Posts Tagged ‘workout’
Posted by terrepruitt on May 20, 2010
Part of the purpose of my blog is to share what Nia is and to invite people to take one of my classes. I have learned that when teaching people it is sometimes helpful to share what something ISN’T to help them understand what it is.
Nia isn’t a class where you won’t sweat.
Nia isn’t a class where the teacher shouts at you to motivate you.
Nia isn’t a class where you just think about moving.
Nia isn’t Jazzercise.
Nia isn’t sitting around.
Nia isn’t about pain.
Nia isn’t hard jumping.
Nia isn’t Tai Chi.
Nia isn’t Tae Kwon Do.
Nia isn’t Aikido.
Nia isn’t a mindless workout.
Nia isn’t Zumba.
Nia isn’t taught to Nia teachers in a day.
Nia isn’t new to the fitness world.
Nia isn’t Jazz Dance.
Nia isn’t Modern Dance.
Nia isn’t judgmental.
Nia isn’t a strict combination of linear movements.
Nia isn’t a class where you are told EXACTLY how to move your own body.
Nia isn’t Yoga.
Nia isn’t stiff.
Nia isn’t rough.
Nia isn’t (necessarily) just a workout.
Nia isn’t JUST Free Dance.
The BEST way to learn about what Nia isn’t and what Nia is, is to go to a class and see for yourself. Nia class finder. Want to find a class near you?
Posted in Nia | Tagged: Aikido, dance classes, Dance Workout, fitness, Free Dance, freedance, Jazz Dance, Jazzercise, Jazzercise classes, Nia, Nia Classes, Nia teachers, Tae kwon do, Tai Chi, workout, Yoga, Zumba, Zumba classes | 19 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on January 23, 2010
As you might now be aware Nia includes elements from three disciplines from three different arts. From the dance arts, we borrow from Duncan Dance. Duncan Dance was brought to us by Isadora Duncan. Isadora believed in the freedom movement. She did not care for the stucture of ballet opting for movement of a more natural flowing nature.
Duncan Dance, like Modern Dance, helps bring freedom to Nia. For me I think of “child-like” when I think of Duncan Dance in Nia. It encourages us to skip, run, do somersaults, jump, hop, giggle, growl, laugh out loud, kick balls, jump rope, catch a balloon, and just release our adult contraints and enjoy movement for the sheer joy of moving. We are not moving to get to one place or the other. We are not moving to build a muscle or burn calories, in this modality we are moving because it is fun. Because, like a child we have so much engergy inside we need to skip-run-jump-hop-hop-hop across the floor. Then, while we are having so much fun we will be moving our muscles and burning calories, but we don’t THINK about that. We imagine we are chasing a balloon and trying to catch it. We imagine that we are playing kick ball or blowing bubbles and chasing them, we imagine we are having fun and we end up having fun. We let out our inner child that gets tucked away during our normal busy day.
While infusing our workout with this energy one might notice their ankles joints and spine opening and moving more freely. With the “child mind” one might tend towards being more “open”; standing tall, reaching up, reaching out, and standing on tippy toes. With these movements come exercises in balance, while standing on tippy toes reaching for your red balloon you are not even going to notice that you are having to balance. With being more “open” physically it sometimes helps with being more open mentally, this can assist with releasing the stress and tension of the our adult lives.
The form also encourages spontaneity, like that of a child. With less stress and tension you might find yourself giving in to your inner child and you might find yourself racing across the floor. Nia encourages it!
I think with all of the different ideas, concepts, movements, and energies that are woven together to form Nia, there is something for everyBODY.
Please note: The photo is a portion of the “Nia Energy Type Questionnaire” in The Nia Technique, by Debbie Rosas and Carlos Rosas.
Posted in Movement Forms of Nia, Nia | Tagged: ballet, Carlos Rosas, Debbie Rosas, Duncan Dance, exercise, Isadora Duncan, modern dance, Nia, Nia Energy Type, Nia exercise, Nia Technique, Nia workout, workout | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on January 19, 2010
Muscles contract. An isotonic muscle contraction is when the length of the muscle changes. The isotonic contraction could be a concentric contraction where the muscle shortens or an eccentric contraction where the muscle lengthens.
As an example, your arm is hanging at your side, when you lift your hand to touch your shoulder that is an isotonic contraction. Your biceps muscles are shortening, pulling your hand up to your shoulder in a concentric contraction, your triceps are lengthening in an eccentric contraction. Lowering your arm the biceps muscles are lengthening in an eccentric contraction and it is actually your triceps contracting in a concentric contraction that is pulling your arm down. But since gravity is helping the triceps don’t have to work very hard.
An isometric contraction is when the muscle contracts but the length of it does not change. For instance, when you sneeze or cough. Your abdominal muscle contracts, but unless you bend into the sneeze/cough the length does not change.
To strengthen the muscles resistance needs to be added to the contraction. Muscle must be challenged and learn to overcome the challenge in order to become stronger. Tension/resistance needs to be added to movement/contraction.
There are many forms of resistance; gravity, weights, bands, tubes, immoveable objects (that you try to push or pull), all of it can assist in strengthening the muscles.
The muscles can gain strength from both the concentric contraction and the eccentric contraction. So lowering the weight after having lifted a weight toward your shoulder in a biceps curl can contribute to strength.
When the muscles contract in a concentric contraction they are pulling on bone. But that is not be be confused with a push workout or a pull workout. Even when you are working your “pushing muscles” your muscles are actually contracting and pulling on the bones to complete the exercise.
Muscles contract, it is the added resistance that makes them stronger.
Posted in Exercise and Working Out | Tagged: concentric contraction, exercise, isometric contraction, isotonic contraction, Muscles, Pull workout, push workout, Working Out, workout | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on January 9, 2010
As you might now be aware Nia includes elements from three different movement forms from three different arts. One of the arts is the healing arts and one movement forms is The Alexander Technique. When I think of evoking the energy of The Alexander Technique as I lead the Nia workout, I always think of moving from the head and allowing heaven’s gravity to pull up. With the pull from above it enables a sense of lightness, of not being heavy and of moving from the top. Also this pull helps open the vertebrae and lengthen the posture. With the sensation of lightness and lengthening might come a sense of freedom and openness to be silly.
While we experiment with the lifting of the head from the body, we can observe how our posture might be more upright. I have a habit of hunching my shoulders. I call it scrunching because I tend to hunch and round my shoulders at the same time. With some borrowed concepts from the Alexander Technique I am reminded to straighten and lengthen and use the muscles of my back to pull my shoulders down. Even though the focus is on the head and it moving upward, it allows me to think of the rest of my posture.
With these ideas we look as we move, again moving our head away from our bodies. Sometimes we move our hands and allow our head to follow by looking at our hands. But we MOVE our head to watch our hands, we don’t just let our eyes follow, it is a movement. The movement of the head gets our spine moving too.
When I first started teaching I had a student move her hands around and had her follow them with her head and eyes. She would practice this during class. After a couple of classes she came back and said she was a better driver now because she had never moved her head before and now she was actually turn her head to look as she drove. Funny, I had never thought about Nia helping people be better drivers.
If you are not accustom to moving your head and you want to try it, I recommend that you first try this exercise sitting down. Just sit and move your hands as if they were a bird or a butterfly, and allow your head and your eyes to follow them as they fly around you. Once you feel comfortable with that, try it standing up. But be careful because if you are not used to it you may get dizzy.
Since the head is the heaviest part of the body it is important that we can stay on balance when it moves. It is important to build the strength to move it and muscle memory of what it is like when it is moved. All of this will help your dance and your general everyday movement.
Posted in Movement Forms of Nia, Nia | Tagged: exercise, heaven gravity, Nia, Nia exercise, Nia freedom, Nia workout, posture, the Alexander Technique, workout | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on January 5, 2010
Music and the 8BC System is Nia White Belt Principle #3. This is part 2 of the principle, a brief bit about the 8BC System.
To learn our music, us Nia teachers, literally map out our music. We measure our music using a system of notations called bars. This is our map. We count out our music 1-and-2-and-3-and-4-and-5-and-6-and-7-and-8-and. Each bar 
has 16 counts. We count out the song noting the bars on a page. Then we go through and “dress” the bars adding marks to the page making notes of the sounds we hear. We use the noted sounds as cues for the choreography in a routine. No matter if the movements are matching the music or going opposite to it, the instruments and sounds are our cues.
By mapping our music, (“barring” our music) we get to know our music really well. Knowing our music really well allows us to easily play with the choreography, while at the same time, sticking to the basics of it. We can also take the music that we have learned while learning a routine and add different choreography to it.
Also practicing this barring system ensures that we can take any music and dance the Nia choreography to it. We just match the Nia music up with music that has the same count and we can pretty much just “plug” in the Nia choreography.
All of this allows us to have fun while exercising and doing our Nia routines/Nia workouts.
I have taken to the practice of mapping out my music and then scanning it so that I will have a completely mapped out song so when I am ready to add different choreography to it, I can just print my music map and put in the movement portion on my barred music.
Mapping the music allows for so much creativity. Instead of just dancing to the beat you can dance to one instrument, you can allow your body to “BE” the cymbal or the flute, or you can shimmy to the melody, or sway to the harmony. It is fun to play with the music. And you can do whatever you want and lead your class through it all because you have a map!
Since music is such a big part of Nia, I am sure that I will visit this topic often. I might even come back to the Nia White Belt Principle #3.
Posted in Nia, Nia White Belt Principles | Tagged: 8BC System, energizing workout, exercise, exercise routine, exercise workout, Music, Nia, Nia exercise, Nia routines, Nia teachers, Nia White Belt, Nia workout, White Belt, workout, workout routines | 7 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on January 2, 2010
Music and the 8BC System is Nia White Belt Principle #3. This is part 1 of the principle, a brief bit about Nia and Music.
Nia is so much about the music. As teachers we learn to dance to the music. So as we lead our participants through the workout routines it is more like dance than exercise. Sometimes we count the number of our movements as we are leading the class, but when we know our music well, we are to go to the music and use its cues and not rely on the count of the moves. So when I am leading a class and I am in a section where I am counting if I get distracted from my count, I can just listen to the music and know exactly where I am. Honestly, some songs I know better than others and I can accomplish this, some I am still learning. It is a process. It is amazing.
Music is powerful and has been used for teaching and healing. Your entire body can listen. Your body can respond to the music it senses. The body can sense the vibration.
There have been studies done that equate specific tempos with specific moods and/or emotions, in Nia we play with all of that. We can go with the music or play the opposite. A stereo-typical “happy” song, we might practice as sad and slow or excited and angry. It is a great exercise for the body as well as the mind and spirit to sense music one way and move to it in another, as an example, like previously mentioned; while “happy” is playing move to it as if you are sad or tired. It is a wonderful challenge.
It is energizing to play with the music. The rhythm or beat of the music is said to be the male or Yang energy of music. The melody is the feminine or Yin side. Harmony blends it together stimulating the spiritual energy. You can dance to the rhythm or the beat or move to the melody, or have your senses stimulated by the harmony. When you let your body sense the music you can dance it all.
There are so many ways to play with music. Another way to use music as a workout tool is to visualize what type of sound your body parts would make, match them up with the music as you listen and when you hear that sound activate that body part. Again, challenging your body, your mind, and your spirit. Getting the whole body workout that Nia is known for and at the same time letting the music be the motivation for the movement.
Nia is a workout, but it is a workout that allows you to exercise your body along with your mind and your spirit. It allows participants to be moved by the music in the body’s way. It really is so much about the music.
Posted in Nia | Tagged: 8BC System, energizing exercise, energizing workout, exercise, exercise class, exercise routine, exercise workout, Music, music vibration, Nia, Nia exercise, Nia play, Nia routines, Nia teachers, Nia White Belt, Nia workout, White Belt, workout, workout routines, Yang, Yin | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on December 24, 2009
Years ago my friend made a salad and brought it to a potluck. This had to be over 10 years ago. Since then I have seen many versions of this salad, and I myself had made many different versions. But for Christmas I am always asked by my husband’s family to bring this salad.
-A bag or two of Spring Mix
-A pear or two (chopped into pieces)
-Walnuts (chopped)
-Blue Cheese
-Balsamic Vinaigrette
Mix all the ingredients together. Using as many nuts and as much blue cheese as you would like to make a good balance.
You might be able to tell in the photo of my salad, I did not use spring mix. I used a bag of heart of romaine and some baby spinach. I didn’t use walnuts, I used pecans. I also didn’t take the picture with the dressing on because I didn’t want to toss it until we were ready to eat it even though we were going somewhere not far from San Jose.
It is a great salad. I sometimes use apples instead of pears. Whatever you have on hand is good to use. I like to use walnuts or pecans, I have tried another nut, but I am sure it would work out.
Posted in Food | Tagged: blue cheese, Christmas, Green Salad, salad, San Jose, San Jose Workout, Spring Mix, walnuts, workout | 1 Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on December 22, 2009
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This is the a picture of the Balance Finger from the Nia 52 Moves.
The Middle Finger is pointing down. In Nia this hand/finger position is general used in combination with your arms straight out and one foot in the air. As you balance on one foot use your balance finger in space for support.
This exercise assist in integrating the two halves of the body, the upper half and the lower half. Anytime you stand or lean on one leg you workout the balance/stabilizing muscles. I think when your stabilizing muscles are used to working out they will be there when you need them and help keep you from falling.
Posted in 52 Moves (of Nia), Nia | Tagged: Balance Finger, balance muscles, exerciese, Nia, Nia exercise, Nia workout, stabilizing muscles, workout | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on December 19, 2009
Nia White Belt Principle #1 is The Joy of Movement. Debbie Rosas and Carlos Rosas were in the fitness industry back in the 1980’s when they felt the pull to do something different. From what I understand they didn’t know exactly what they were going to do. They just were seeing a lot of injuries in the aerobic industry and decided that working out in a way that injured one’s body was not the right way to be working out. They decided they wanted to workout in a way that allowed for honoring the body and for appreciating the body.
Debbie and Carlos did not just meet one day and decided to put a bunch of things together and “Voila! There is Nia!” . . . . it grew out of years of learning. As you look through information regarding Nia you can see some of the transformations it has gone through. Nothing big enough to make you think that it is not what it was when it start, but there are some changes. But one think that they found constant from the beginning was an incredible feeling of Joy.
They recognized that as a special element of Nia. They also recognized that as more of a sensation than a feeling. They determined that it was something that the body actually sensed when it was allowed to move as it was designed to do. Joy could be used as an energy to fuel the workout. Joy, as a body sensation can be called upon no matter what one is FEELING.
The Nia White Belt Manual explains how Joy is more of an attitude toward the body, and attitude toward life. When you sense this Universal Joy you work to stay connected to it.
In a workout or a dance you can actually choose to have Joy be your energy. Then you sense Joy as a sensation. While you are moving thoughts and feelings might come into your workout / dance, but ideally you are just noticing them but not dwelling on anyone in particular. And you are retaining the Joy.
You are encouraged to sustain the Joy and the way of moving that allows you to sense Joy. If you feel Joy slipping or that you are no longer sensing the Joy of Movement you can tweak what you are doing, the way you are doing it, to increase that sense of Joy.
During a Nia workout the teacher guides you through the moves of the routine, but it is up to you—the participant—to move in a way that brings you Joy.
If you remember anything about Nia, remember this: that the soul of Nia is the Joy of Movement. It is the physical celebration of the body.**
**Direct quote from The Nia Technique – White Belt Manual by Debbie Rosas and Carlos Rosas March 2001, V3
Posted in Nia, Nia White Belt Principles | Tagged: Carlos Rosas, celebration, dance, Debbie Rosas, element of Nia, exercise, fitness, fitness industry, joy, Joy of Movement, Nia, Nia Dance, Nia exercise, Nia White Belt, Nia White Belt Manual, Nia workout, Principle #1, sensation, sustain, tweak, Universal Joy, White Belt, workout | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on December 17, 2009
As you know I post about things other than health, wellness, exercise, and working out. I do try to post helpful things.
Recently we got a box of wrapping paper down and I opened it up and there was a pile of folded kind of crumpled paper. I pulled it out and set it aside. I figured that I saved it to use to re-use for wrapping. But it was so crumbled I didn’t have the heart to try to deal with it at that moment. So as I was wrapping over the next couple of days it dawned on me what that pile of paper really was for—-packing. A couple of years ago I started saving paper that had been used. If it was pretty or I really liked it I save it.
I use my shredder to shred the wrapping paper. When I use those handy gift bags I use the paper shredded instead of using tissue paper. I also use shredding wrapping paper when I am shipping packages (usually in addition to another recycled packing product). I really like this idea of re-using the paper. Other paper that works is the paper that is too small to use to actually wrap a gift. It all looks really pretty and festive once it is shredded. It works really great when you have two sided paper.
I love wrapping paper, but I think it is a huge waste, so if I can re-use something I love it. I save bows to re-use them. Drives my husband crazy It used to drive my husband crazy, but I save them and re-use them. Please don’t be offended if you ever receive a gift from me with a bow taped on the package. That actually means that I recued that bow from being thrown away then loveing stored it and saved it until it had the perfect recepient.
I also don’t usually write on the gift bag or put the stick name tag directly on it. I usually stick the tag on the shredded paper or stick it to itself over the cord/handle of the bag. That way the recipient can use the bag again.
Sometimes these bags can become family traditions. You can use a gift special back to swap back and forth. For years my family had a bag going back and forth. It was a sea of white cartoon rabbits with one rabbit dressed in red and white. It lasted a long time, but eventually it tore and we moved on, but it was fun while it lasted.
Bags, tissue, bows, and shredding aren’t meant to last forever, but if they get more than one use, that is a great thing.
If you really want to be resourceful and “green” you could always give one of those reusable grocery bags as the gift bag, “wrap” the gift it that!
Do you have any wrapping re-use ideas? What works out for you and your family?
Posted in Helpful Hints | Tagged: exercise, family tradition, gift bags, green, health, recycle, recycling, shredded paper, wellness, workout, wrapping paper | 13 Comments »
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