it I kept thinking, “What a useless vegetable.” Well, I don’t really think that is true. I mean it has to be good for something besides as a filler in casseroles, salads, and soups. So . . . . to the cloud. Ok not really because I don’t even know what that is, but I definitely decided to look it up. Since I am going to be gone all day today at the walk, I thought I would jot down my celery education as my Saturday blog post. Yay!
As I think back on so many things (soups, salads, and casseroles) that I didn’t like as a child I realize it is because they had celery in them. I realize when I cook these things myself, I love them because I don’t put celery in them. But, as I truly believed, celery is not useless. The stalk, root, leaves, and seeds can all be used.
Celery (the stalk) is a great source of vitamin K and vitamin C. A cup can provide you with 2.04 grams fiber. Do people normally eat a cup of celery when they eat celery?
Celery contains nutrients that have been linked with lowering blood pressure, reducing high cholesterol, and helpful in preventing cancer. The phthalides are the compounds that help with lowering blood pressure. The vitamin C helps with the immune system. I’ve posted before about how chronic inflammation is associated with many diseases, vitamin C help reduce inflammation by helping contain free radicals, so does the coumarins also found in celery.
According to Wiki celery is like peanuts in that people who are allergic to it can have a very bad reaction as people with peanuts do. As with peanuts people who are allergic to celery can get a reaction from something that has been used to process it. Stalks, seeds, and roots all have varying degrees of potency.
As I was cutting the celery, just the smell was bothering me. And it is like an onion, not as strong, but once it gets your hands you can’t wash it off. I probably washed my hands at least 10 times in the course of my preparation of snacks for the walk and it never came off. As I was cutting it I kept thinking, “Peppery.” Not sure why. Since I was getting so disgusted while dealing with it, I thought, “Is it REALLY that bad?” So I cut a small piece off to taste it. I put it in my mouth and bit down. Yup, it IS that bad. I spit it out. I just do not like celery.
I did have celery soup a couple of times and I did like that so I don’t know what that means. Except that I WILL be trying my hand at making the soup but I will not be adding celery to anything I make. Any fans out there? Do you eat it raw? Do you disguise the taste by filling it with cream cheese? Or peanut butter? Do you cook with it?
Thanks, as always, for letting me share. And thanks, in advance, for sharing back. 🙂
Posted in Food, Vegetables | Tagged: American Canser Society, casseroles with celery, celery salad, celery seed, celery soup, celery stalk, chronic inflammation, cream cheese, free radicals, Los Gatos Nia, lowering blood pressure, Nia, Nia class, Nia Los Gatos, peanut allergy, preventing cancer, Relay For Life, vitamin C, walk snacks | 18 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on May 12, 2011
I learned through Nia that feeling is different from sensing. Feeling is how I feel. It is an emotion. I feel happy. I feel sad. I feel emotion. Sensing is touch or a sensation in the body. I can feel happy, yet still sense discomfort. I can feel sad, yet still sense or experience a sense of Joy with my body. I try to remember to make the correct distinction between feeling with emotion and sensing with the body. I do continue to say “I feel” when I am talking about a sensation, but when I am paying attention I correct myself if I am able.
Recognizing this difference can help with really giving the body and/or the spirit/emotional self what it needs. If my body’s sensation is soreness do I need to rest it? Well I might feel like I need to rest because “I worked hard so I deserve to rest.” But I know, that for me and my body I need to move otherwise the soreness will just continue to get worse. If I feel I need to rest, actually in my spirit/emotional self then I might examine what it is I really need. If it is a feeling of requiring rest then maybe just not being physical is not enough, maybe I need a mental break. So just sitting at my computer working while not being physical won’t give me the same satisfaction.
While spirit and body ARE connected sometimes they need different things. Sometimes we don’t separate the two when they need different things. Sometimes we might assign emotion to a physical sensation. Sometimes our emotions might get in the way of giving our body what it really needs or vice versa. We might have a sense of discomfort, but we call it pain due to an emotion. There could also be the opposite, we feel happy and joyful so we push our physical body further than we should and with that comes the risk of injury.
Fascinating this journey we are on. I actually started typing this with a vague idea of feeling vs. sensing leading somewhere else. But this is where I ended up. Makes me think I will be re-visiting this feeling vs. sensing. For now, this is what I am sharing. Any thoughts you care to share on this?
Posted in Nia | Tagged: emotional self, emotions, feelings, Nia, physcial body, sensations, sensing, spirit, spirit body, spirit self | 6 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on May 10, 2011
I heard about Nia about three years ago. I have been a Nia Teacher for almost two and a half years. Nia has been around since the early 80s, so about 28 years. Jazzercise has been around even longer than that, since 1969—if you can believe that. And Zumba, it has only been around 10 years. All of these dance workouts could have, at one point been considered exercise fads. But they have proven to be here to stay. This is a good thing. They will adjust and change over the years and probably be around for another 28, 42, and 10 years or more. But what about some of the fads?
A lot of exercise fads have been equipment. Do you remember the Thighmaster? The Gazelle sold by that huge guy with long hair (Tony Little)? The Ab -blaster, -rocker, -roller, you name it there was/is an “AB”-something or rather? What about the shake weight? What is up with that?
What about Tae Bo? Still around? Rollerblading? Yes, a lot of these things, these “fads” are still around. But at one point they were HUGELY popular—-seemed like EVERYONE was doing them (whatever the “IN” thing is at the time)–well that is what a fad is. But you know what is kinda cool? Some people continue to do them. So while not everyone you know is out rollerblading there are people who still do it. It is something they enjoy doing. It is how they get their exercise or just relax. There are people who still do Tae Bo. And if not Tae Bo one of the hundreds of other classes like it. Tae Bo might have started it. It was a fad, but it is still going on. Someone somewhere is still doing it.
What I am getting at is unless the fad is actually dangerous or unhealthy they are good. They get people moving. Most of the “machines” or equipment won’t actually do what they promise, but some of it can get people moving. If they are really worth anything they will be proven to be worth it. If they stay around for any length of time they will also adjust because in order to last they need to change as things change. We learn new things about exercise and the body all the time so a long-lasting workout or exercise machine/equipment will have to adapt. But in the mean time a lot of the fads just get people up and moving and that really is a good thing.
Have you bought anything you are brave enough to admit? Is there a fad that you joined in on, but then really love it so you still do it?
Posted in Exercise and Working Out | Tagged: Abblaster, abrocker, abroller, aerobic classes, aerobic workouts, Cardio classes, cardio workouts, dance workouts, exercise equiment, exercise fads, exercise machines, Gazelle, Jazzercise, Jazzercise class, Nia, Nia class, Nia Teacher, Roller blading, rollerblading, shake weight, Tae Bo, Thighmaster, Zumba, Zumba class | 6 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on April 30, 2011
Sometimes I struggle with what to write. As I was sitting here trying to think of something, going through my Nia posts, thinking about my walk today for the MS Society, thinking about the awesome weather I remembered something my friends and I were talking about and I decided to write about it. Different colored bell peppers. I looked it up. I remember learning a long time ago that they all came from the same “plant”, but today I was thinking, “Hmmm? Is that right?”
Sometimes I learn things then forget them and have to re-learn them. I am surprised to see that botanically a bell pepper is a fruit. I don’t remember ever having learned that. I never understand how something is one thing, but we all call it another. What is up with that? Usually there has to be a reason. The information I’ve seen regarding tomatoes being a vegetable when they are really a fruit is tomatoes were considered vegetables because of taxes. Something to do with the difference between how taxes are applied to fruits and vegetables. This started in 1883.
I don’t know why we consider a bell pepper a vegetable and not a fruit. Also, it is called a pepper when it lacks the ability to produce the chemical that causes “heat”. I do now know that the different color bell peppers are a result of harvesting. The green ones are not fully ripened. Usually the order is green, yellow, orange, then red. Since the yellow, orange, and red ones need to be on the plant longer this is why they are more expensive. I have experienced them to be upwards of five time more expensive than the green ones.
To me I think of them as green, red, yellow, orange, in terms of sweetness. I find that — again, I want to clarify: to me — the orange ones are the sweetest.
So it is confirmed in my mind, the same species of bell pepper plant produces the different colored peppers because they are a factor of ripeness (or not in the case of green bell peppers). They are not different types of plants or different colors due to anything artificial. I would like to try a purple one. I have not even seen one in a long time. Have you ever seen one? The different colors have a different nutritional values. I posted about the green and the red before. Do you like bell peppers? Is there a color you prefer?
Posted in Food, Vegetables | Tagged: bell peppers, fruit and vegetables, green peppers, hot peppers, MS Society Walk, Nia, Nia posts, nutritional values, orange peppers, red pepper, Tomatoes, yellow peppers | 4 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on April 14, 2011
One Monday after my Nia Class, I went to a store down the street from the studio in San Jose. I went to a shoe store in Willow Glen. I had decided that I was going to buy myself some MBTs. MBTs have been around since 1996. I would say since 1997 I have wanted them. But they were huge, clunky, and EXTREMELY expensive. I had never even tried any on because I could never bring myself to spend over $200 on tennis shoes.
I am very excited to have FINALLY purchased a pair of MBTs. I spent almost two hours in the store trying on different styles. I was fortunate that I liked the ones that were on sale. Yay! Even though the price of tennis shoes has probably caught up to the price of MBTs. I still couldn’t bring myself to spend $200 on tennis shoes. I figured if they help me walk properly they really are worth it, but I am still glad I saved my Christmas gifts so I could splurge on these “shoes”.
What are MBTs you ask?
MBTs are the “antishoe”. Their websites states: “MBT (Masai Barefoot Technology) was born in 1996 when we discovered that natural instability can have positive effects on the human body. We made this discovery by observing the wonderfully agile Masai people walking barefoot on natural, uneven ground.” Because the shoes were designed to allow us to experience walking on uneven ground even as we walk on flat ground the idea is that one needs to give the body time to adjust. I looked on the site to see if they have a guide as to how to acclimate the body, but I didn’t see anything.
Kind people keep telling me to go slow, but unfortunately I don’t think I will have the opportunity to get to that point where I need to take a break because my legs need a rest. Ya see, as you might know, I injured my toe about five months ago. I want it to be completely better and function as it used to, but it is not. It is MUCH better, but nowhere near where it used to be. It gets tired. I still have to rest it. I still have to pay way too much attention to it. But that is what I have to do. My toes are the reason I finally decided to treat myself to my long lusted after MBTs.
The sole of an MBT is curved so the idea is to encourage the wearer to walk heel toe. Those of you familiar with Nia know that is one of the “body’s way” movements we practice doing. The ankle was designed to flex and extend and walking heel first, rolling through the foot to the ball/toe is good for the ankle and lower leg. With my toes as they are, I can’t roll through my foot so I thought the MBTs would be perfect to help me/allow me to do that.
Well, the shoes are great. They do allow me to walk whole foot and through my whole foot. It is easier to do that in these shoes than in regular shoes, but my toe still gets tired. I think my toe gets tired and makes me take my shoes off long before my legs get to the point of being tired. I think that my toe will be the guide I need to acclimate myself into using these shoes–or shoe I say these “anit-shoes”. 😉
Posted in Just stuff, Misc | Tagged: anti shoes, Barefoot technology, body's way, Masai, Masai Barefoot Technology, MTBs, Nia, Nia class, Nia Class for the City of San Jose, Nia movements, rocker shoes, rocking shoes, rolling shoes, San Jose Nia, tennis shoes, Willow Glen Nia | 8 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on April 9, 2011
On the way to teach my Los Gatos Nia Class on Friday I thought that I would be making soup on a warm day. By the time Nia class was over it was getting cloudy. I was thinking it might turn into a good day for soup. I was going to attempt the Green Garlic Spinach Soup. On the way to class I decided to shop at the store somewhat on the way home from the fitness place. I had never been there and was hopeful they would have green garlic. Since it looks like a scallion I was thinking that I had seen it in stores before and I just didn’t know what it was. Well, some of the produce at the store was less than desirable. I passed on the collard greens and I couldn’t find the green garlic. I had my mind made up that I was going to make soup using my emulsion blender. I decided that I would make baby bok choy and spinach soup. I am going to share about the soup making process and issues in this post. My next post (Tuesday) will be the “recipe”.
I bought the basic ingredients I would use. By the time I left the store it was cold and cloudy. Perfect day for soup. When I got home I decided to get out the blender to figure out what blade to use and to wash the blade. I neglected to look at the blade my friend used. In looking at the instructions I was thinking “blade C” would be the right blade.
Since I’ve never cooked bok choy before and I didn’t really know if it would work, I decided to sauté the bottom portion of the stalk and save the leafy part to add to the soup at the same time as the spinach. I sautéed the veggies. When I finally added the broth I was thinking this soup was going to be pretty flavorless so I added some of a beer that was open in the fridge. It was a Hefeweizen. So it was going to add some heartiness. I also put in a dash or two of teryiaki. I let it boil then added the leafy part of the bok choy and the spinach. I thought my friend had just let it cook long enough to wilt it.
Oh, I didn’t yet mention that I don’t have a stock pot. Maybe some of you know where this is going. 🙂
The instructions for the blender said that when you use blade C use it in a chopping motion. Ok. So I stuck the blender in the pot with one little pulse I thought, “Hmmm . . . . I should cover this.” With the next “whrrrrr”, I thanked God because I was going to heat some bread in the oven on foil but decided not to and I think that having the piece of foil out already is what kind of made me think to use it. Even with the foil it made a mess. I used blade C but it wasn’t getting creamy. So I added some cream cheese. Not part of the original soup plan. I tried blending again. Still not creamy, I added the rest of the spinach. Still not as creamy as my friend’s soup.
I decided to use a different blade. Blade B. I put it on and put the blender in the pot and it did absolutely nothing. So I decided to go back to blade C. Now mind you, I was very careful to unplug the blender, and detach the stick from the motor. So I walk over to the place where I have to blade removal tool and there is no blade. Well, no wonder it wasn’t doing anything! So I fished the blade out of the soup. I put it back on and it still didn’t do anything. So I was going to change back to blade C and guess what? Blade B was back in the soup.
I tried blade C again. By now, I am using a portion of a lid and foil (I have this half metal half plastic lid and the plastic always falls out leaving the metal “rim” — so I was using that to help keep the mess down). There was still green soup dripped all over the sides of the pot and all over the burner. So I decided to use yet a different blade, the Raw Meat blade.
I never really got ALL the secondary spinach chopped up clean and the soup never got creamy. But my hubby said over and over again it was good. He said it was a keeper. The next day (today) he was still talking about it and said I had to post the recipe on my blog. I thought that those of you that make soup and those of you that use an immersion blender would enjoy hearing about how I made soup a mess by not using a stock pot or the correct blade.
Do you know which blade I should be using to blend the veggies and have it come out creamy? Also, tell me how to use the blender. Do I move it around like a hand mixer or set it at the bottom of the pot, then blend, then pick it up and set it back down, etc.?
Posted in Just stuff, Misc | Tagged: baby bok choy, Baby Bok Choy and Spinach Soup, Collard Greens, creamy soup, emulsion blender, emulsion blender use, Experimental Soup, fitness, green garlic, Green Garlic Spinach Soup, immersion blender, Los Gatos Nia Class, Nia, Nia class, scallion, soup lesson, stock pot | 8 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on March 22, 2011
I’ve mentioned that one day after Nia Class I learned one of my students is a licensed Naturopathic Doctor. How I learned that, she told me to try the Wet Sock Treatment. She also gave me a homeopathic medicine called Trauma. The box says it is for temporary relief of pain and inflammation from injuries, muscle sprains and pulls, bruises and trauma. I said I would try it even though I am a fan of Zheng Gu Shui. I have been wanting to post about this since I got it because it is pretty awesome. I am a fan of it too.
It is so nice because unlike Zheng Gu Shui it does not have a scent. It also does not stain anything. It also is not drying. I think it actually moisturizes. It is a cream so it is much easier to apply than Zheng Gu Shui which is a liquid. It is so scent free and residue free that I would often put it on after I got in bed and would just go right to sleep without even bother to wash my hands.
It has arnica in it and I have been told that arnica is great for bruises and it helps with inflammation. It has many other flowers and herbs, including witch hazel, chamomile, and echinacea. I would recommend people try it if they have the need for an ointment of this type.
This “problem” with it is according to the package and the website it is only “available through licensed providers and pharmacists”. Maybe that means you can actually get it at a pharmacy. I didn’t even think to look. Well, if you are interested in trying a homeopathic medicine that has no scent yet gives great relief maybe you can check.
Posted in Helpful Hints, Misc | Tagged: arnica, chamomile, echinacea, homeopathic medicine, Naturopathic Doctor, Nia, Nia class, Nia fan, ointment for bruises, ointment for sore muscles, Trauma, trauma cream, trauma ointment, witch hazel, Zheng Gu Shui | 9 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on March 19, 2011
I have had the opportunity to actually use the iPad. This is somewhat of an update from my iPad Coolness post in which I said, “Oooo!” but didn’t really get to use the iPad. This time I inherited one so I have it set up for me.
This version of the iPad does not have a camera nor a phone. I have a camera and a phone with a camera so I am covered. But I could see if you carry your iPad around it would be nice to have all of that included. I understand that you wouldn’t hold your iPad up to your face, as you would a phone, but headset or bluetooth device could make it nice.
I do love the beautiful display. It is sooo pretty. I know that might sound simple, but . . . c’mon . . . it IS pretty. It is crisp, it is clean–well, except for all of the finger prints on it. Because of its amazing touch-the-screen technology and the fact that the screen becomes the keyboard there is always finger prints and swipes on it. So some of its clarity gets dulled under all of that.
I was intrigued by the calendar function on the iPad and I have to laugh because I haven’t even looked at the calendar on the iPad this time. I have been using it to play a game (We Rule) my husband and I play. Because the iPad is so much larger than the iPhone it is much easier. I have also been using it to do a lot of my work on the internet.
I had mentioned in my last post that I really like the way the webpages show up. As you can see in the picture it shows the webpages that are open or easily opened. There can be up to nine webpages available. I like that since I am always going to HelpYouWell.com, the NiaNow website, my blog, my e-mail, my Yelp page, Nia Class info, and so on. It makes it really easy to sit and “watch” TV. While I am sitting there I can do research for a post. I do enjoy the ease at which I can quickly surf the web and read things, but I do not like typing on the iPad for any length of time. I would not choose to write a blog post on it. Often times I turn on a computer to comment on blogs or Facebook. I am keyboard person. I need the SENSATION of the keys. The touch screen has me typing gibberish. I am still learning, so my next post regarding the iPad could be that I use it for everything.
The iPad is heavy though . . . and I don’t mean it is HEAVY as if I can’t hold it or lift it, but when you think of the position in which you hold it it is heavy. Now the iPad2—but that is a whole other blog post. Since I do find myself setting it down a lot I end up looking down at it. With a monitor (when I am on a laptop or a “regular” computer) at least I am looking UP instead of down—that actually can be another blog post too (hump back)!
I suspect that as time goes on I will learn to use it more and appreciate it more. Now I am just experiencing the amazingness of mobility. I am not at the point where I can give up my tower. I am having to do without my tower at the moment because it is being worked on. But it is four years old, by the time I need a new tower/computer (I am getting a new one this month), I might be fully integrated into this iPad thing. It is amazing. It is fast. It is pretty. It is the future.
Do you have an iPad? Or Tablet or something like it (if so please share information because I would love to hear. Since we were gifted iPads I have never done any research on the products)? Do you have a mobile device? Do you have a smart phone?
Posted in Misc | Tagged: @HelpYouWell, bluetooth, camera phone, Facebook, helpyouwell.com, humpback, iPad, iPad2, iphone, laptop, mobile computer, mobile device, mobile phones, Nia, Nia class, Nia sensation, nianow, nianow website, NiaNow.com, smart phone, tablet, tower computer, We Rule, Yelp | 4 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on March 15, 2011
Since I’ve been teaching Nia classes our roles or our “duties” have changed a bit. Since I don’t get up at the crack of dawn any longer and I have more time at home, I try to do more. Because of this change I have been thinking a lot of one of my favorite stories. When I was working at a 8 to 5 job I was talking to a friend and the subject of marriage came up. She said she didn’t want to get married. When I asked her why, she said she didn’t want to do all the cooking and cleaning, she didn’t want to be stuck at home and not be able to go out, she didn’t want to share the finances. She looked at me so confused when I said, “Granack-ack!” Ok, I really didn’t say, “Granack-ak!” But the look she gave me would have made you think I was speaking Martian.
I had actually said, “Don’t. Don’t do all of that.” I asked her why she thought she had to do all of that and she said that is what marriage is. That is how it is. I laughed, kindly, of course, and explained that I didn’t cook every night, do his laundry, and stay home all the time. She kept looking confused. I kept talking. I explained that marriage is really whatever the two people getting married agree upon. Apparently that had never occured to her. Maybe she just really hadn’t given it much thought. I don’t know.
When I first met my hubby I told him I wasn’t going to cook every night, do his laundry, or be responsible for everything. Since I was working too, it needed to be even. We did a lot of things that might be thought unconventional in a partnership, but it worked for us. Every marriage is as unique as the two people who are married so there really is no set “norm”.
I believe the two need to be in agreement with how the marriage is going to be. It would not work if one partner thought going out every night was ok and the other one didn’t. If one thinks that dinner is going to be made and put on the table every night then the other one must be in agreement. If there is not agreement on the expectations and duties then there is going to be a lot of problems. And since marriage is not easy, since no matter what there are challenges, it is important that there is agreement on how it is going to work.
When situations change and different things come up hopefully there can be a new agreement reached, if necessary. The point is that people can make their own marriage however if works for the two in the marriage. There is no cookie cutter recipe.
Posted in Nia | Tagged: 8 to 5 job, cookie cutter, Marriage, marriage agreement, marriage challenges, marriage duties, Marriage Ruminations, married people, Nia, Nia Classes, Nia Teacher, teaching Nia | 8 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on March 10, 2011
After my Nia Class earlier this week, two students and I were talking about water. I was saying that I DO NOT like lemon in my water, but since water is a bit acidic, I had been drinking lemon in my water. I don’t like the taste. I don’t like lemon, but as I learned from the video in my Balance of Acid and Alkaline post, in the body it digests to alkaline. Lemon helps the water be less acidic. One of my students said that she had recently seen Alkaline Bottle Water. She asked what it was. I had no idea so I looked it up. I thought I would share what I learned.
What I found was claims that ionized water is alkaline water. Some information states that ionization is done via electrolysis and others say the it is done via adding minerals. Wiki states, that a water ionizer separates water into alkaline and acid fractions using a process known as electrolysis.
The information that states ionized water is done via electrolysis states that it is best to drink it right away, when it is fresh. The information states that the health benefits of the water do not last when the water is bottled.
I looked at a lot of sites that had the chemical make up of the water or something (such as – H2O → H+ + OH–) and what the chemical make up was before and after ionization. I don’t know what all that means. The more I looked for more information the more confusing it became to me.
I couldn’t actually find any information on what is done to bottle water claiming to be alkaline water. Maybe it is run through an ionization system and then bottled.
As with everything (it seems) there was information stating that ionized water is great, it can all but cure diseases. Then there was information that stated it was all a bunch of hooey. So as with any thing and all things, I have to say that you just have to try it for yourself. I have not yet done it myself, but I know you can purchase pH Test Strips from health food stores, so I would think that testing the water would be the best. I guess it also depends on what you are drinking the water for. If you are drinking the alkaline water because it is less acidic, then maybe any of the above would work. But if you are drinking it because it is ionized and you are looking for all of the health benefits that are touted, then as with anything you would have to see how you feel when you drink it.
For now I will stick to putting lemon in my water. How about you? Are you a fan of ionized water? Alkaline water? Do you drink lemon in your water?
Posted in Water | Tagged: alkaline water, bottle alkaline water, bottled water, electrolysis, health benefits of iodized water, health food, iodized system, iodized water, ionization system, ionized water, lemon water, Nia, Nia Classes, pH test strips, Wiki | 13 Comments »
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