Terre Pruitt's Blog

In the realm of health, wellness, fitness, and the like, or whatever inspires me.

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Posts Tagged ‘San Carlos Nia class’

Nia is Like That

Posted by terrepruitt on September 23, 2010

(Click here for CURRENT schedule!)

This week I went to San Carlos to teach my Nia Class for the San Carlos Park and Recreation Department.  Only a couple of people had signed up but I was hoping more would show up and sign up.  As with most Park and Rec Departments and community classes, there needs to be a minimum amount of participants.  Well, in this case the people that had thought were going to make it didn’t.  I had just tweeted @JohnPruitt that I was going to be leaving in a few minutes when a woman came in.  She said something about she guessed no one signed up and how that happens with Park and Rec classes.  People don’t sign up and they get cancelled.  She was hoping to just watch the class to see if she wanted to take it.  Ha!  I invited her to BE my class, she was game.

We did the warm up song, then the next one, and part way into the third song she said, “WAHOOOO!  I like this.”  After the song was over she said that was her favorite, she loved it and she could do it all night long.  Made me happy.  Nia is like that.  She loved it.  With only a couple of people signed up though, we cancelled the class, but we will try again when the next six week session starts in November (2nd, 2010).

The enthusiasm of this woman was fun and very contagious.  I am confident that we have a new Nia participant in our midst.  I believe that she will excitedly join in the other Nia events that happen around the San Francisco Bay Area and the South Bay Area.  I love that.  I love that I decided to drive up there from San Jose, to give the people that had signed up for Nia at least one class and explain in person that we need more participants.  I love that even though they didn’t show up I was able to share Nia with a new person.  I love that she loved it.  I loved that even though it was her first time she was not worried about how she was doing—-she was just doing—and loving it.

I really enjoy working with the people in San Carlos Park and Recreation Department.  They are very kind and supportive.  I sense they feel sad when a class has to cancel, no one likes to see classes and programs cancelled.  So maybe we can rally the troops and make the next session on Nia classes in San Carlos a huge success.  I am certain my new student would love to be able to take a class with more people, more energy, more people shouting “Woohoooo!” Because Nia is like that.

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Nia White Belt Principle #7

Posted by terrepruitt on May 25, 2010

The first half of Nia White Belt Principle #7 is the Three Planes of Movement.  The second half is Levels of Teaching.  (You can learn more about Nia’s Belt Levels here)  The three planes of movement in Nia can be easily described as low, medium, and high.  The planes are used to allow our bodies to practice agility and mobility.  We use the floor, the space in between, and the “high”.  We bend and fold.  We reach out and stretch up.  We move in space both horizontally and vertically.

With all the movements available to us in the three planes we have the opportunity to experience energy as it moves around us.  In addition to the possibilities of energies the journey should be to pleasure and comfort.   As you move through the planes part of practice of  Nia is to observe how our joints open and move more freely.

Just like the three levels of intensity Nia encourages everyBODY – regardless of fitness level – to work and play in all three planes.  Keeping in mind everyone’s low, middle, and high is unique to their own body.

Moving through the planes can tie into the levels of intensity.  For example if doing the bow stance, the lower or deeper you go could be considered a level of 3 intensity because going down and coming back up would require greater effort and be more intense than staying “high” and not lowering into a deep bow.

Strength, stability, and flexibility will also be a result of working through and in all the planes.  The more we play in all of these areas we develop more ability in all of them, the more we can maintain balance in the entire body.

If you want to join me in a Nia class please look at my San Jose Nia class schedule or my San Carlos Nia class schedule.  I look forward to seeing you.

Posted in Nia, Nia White Belt Principles | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Dynamic Ease

Posted by terrepruitt on January 21, 2010

With every Nia routine there is an original focus and intent.  On the Nia DVD either Debbie or Carlos* explain the focus and intent that was originally intended for the routine.  With the routine Sanjana Debbie explains the focus as being Dynamic Ease.

I remember Dynamic Ease as being Dynamic and Ease.  It can either be a stretch as one might do in Yoga or could be the sensation of the muscle squeezing the bone as in an isometric contraction.  When I do the routine with Dynamic Ease as the focus I often borrow Debbie’s words and explain it as: “the energy moving out as in flexibility or the energy packing against the bone as in strength”. 

The way we play with this is that we do a lot of the moves with one quality then the other.  So while we are moving arms upward we could be calling upon the dynamic energies of strength and really squeezing the bone with the muscle.  And the next time we can move our arms up with a big stretch move the energy out.  A punch could be done strong as if we were really punching something or could be done more like a stretch. 

The ease is just moving in a relaxed yet ready type of way.  When moving arms upward, as mentioned above, we can change the quality to a nice flowing easy movement.  Or a “punch” could just be the arms moving away from the body in a soft motion.  Its fun to play and try any exercise with the different energy qualities. 
 
We can do the same moves all three ways.  Practicing going back and forth between these qualities assists in both balancing the energy in the body and balancing the body itself.  An isometric contraction calls upon big muscles and small muscles and the combination is what is used in balancing. 

I believe that it helps with the flow of fluids and energy in the body.  I know that it leaves me feeling very energetic.  I did this routine with this focus twice this week, once for my San Jose class and once with my San Carlos class and both times I felt very great energy afterwards.  In addition to the energy I feel it brings me, I think dynamic ease can serve to add another element of challenge to the Nia workout.  Dynamic Ease is one of my favorite foci for this Nia routine.

*Debbie Rosas (Stewart) and Carlos Rosas (AyaRosas) the creators of Nia

Posted in Nia | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Nia In The Mirror

Posted by terrepruitt on January 12, 2010

I went to San Carlos today to teach my first Nia class for the City of San Carlos Park and Recreation Department.  I wanted to get there at least 30 minutes early.  I was late, not for the class but for my getting there 30 minutes early.  The man at the desk was on the phone when I arrived and there was a woman in front of me needing assistance.

He was kind enough to get off the phone since he wasn’t able to help the person.  Sounded like a co-worker he said he would call back.  And he asked us if we needed help. The woman that was before me asked where the Nia class was and he asked her if she was the instructor at which time I pointed to myself.

So he took us to the room, helped with the music and the people started coming in.   (Thanks, Nick!)

There is always “business” to handle in a class.  Either signing in, or making sure everyone is signed up, or checking passes, or something.  So we handled that as people were coming in.

This class room was different as it has no mirror.  I have talked to a lot of people who prefer the teacher to face away from the students as we do in Nia, but I was not certain about that without a mirror to look at my participants in.  So I started off facing them.  Then when we got to a point when we would be moving right and left, I turned.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Community Center Classes

January 2010

Nia is so fun and amazing because even though I could not see the people in the mirror I could sense they were there and moving as I was.  When I turned around to look they were doing it just beautifully.  Was every doing it exactly the same?  No.  Was everyone perfectly on step?  No.  But it is so beautiful because when I turned to make sure everyone was ok, they would smile.  They would laugh.  They were ok, they were doing Nia.

Most of them were new to Nia.  We had a good time.  When we did some moving around the room using the space people were smiling and sounding.  It was good.  I felt as if even though I didn’t have a mirror in which to see my own face and my own body, I was still seeing my reflection.  I was seeing joy in movement.  Fun in exercise.  Happiness in the workout.  Nia.

Will all nineteen people come back?  Well, some of them will because they had registered.  Will the all thirteen that came for the “Try It”?  No, probably not all of them.  I know for a fact that one won’t because she has signed up for school with a class on that same night and she just came to try it.  And other people will not have the time, but at least we danced together.  We had fun.  I shared Nia with some people who didn’t know about it.  I am sure that even though they might not be able to make my class, they will be at others in the future.  I think that is good.

Next week I will leave San Jose a few minutes earlier and get there 30 minutes early!

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