Posted by terrepruitt on May 30, 2009
In Nia (TM) our movement is for Joy. “Joy is not a technique or a choreographic method. It is an attitude toward the body and toward life. Joy is not just for when things in like are going well. It is an open accepting energy that accepts whatever comes its way.” (1) This is Universal Joy.
So we choose during our workouts to sense Joy and to seek the Joy of Movement. Throughout our routine we seek to sustain that Universal Joy. If we are able, we actually increase it. When we lose it or if we are doing a move that causes it to faulter, we tweak.
I think these can be applied to life. That is what I love about Nia. We have all these thoughts and ideas that we apply to our workouts, but they aren’t necessarily new and they can applied to life.
When you are doing something that gives you joy don’t you want to keep doing it? When you have joy don’t you want to increase it? When you start to lose it don’t you do something to tweak it and bring it back?
That is what we do throughout our work out. We are using our bodies to seek the sensation of Joy and if we find it and we can increase it, we do. If we start to lose it we can tweak it. Our workouts are about one’s own body and how it feels. So while you are following the teacher you are also paying close attention to yourself and making sure that you are sensing the Joy of Movement.
This is one of the things that makes Nia such a different workout. We are actually “sustaining, increasing, and tweaking” the entire time. Universal Joy. Allowing our bodies to move for pure pleasure. Doesn’t that sound like something you want to do?
(I have added an Evening class to my schedule. Teaching in San Jose (Willow Glen) three times a week; two AM classes and one evening class. Teaching at a member only club in Los Gatos in the evening once a week. Check out my Nia Class schedule on my site, HelpYouWell.com)
(1) From The Nia Technique – White Belt Manual March 2001, V3 page 2-4
Posted in Nia | Tagged: joy, Joy of Movement, Los Gatos Club, Los Gatos Nia, Nia, Nia Los Gatos, Nia San Jose, Nia Technique, pleasure, San Jose Nia, San Jose Workout, Universal Joy, White Belt, Willow Glen Nia, Willow Glen Workout, workout | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on April 16, 2009
All of these mugs warm my heart and make me smile.
This mug has another side, but I am only showing you one.
I love cats and dancing. Ha, what do you know dancing cats!
My dad gave me this when I moved out. Cute, huh?
Sooo pretty! You get to see both sides of this one.
Of course, she would be here!
My FAVORITEST mug!
Posted in Just stuff | Tagged: Cats, cats dancing, coffee mugs, Dancing, dancing cats, God, heart warming, husband, joy, lefty, love, Mugs, Nia, pleasure, praise | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on March 7, 2009
I want to talk to you about Nia™. I was looking for a different form of exercise when somehow (in the vastness that is the internet) I came across Nia. I had never heard of it. It has been around for 25 years. At one point it was known as Non-Impact Aerobics, then it was called Neuromuscular Integrative Action, then at one point it was the Nia Technique, now it is just Nia.
Debbie Rosas and Carlos Rosas created it in the early 1980s from a need and a desire to help people exercise. When I read the book and listen to Carlos, I believe that they wanted more than just traditional exercise because they really wanted to help people feel good. They were being drawn towards something that addresses the whole body.
Nia is a teacher led dance workout that allows you the freedom to get exactly the workout that your body needs. Nia is really awesome because it is done in bare feet to all kinds of music. With the absences of shoes, we are reminded that we do not have to have harsh impact to get a great work out. With Nia, the level of intensity is regulated by the participant. A workout includes movements of all of the 13 major joints and I believe that this is one of the key factors that make people feel so good after they do a Nia workout. Throughout our day we don’t always move each joint as it was built to move, so sometimes they can become stiff. In a Nia class you move them throughout the routine and it helps the balance in the body’s systems.
Nia is similar to Jazzercise in the sense that there are segments or cycles to the routine: warm-up, cardio, strength, floor, and a cool down.
A lot of people just want to go to a workout class and be told what to do, I am going to be honest with you because I want you to enjoy your experience, you need to concentrate a little. What you are concentrating on is not so much what the teacher is doing, but more what you are sensing. You are encouraged to listen to your own body and do what it is telling you it needs. It might not need what the teacher is doing. And with Nia, that is fine.
In a Nia class there is no judgment if you cannot bend, stretch, jump, kick, shout, shimmy, shake, punch, chop, cha-cha-cha, hula, jazz square, modern dance, or anything like your teacher or neighboring participant, because it is all about YOU and whatever you can do. You must seek your own Body’s Way and what gives it pleasure. With Nia you can get a great workout at the same time.
Does your present workout invite you to seek pleasure during your workout?
Posted in Nia | Tagged: bend, body's way, cardio, Carlos Rosas, cha-cha-cha, chop, cool down, cycles, dance, Debbie Rosas, encouraged, exercise, hula, impact, intensity, jazz square, Jazzercise, Jazzercise San Jose, joints, jump, kick, levels, modern dance, Nia, Nia class, Nia Technique, Non-Impact Aerobics, pleasure, punch, segments, shake, shimmy, shout, stiff, stretch, warm-up, workout | 2 Comments »
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