Terre Pruitt's Blog

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

  • I teach yoga, Nia, and stretch online!

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Posts Tagged ‘San Jose City Community Centers’

How Long Have You Been Teaching Here?

Posted by terrepruitt on June 6, 2018

People often ask how long I have been teaching Nia and/or Yoga. Sometimes a student will ask how long I have been teaching the class. In order for me to remember I have to think about something I remember specifically for one class where the supervisor called me when I was in the hospital visiting my mom. Then I have to think of when that was and try to piece it together from there. I did send out some information over a year ago regarding the class facts. It was kind of in the form of a thank you for keeping the classes going. I decided to post the information so I will always have it on hand and I can point people towards it.

Terre’s Class Facts:

Nia at the Camden Community Center:  Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9:00 am. Friday at 10:15 am.

The Tuesday Nia class started on September 4, 2012. It has always been at 9:00 am.

There was a Wednesday Nia class for a very short period of time in 2015.

The Thursday Nia class started on September 22, 2013. Originally it was at 8:30 am, then in November 2013 it was changed to 8:45 am. Then in February of 2015 it was changed to 9:00 am.

The Friday Nia class started in February of 2015. It has always been at 10:15 am. It follows a class that is at 9:00 am so that is why it starts at 10:15 am. The fifteen minutes in between classes is supposed to be for the out going class time to finish, clean up, and vacate the room AND allow us to come in and get ready.

 

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFitGentle Yoga at the Willow Glen Community Center:  Thursday evenings at 6:00 pm.

I started teaching the gentle yoga class at the Willow Glen Community Center on July 18, 2013. Originally I was asked to do it for one session. But then it turned into the next, and the next . . . This class is held at 6:00 pm. This class is part of the Leisure Class program, so students sign up for session. So sometimes there is a mandated break in between sessions. They do not allow for drop-ins at this center.

 

Gentle Yoga at the Cypress Community Center:  Tuesdays at 10:30 am.

I started teaching the gentle yoga class at the Cypress Community Center on February 25, 2014. The original time slot for this class was 10:00 am. But it was moved to 10:30 am so that I could get there from my Nia class at Camden. This class is also is part of the Leisure Class program, so students sign up for session. Sometimes there are breaks in between sessions, but we work hard to not have them because we like to just continue without breaks. This community center allows for drop-ins. So you don’t have to sign up for the entire session you can just come take on yoga class if you would like.

 

Stretch at the Camden Community Center:  Thursday at 10:15 am.

I started teaching the Thursday Stretch Class in May of 2016. The original time slot was noon, but it was moved so it could be after Nia. It has gone on hiatus at times due to various reasons (summer camps usually come in and take over the community center). This class is at 10:15 am, after Nia.

 

Additional information about the classes:

All classes are an hour long. Nia and Stretch are part of the SJCITY Fit program. The gentle yoga classes are a part of the Leisure Class program.

There have been other class that have come and gone. I started teaching in 2009 at a studio I rented in Willow Glen. I did that for four years. I have also taught for the City of San Carlos. I worked for a little fitness studio, I taught at other community centers in San Jose, and I rented other studio space. But since those classes are not longer happening, I didn’t make note of those dates.

I am very fortunate to have such great students and to teach these classes. It is common knowledge among fitness instructors that a class can be cancelled at anytime, especially at city community centers. If there are not enough students then the class gets cancelled . . . makes sense, that is just the way it is. So that we have had these classes for so long is just the biggest blessing. I am grateful.

Posted in Nia, Yoga/PiYo/Pilates | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

FreeDance Fridays

Posted by terrepruitt on March 20, 2017

Ahhh, I don’t think I talked about Friday FreeDance.  In November of last year we there were four Fridays.  Two of those Fridays were holidays for SJCity Fit.  So out of the four Fridays in November we were only going to have a Nia class for two of them.  So I had decided that we could do Friday FreeDance.  Now for some people who sounds totally awesome, but for some people it sounds totally scary or icky, as in not fun.  Not everyone is a fan of FreeDance.  I understand that.  Not everyone is comfortable dancing on their own especially in a dance exercise class.  Many people go to exercise classes to be told what to do.  A majority of the students that attend my Nia classes have been dancing Nia for years now, so I knew they would be able to FreeDance for an entire hour.  We did it, and I received some interesting feedback and information.

First of all, I do want to explain that it wasn’t an ENTIRE hour of strictly FreeDance.  I think for both Fridays I started with a choreographed first song.  And I ended with instructions in the last song.  Then the rest of the songs were mainly GUIDED FreeDance.  So there were some suggestions on what to do, but it was left up to the participants to do it in their own body’s way.  And in some case in their own mind’s way.  They might have had to think of what some of the suggestions would be moving like.

I might have suggested that they move as if they are skiing.  With that one usually has to think about it and then do it.  The fun part is, of course, that everyone does it different.  With no clarification as to what type of skiing there is so much room for interpretation.  Someone could be water skiing, some people down hill skiing.  Some people might be cross-country skiing.  And then of course, even with those qualifications it could look wildly different.  That is the fun of FreeDance.

I was very happy that most people liked it.  I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t think they would like it and they could do it.  It took me four and half years to feel confident enough in the students love of Nia and FreeDance to do it.  And most people liked it. I am thinking they liked it as a Friday thing . . . I mean, they still like the choreography so they wouldn’t want to do FreeDance for the hour all the time.

There are a few people who wear pedometers in class and the majority of them reported that they got over 1,000 MORE steps in with FreeDance.  One student said she averages about 4500 steps in regular Nia class, but in the FreeDance class she was at 5700.  There definitely is the possibility to get in more steps.  But if you are one who needs instructions more than just a guide you would probably get less steps in during FreeDance.

I thought I had posted about this because I was really happy and excited that I finally did it AND that the class really enjoyed it.  And I was also really excited and happy that many people got more steps in.  I couldn’t find the post I thought I did.  So here.  And if this is a repeat, oh well.

I have been putting in more FreeDance into our routines because people do really enjoy it.  I think I will be doing a Friday FreeDance once a month.  I love how Nia brings joy through dance.

So how would you feel about Friday FreeDance?

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

Kids And Dance

Posted by terrepruitt on July 1, 2016

I teach classes at a city community center.  We are fortunate enough to have a dance studio at the community center.  Even though Nia is non- to very low impact, it is important to dance on dance appropriate flooring.  If you are going to a, let’s say a festival and planning on dancing on the pavement for a few hours one afternoon, that is fine, but if you are planning on going to an exercise class one to three times a week, the floor needs to be appropriate.  We have a nice floor at the community center.  It is in the dance studio which is right off of the front desk.  A lot seems to happen in the rooms past the studio.  I think the preschool or small children’s’ area is past the dance studio.  The dance studio has two doors.  It is so cute the number of small children that walk by and stop to look in at us.  Some stop to watch.  I think children are drawn to dance.

A couple of weeks ago, I looked up to see a small girl looking in at us.  Then I saw a hand reach out to grab hers, and she pulled away because she wanted to stay and watch.  She was mesmerized.  Her eyes were big and she was just standing there completely still watching.  Some kids start to move while they watch.  All of them get wide-eyed when any of us make eye contact with them, but as soon as we say, “Hi!” or wave, the face breaks into a smile.  So many want to join us.

I always want to stop the class to ask them what intrigues them.  Is it just dancing in general?  Is it that we are usually laughing and having fun?  Is that the was are making noises?  Could be they are attracted to the whooping or growling?  Could be my wild tie-dyed shirts?  Or the energy in the room?  I don’t know.  I often wish I could ask.  Especially to that little one who was mesmerized and really did not want to be dragged away.

Sometimes it is really fun because there will be a line of them . . . like a whole class walking by so we get to wave a lot and we get a lot of waves back.  Also, last week, we think a group was in line for the water fountain which is right outside the door.  That was funny.  Because we went, “WHOOO!” then we heard “WHOOO!” from the hall.  So then we went, “WHOOWHOO!” and we got a “WHOOWHOO!” back.  We were able to include them in our class via vocals for a couple of minutes.  It was super funny.

Kids are so drawn to dance.  You know, you’ve seen those videos of the little ones just dancing away to a song they hear in the store or in the car.  They have not yet learned to be self-conscious of their movement or care what other people are thinking.  They just hear the music and they move.  It is so wonderful to witness.  I wish we would never lose that.

Posted in Nia | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Mirrorless Inward Reflection

Posted by terrepruitt on July 15, 2014

I teach Nia at Community Centers in San Jose.  One of the things about community centers is they are for the community.  During the summer that means that they are kid central.  It is amazing all of the programs they have for kids during the summer.  It is so great to see the centers doing so much to keep the kids learning and active during the summer.  What a full community center sometimes translates to is regularly scheduled classes get shuffled around.  I was given about six months notice for this summer’s shuffle.  So our Nia class was prepared.  I had been telling them since January.  Then I put up a notice in June.  So we were aware.  It is a huge blessing that we just get moved to another room and not to a different time or cancelled altogether.  I am grateful that we still get to have a class while all these summer camps and kid fun is going on.  It is working out to be one week a month.  Last month the room we were moved to had the portable mirrors in the closet so we were able to roll them out and use them.  Today the closet was full of tables and chairs.  The mirrors were nowhere to be found.  The center is on what used to be a high school campus.  So it is very large and spread out.  I wasn’t certain that 25 minutes would be enough time to let someone know about the situation, find the mirrors, and move them all the way across the campus.  So we did Nia without mirrors today, using the opportunity to focus inward.

I have done Nia without mirrors before.  In fact I posted about it in my post Nia In The Mirror when I was teaching in San Carlos.  That is one reason when I started working at the San Jose Community Centers I was so impressed with their portable mirrors.  In fact I thought I did a post about them because they are sooooo cool.  (Well, I don’t see one, so that will probably be my next post!)

In a Nia class the teacher stands with her/his back to the students.  One way we connect with our students is eye contact in the mirror.  A Nia teacher can turn and face the students.  In fact, it is recommended at times to do so to change things up and to connect in another way to the students.  We even practiced it in the Blue Belt Intensive.  So it is up to the teacher to teach facing whichever way s/he wants.  Generally though we face away from the students.

Facing away makes it easier for some people to follow since we are moving the same side of the body and going in the same direction as opposed to the mirror image as was (and possibly still is) done in Jazzercise.  What I find is that I learn the routine SAYING it as if I am teaching with my back towards the students so for me to turn around I would be saying go left as I move left and we would not be dancing in mirror image.  So to turn and face the students while we are doing a dance that moves front or back or laterally is a challenge for me.  Especially when it is a new routine.  And right now, I am somewhat learning a routine.  In a routine there is usually a song or two where we are not moving left or right so we often face each other than.  I was able to do that today, but some I did with my back to them.

I think dancing without a mirror every once in a while is a good thing.  It helps the students dance with themselves.  The moment I found out we didn’t have mirrors I knew our intent and focus.  I set the focus to be the Conscious Personal Trainer, with the intent of being fully aware of and sensing your own body’s movements.  Without the mirror to distract us I thought it would be a great opportunity to focus more on one’s own body.  Without the mirror we don’t see ourselves nor the other people.  Without a mirror the possibility to draw ones attention in and keep it in seems better.

So, of course, I was very happy when one of my students said that dancing without the mirrors made it different.  It did allow her to focus more on her movements.  She said she was less distracted with the other students.  Yay!  I like that it worked for her.  I like that we were able to do it different, but we still danced and had fun.  I am very blessed to have such great students that can just go with the flow and DO Nia!  It is nice to have “no mirrors” give us the opportunity for something different.

When you take a lead-follow exercise class do you prefer the instructor FACE your or face away from you?

 

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