Saturday, April 2, 2016 there was a Nia Jam in the San Francisco Bay Area. It has been a long time since I have been to a Nia Jam. The last one I went to was in 2013! They are so fun. The energy at a jam is fantastic. I thought I was going to miss it because the event was being held at a studio in the Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto. It is a HUGE complex and I parked in the garage and followed the first sign that said fitness center. It led me to a courtyard where every door was locked. There was a sign pointing up and to the left, but there was no way for me to go up and to the left. I asked someone walking around if he knew where it was and bless his heart, he had no idea but he made an attempt to help me. We looked at a map and I decided the best route was to go out to the street and go all the way around to where I thought the studio was. As I was making my way back to the garage, I made a few turns and ended up on the right track. I was supposed to be the first teacher and I was kinda bummed that I was late because I thought I missed it. But as I was walking in they were saying. “Where is Terre?” and I was able to say, HERE!” Yay! I made it. I was about 5 minutes late. I thought I was going to be early. I am so glad I made it. Nia Jams are soooo fun.
Often times there are microphone issues. It seems as if movement disrupted this one’s connection. But Nancy H. worked on it and got it fixed after the first few songs. And it was good to go. As we were making introductions one of the teachers told me she was going to be after me. It is important in a jam situation to know who is before you and after you. You need to know who is before you so you are paying attention and can be ready to switch off with the microphone. And also, it is nice to know who is after you so you can make eye-contact as you are ending your selection so the switch off can go as smooth as possible.
I don’t normally teach with a microphone so I always feel like I have to be quiet when I have one in my face. Otherwise it would blow people’s ears out.
The focus was the Nia Five Sensations, FAMSS, (Flexibility, Agility, Mobility, Strength, and Stability) And I did it again, I don’t know what the intent was. I always seem to miss the intent. We had a great playlist (as you can see)!
It was super fun. It is always so nice to see all the teachers. We are kind of spread out in so many different areas. It is even nicer to be able to dance with everyone. And the JCC was very kind to donate the space so between ticket sales and the raffle, I think the association did well.
Here are some pictures and a video. I will continue to encourage you to go to a Nia Jam. They are so fun. I know you will love it!
So this week has been an easy one to have good things to put in the jar. The biggest thing, of course, is the visit from my niece. She was here all week long and as she mentioned last night, it went pretty fast. I had been so nervous she would be bored, but she is pretty easy going and mellow so we managed fine.
She came with me to all my Nia classes and she even participated. We made candles at Glow in Willow Glen and spent one morning delivering lunch to my hubby. It was a nice week. Short.
Our weather in San Jose has been FANTASTIC — all week long. Nothing beats the weather in the San Francisco Bay Area, especially in the South Bay. It is awesome.
As I am typing I keep thinking of Good Things to put in my goodie jar. Ha! Maybe that is another way to help think of good things. Start writing about your week and see what comes up. I bet there will be at least ONE good thing!
So how many things were you able to put in your Good Things Jar this week?
Every year the studio in San Jose where I teach Nia Class on Monday mornings and Wednesday mornings participates in the celebration of National Dance week. This year the “week” is actually ten days, from Friday, April 26, 2013 through Sunday, May 5, 2013. This is the 15th year of Bay Area Dance Week, and the 32nd year in which there has been a National Dance Week coalition. BayAreaDance.org states:
“National Dance Week was founded in 1981 to increase awareness of dance and its contributions to our national culture. The first Bay Area Dance Week (BADW) festival grew out of a public dialogue in 1998, when dance artists, administrators, and organizations came together to explore how best to spotlight Bay Area dance during National Dance Week.”
The studio I rent from rents to different instructors who teach a variety of fitness classes and dances. Each instructor can choose to participate in Bay Area Dance Week, by offering free classes.
Bay Area Dance Week at the studio in San Jose starts Saturday, April 27th.
Saturday, April 27, 2013:
12:00 noon – 1:15 pm: Bellydance Essentials – Courtney
Sunday, April 28, 2013:
9:00 am – 10:15 am: Morning Flow Yoga – Eme
Monday, April 29, 2013: 9:00 am – 10:00 am: Nia – Terre(free to NEW Students)
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm: Zumba – Lili
7:00 pm – 8:00 pm: Egyptian Bellydance. All Levels – Hala
8:00 pm – 9:00 pm: Egyptian Bellydance Technique. Int/Adv – Hala
Wednesday, May 1, 2013: 9:00 am – 10:00 am: Nia – Terre(free to NEW Students)
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm: Bellydance – Setareh
7:00 pm – 8:30 pm: Hala Dance Company Rehearsal – Hala
Friday, May 3, 2013: 8:00 pm – 9:15 pm: Bellydance Cardio and Combos – Jill
Saturday, May 4, 2013:
9:30 am – 10:30 am: Bellydance Basics – Amanda
10:30 am – 12 noon: Bellydance and Beyond – Amanda
12 noon – 1:15 pm: Bellydance Essentials – Courtney
Sunday, May 5, 2013:
10:30 am – 11:30 am: The Art of Bellydance – Jizan
In regards to classes at the studio, classes not listed are not open to free drop-ins.
This is the schedule at the time of the writing. Sometimes things change so it is always good to check with the studio and/or instructor to verify class times and participation.
Remember it is National Dance Week so there are free classes all over the United States. I bet there is a class that you have always wanted to take, but have not yet got around to it. So check with the instructor of that class or call the venue to see if they are offering free classes.
The San Francisco Bay Area is beginning the week with a celebration dance on Friday in Union Square Park in San Francisco at noon. The closing event is a Planetary Dance led by Anna Halprin on Sunday, May 5th at 2:00 in Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco. You can check for free classes in the Bay Area at BayAreaDance.org. But even if it is not listed on the site check in with the person teaching it or the place it is being taught. They might be participating but maybe didn’t get on the site. So don’t be shy get out and dance.
What classes, in ADDITION to Nia, are you going to take?
One of the things I learned in a Nia workshop at the end of February, 2013 was the phrase “stay with your enoughs”. Trainer Helen Terry, currently located in Texas, was here in the San Francisco Bay Area to teach us how to dance a Nia Routine that she adapted to an entire album of different music. When Helen said that, I laughed. Because there has been so many times when I thought, “this is enough of that move, it MUST be time to move on” and I wasn’t REALLY clued into the music and I went onto the next move and sure “enough” I hadn’t stayed long “enough”. It was really funny at the time that I took the training because I was doing a Nia routine in which I almost always moved on before I should in accordance with the choreography. Shortly before the workshop I had just started telling myself (and listening to myself—what a novel idea!) that when I THOUGHT we were done is not when we should be if I were going to match the original choreography. There was at least one more bar to go through. And so when teaching that routine, my mind would say, “This is it. This is enough.” And my body would say, “Terre, we’ve been through this before. If you THINK this is it, then you KNOW it is not. Stay.” So Helen’s words “Stay with your enoughs” are perfect.
Nia is so lovely that pretty much most of the time if I lead us into the next sequences of moves before we are actually supposed to go or if we stay longer than the original choreography intended it doesn’t really matter. We might miss that wonderful “perfect match up” to the music, but it never really feels badly off. The choreography flows very well with the music so most of the time it doesn’t feel WRONG. We have the flexibility to stay and go as we please, but when coached to “stay with the enoughs” sometimes it is the perfect idea to help with those troubled spots.
In the workshop that Helen was leading since she was teaching us how to dance a specific Nia Routine to a specific album, there were specific songs and specific examples of where she thought it might feel like as if it is enough. The idea is to keep the faith and “stay with your enoughs”. Just stay past the point you think you should be done with that move. She said one track in particular would “give you a lot of ‘enoughs'”. Which for me that is not the “enough” song, but that is ok. She reminded me of the tool so I can apply it to any and all songs where I have enoughs. I get to relax and stay with them!
There were so many wonderful things presented in the workshop I could probably do a month’s worth of posts. But for now I’ll say “enough” . . . . until my next post . . . .
Recently 30 seconds into the second song in my Nia Class, one of my students stopped dancing and started to limp away. I asked her what was up and she replied that she got a bee sting on her foot. I asked if it just happened now (during the class) because she had appeared to be moving fine during the first song — but then again, the first song in the Nia routine we were doing is basically whole foot stances. She had said it had happened over the weekend. She said that she was hoping she could dance, but the sting got too aggravated. After class one of my other students inquired as to why the student left. She had not heard the exchange between me and bee-stung person. I told her that her fellow student had been stung by a bee over the weekend but had hoped to be able to dance but could not. The inquiring student said, “Oh I wish I would have heard because she might want to try meat tenderizer.” Huh? So that started a whole conversation about her having been told to use meat tenderizer on a bee sting.
My student related the story where she and her son had been walking down the street in Palo Alto (a city in near San Fransisco) and she had been stung by a bee. She said since it happened right there on the street others had observed the incident. She said one woman offered the suggestion of putting meat tenderizertenderizer on the sting. She said the woman was a nurse. I asked my student if the meat tenderizer worked. She said it did, she said she didn’t know why, but it did.
Times like that is when I truly LOVE wireless devices that can instantly connect me to the answers to “Why?/How?” I had to look it up. WHY would MEAT TENDERIZER work on a bee sting?
The first site that came up stated that bee stings are acidic and the meat tenderizer is alkaline so it works to counteract the acidity of the sting. At the time that is all that I read. Good enough for me. Just a quick answer as to why. In researching it for this post it appears that this treatment of the symptoms of a sting is an old home remedy.
The information on the internet states to mix the meat tenderizer with water to form a paste, apply it to the stung area so that it covers the entire area, and leave it on for 10 to 20 minutes. Then wash it off and apply ice.
Some information stated that mixing the meat tenderizer with vinegar is another option.
Several sites state it is the papain in the meat tenderizer. Papain is a natural enzyme that works to break down the protein in the venom. It is suggested that a meat tenderizer without this enzyme would not work.
Some sites indicated that this remedy used to relieve the symptoms of a bee sting will work for other stings (wasp, jelly fish) and bites as well. Of course — as stated this remedy would just relieve minor symptoms of a sting. If there is a chance of an allergic reaction medical attention should be obtained.
Also . . . more stuff I learned while researching the meat tenderizer for a bee sting is that the stinger should not be removed with tweezers. I saw many instructions stating to SCRAP it out. The suggestion is to use a credit card or a metal blade. The idea is that pulling the stinger out might just cause MORE venom to be pushed into the victim and the scraping will get it all out. I would have just pulled it out with my finger nails or tweezers.
I found all of this very interesting. I know many people who have been stung by bees and they might know this information. I know many people who have not been stung by bees and they might want to know this information. I don’t actually have meat tenderizer in my pantry. I am not one that cooks meat without it having been marinated and I believe the marinades work to tenderize the meat. But if you do happen to get stung by a bee and have meat tenderizer in your pantry maybe you would like to give it a try.
Have you ever been stung by a bee? What did you do? If you get stung might you try meat tenderizer on the sting?
If you follow me on Twitter, are a Facebook friend of mine, or look at my website, you will have seen that my Nia students and I have been doing Nia in the park. I teach Nia at two different facilities. There is my Monday and Wednesday class that meets at 9:00 am. We meet in a little dance studio in an area of San Jose called Willow Glen. The studio is about 900 square feet, it has a laminate floor and a large mirror. It is long and slightly narrow. It is a nice little place. I have been teaching there for over two and a half years. Some of my students have been dancing Nia with me for that long. In November of 2010 I started teaching Nia on Fridays at a different studio in Los Gatos. It was a different type of studio . . . it was more of an exercise studio where exercise classes are held. They had a separate room for Pilates Reformer classes. Well at the end of August this studio said they were moving. When they would be done with the move and how it all was going to work was very up in the air. At one point I was told by one of the owners that we would only miss one Nia class. So I just decided that one class would be ok to miss. It would not be worth the time involved to secure another place to hold a class. But then the next week we were told it would be at least another week. So I asked my students if they wanted to hold a class in the park. Many students are wanting to participant in Nia three times a week so they said yes. We decided to try it.
Well, I think that not having Nia that one Friday really helped us all realize that we do like to have it three times a week. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday just seems pretty perfect. On the Friday we met in the park we didn’t know how it would go. We didn’t know if the weather would cooperate. We didn’t know if there would be too many people for us to dance on the volleyball court. See that is one thing, I have often entertained the idea of do Nia in a park, because grass really sound likes a great place to dance barefoot. Natures cushioned dance floor. But I have always been concerned about holes, bumps, and ruts. The thought of someone turning their ankle on the grass has always kept me from following through with it. Plus, the idea that was tossed about had always been an evening class. I imagine parks being really busy in the evening.
This park that we have been at is really close to the studio in Willow Glen. There is a basketball court and a volleyball court that have been empty in the mornings. I imagine the basketball court is occupied in the evenings, but while we are there it is empty. The volleyball court is somewhat in the shade and provides us with a smooth flat surface to move on. The park seems rather busy the hour before we arrive. Seems like many loving dog owners take their dogs out for morning exercise. There are mother’s and children at the playground. We have had to dance without music when the lawnmower has obliterated the sound. But that was only once or twice for a song or two.
The studio has been closed for longer than we had anticipated. So we have been doing Nia in the park for four weeks. The weather has been very nice. Once it was warmer than we like, but so far we have had great temperatures. This week it is raining. The forecast is saying that it will be sunny on Friday, but we will see. The studio has also announced that it will not be open for two more Fridays. So we might get this week in at the park and next week. I have been leaving it up to my students. If they tell me they are going to be there, then I say, I will be there too!
I have really enjoyed our time at the park. I sort of wish that we could do it there all year, but with winter coming, although winters in the San Fransisco Bay Area are not full of snow, we do get rain and I don’t think we want to dance in the rain. So I am sad that our time in the park is ending. I hope that we will be inspired to do Nia in the park again at some point after these next two weeks. I am really doing it because my students wanted to do it because we love Nia. I know that some classes take place on the beach and other outdoor places. I am so happy that I have been able to experience Nia outdoors and share it with my students.
I have been teaching Nia in the San Francisco Bay Area for two and a half years. So far every Holiday that falls on one of my regularl class days, I have taught. I keep seeing postings on Facebook, Twitter, and other places on the internet about how classes are suspended or cancelled over the Holiday weekend. The classes will resume normal schedule on Tuesday. I understand this because some of the places where the classes are taught are closed over the three-day weekend. Also, a lot of people do go away during Holidays, but a lot of people stay home too. I find that because I have morning classes, my holiday classes are bigger. People that are normally at work get to come to a morning exercise class. I love it.
I also understand that holidays are family time so it is nice to be with the family. Especially since most of the time people are having to get up and rush off on their separate ways. I am fortunate that my Monday and Wednesday classes in San Jose are at 9:00 am. Often times people can come take the class and be back with the family before the family is even up and ready to go about the day. AWESOME!
It seems as if the actual independence day was July 2, 1776, when the actual legal separation from Great Britain occurred. The document clarifying and explaining what the meant was finalized on July 4th so it seems that was adopted as Independence Day. In 1938, Congress changed Independence Day to a paid federal holiday. This is all according to Wiki.
I feel it is nice to take a moment to remember why we have a day off. Usually we are so excited by the fact we have an extra day to play we might forget why. I know I do. It really is my blog that helps me stop and remember. On Holidays I often look up them up to see if I should or could post about them. Today I decided to post a bit about it and about the fact that Help You Well / me has not taken a Holiday yet. I post the information on my site too, so that my students know I will be there and people looking for a class will know. Some people like to try a new class when they have the day off.
I am fortunate to rent the studio where I teach on Monday so I am not subject to a “company” being open or closed. So I am there. You can find me at the studio in San Jose. Even though that is the one day when my hubby might be home and I have to get up and leave him, I am motivated by my students that show up that normally can’t attend on regular work days. Come join me.
At the time of this post there is a Free Class pass on my site. Print it out. Use it. Come dance with us. Come celebrate freedom, barbeques, fireworks, picnics, and grilling. Yeah, dancing can be like that a celebration of it all. Come see.
Happy Fourth of July regardless of where you live! 🙂
Ok, so it is Wednesday and as you might notice, it is 1:00 am and I am not in bed yet. This means I have a few more things to do before I get to bed, which means I will not be up at 6:00 am doing my Ten Minute Workout, drinking my coffee, reviewing my Nia Routine, deciding on a Nia focus, and popping out the door in time to be at the studio 15 minutes early for my Nia class. In fact, around here, when the weather is nice traffic is worse, at least lately because our weather in the San Francisco Bay Area has been so wet and rainy, I think when it is sunny people think they have to be out. If it stays like this, then people will settle down and it won’t be so bad . . . . I hope, but on Wednesday, it is ALWAYS worse than Mondays and Fridays. Go figure. (I have my theories.) On Wednesdays I have to leave a few minutes before I do on Mondays.
Since I am not a morning person that means, I will do my Ten Ten in Ten after my class. But YOU can do it anytime. And the beauty of it is . . . . you can share . . . .
So . . . . tell me . . . . how is it going? What are you doing with it? What questions do you have? One of my readers I am lucky enough to actually see in person so I was able to answer some of her questions, what about you? What do you want to know about this workout?
Ok, after 3:00, but I did it. This workout is really meant to be something that easily fits in your day. If completing it is a challenge then it seems like ten minutes is a good start to a workout. If it is not challenging and you want more than you can add reps, sets, or weight. Or it could be that you are adding it to something else you are doing.
It really is something that can work for anyone if they want. If the way it is presented is not “working” for you but you want to do it, let me know. You can always send me an e-mail if you don’t want to comment.
Today I taught Nia. It was not a Nia class, but a one-on-one session. No matter what I am teaching, a class, a playshop, a move, a song, an individual, I always learn things myself. It is amazing. Sometimes I am reminded of something. Today I was reminded of how fun it is to teach someone something new. To explain something in a way that allows them to understand. In some instances it might be the information is received and then there is still learning or “mastering” to be done, but they have the tool you gave them. In some instances they just have it. It just depends on what it is. But it is amazing.
When I am learning a new routine I would love to be able to take a perfect “product” into my class. But there is often a point where I know it is not perfect, but I can’t learn anymore by myself. So I take it into class and usually that first time in that one hour I learn more than (or just as much as) I had learned in the time it I spent getting to the point I where I took it into the class. Amazing. I might have actually said this very thing before in a previous post, so it might sound familiar to you. Or it could sound familiar because you have experienced something similar. Learning as you are teaching. I love that!
Well, it is May and for the past week, maybe two it has been cold and raining here in the San Francisco Bay Area. I don’t mind it so much. Especially since, as you may know, I have a new found love . . . making soups with my immersion blender! The last one I made I made it too spicy and I couldn’t eat it. I was very sad. But my husband loved it which was great because he was stuck eating the whole pot. I was thinking it would be the last batch before the warm weather comes in and I might have been right. The past two days have been pretty warm and very beautiful.
It seems like spring might actually finally be here.
During the cold one of my friends posted a picture of some of her flowers. She had cut them and brought them in the house and posted “At least it’s springtime inside the house.” She inspired me. It took me a few days, but I cut these from a tiny rose bush we have in our yard. These are VERY small roses. The bush is probably not even two feet high.
I just wanted to share. I wanted to share the beautiful flowers, the beauty in a sign of spring, the excitement of learning as you teach, the wonder and beauty of the world. I wanted to share and I wanted to say I am looking forward to living in the beauty that is, and learning as I go.
I believe teaching Nia in the San Francisco Bay Area allows me to be exposed to a lot of different things. Recently I was able to experience or try two different things. Regarding one of them, I was showing a friend after Nia class, a product that a mutual friend sells. I was explaining what it was for and she said, “It’s a placebo.” This past week I asked a question on Twitter about a healing technique and I was told it was a placebo. These instances make me chuckle. I believe that if one is in a medical study and is told that they might receive the actual medicine or they might receive a placebo, that is applicable. When someone purchases a product or a service completely open to the idea that it might work and then they feel it does work, how can it be called a placebo? If it works for them in a positive manner, if they receive the help they were expecting, then how can it be called a placebo or just said to have the placebo effect? Could that not be said for a lot of things?
I once read a blog which has since been marked private so I can’t link to it, but it talked about all the “placebos” in everyday life. The blog stated that the buttons on traffic signals don’t actually work, they are just there to make people feel as if they have some control. The same with elevator call buttons and, if I remember correctly, thermostat controls in hotel rooms. Hmmm, I don’t actually know about the traffic lights and elevators, but I have had temperatures adjust in hotel rooms, so I think he might have been talking about some hotel rooms. Don’t we ALL press the buttons on traffic signals? And we all press elevator buttons? Do we do that because we actually think it does something? Yes. We might never know if it does actually help because eventually the light will change and eventually the elevator is going to come and by pressing the button it actual stops on the floor we are waiting on.
In regards to some products and some services for our bodies where we are left to decide if it works or not for ourselves, do you think that any of it has to do with what we think? Does any of it have to do with what we believe? I am somewhat talking about something that is difficult to measure. If you buy a lotion and you put it on you can somewhat tell if it is helped your skin. But what about a relaxation product?
Did you drink the tea believing it would help relax you and it did? Was that the actual tea or was it you believing that after you drank the tea you would feel relaxed? Did you believe that putting on cold wet socks (with dry wool socks over) would help your cold and you wake up feeling better? Was that really the wet sock treatment or your BELIEVING in the treatment?
Saturday, April 2, 2016 there was a Nia Jam in the San Francisco Bay Area. It has been a long time since I have been to a Nia Jam. The last one I went to was in 2013! They are so fun. The energy at a jam is fantastic. I thought I was going to miss it because the event was being held at a studio in the Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto. It is a HUGE complex and I parked in the garage and followed the first sign that said fitness center. It led me to a courtyard where every door was locked. There was a sign pointing up and to the left, but there was no way for me to go up and to the left. I asked someone walking around if he knew where it was and bless his heart, he had no idea but he made an attempt to help me. We looked at a map and I decided the best route was to go out to the street and go all the way around to where I thought the studio was. As I was making my way back to the garage, I made a few turns and ended up on the right track. I was supposed to be the first teacher and I was kinda bummed that I was late because I thought I missed it. But as I was walking in they were saying. “Where is Terre?” and I was able to say, HERE!” Yay! I made it. I was about 5 minutes late. I thought I was going to be early. I am so glad I made it. Nia Jams are soooo fun.
Often times there are microphone issues. It seems as if movement disrupted this one’s connection. But Nancy H. worked on it and got it fixed after the first few songs. And it was good to go. As we were making introductions one of the teachers told me she was going to be after me. It is important in a jam situation to know who is before you and after you. You need to know who is before you so you are paying attention and can be ready to switch off with the microphone. And also, it is nice to know who is after you so you can make eye-contact as you are ending your selection so the switch off can go as smooth as possible.
I don’t normally teach with a microphone so I always feel like I have to be quiet when I have one in my face. Otherwise it would blow people’s ears out.
Terre Pruitt's Blog 