Posts Tagged ‘Yoga class’
Posted by terrepruitt on March 3, 2015
I have been having this icky feeling in my chest. I don’t have a cough – really, but sometimes a tickle. I don’t FEEL sick, but this icky, burning type feeling. It is kinda making me grumpy. Short-tempered is more accurate. I think I have mentioned how when I don’t feel good, before I even realize I don’t feel well, I get grumpy. I think it makes sense for people to be grumpy when they don’t feel well. I am trying not to ACT grumpy, of course, but I feel a bit grumpy/short-tempered. I know that I have also mentioned that I have not been sick since last year, so I am fighting this with vitamins, sleep, and tea. I have been drinking a lot of tea. My hubby and I will drink tea at night to warm us up when we are cold. But I don’t usually drink tea during the day unless I am cold. I do drink Chai Tea Lattes, in place of my coffee sometimes in the morning. I have some days where I have a Nia class in the morning and a yoga class right after so I get home later in the day than I want to be drinking coffee so I drink the Chai Tea Latte (recipe here). But the thing that makes my chest feel better is HOT liquid so I have been drinking tea. I like those Yogi teas. I have posted about them before. I am drinking two that are supposedly to help support your immune system. But, ya know what else they actually do? They make me happy. I love the little sayings on the tea bag tags.
Most of them make me smile. “Be proud of who you are.” That is a great saying. Something many of us could use to be reminded of. Something that not everyone has someone tell them. So why not be reminded via a lovely tea bag. Enjoy a nice cup of yummy tea and a nice reminder.
Many, many, many people believe that “Gratitude is the open door to abundance.” First of all if you are grateful for what you have you have many wonderful things in abundance. And if you think in the positive you attract the positive. Having gratitude will attract more things to be grateful for. Ahhhhh . . . and a lovely cup of tea to go with that awesome perspective.
“Life is a flow of love; your participation is requested.” WOW! Life is a flow of love. That alone is a great saying. Just thinking of life as one big flow of love. My cup of tea tasted better with just THAT part alone. Then the request for participation. That really made this saying go over the top (in a good way) for me. I love that. Participate in the love that is life. Let love flow. Grab your raft and jump on the flowing river that is love and that is life.
I really love my Echinacea Immune Support Yogi Tea. It smells great. It smells of fragrant flowers. I can just breathe in the aroma from the bags and be calmed. It tastes just as good. Then the little sayings on the bags — just make me smile. I don’t love all of them . . . but they make me smile. And then some of them I love. Like these ones mentioned here.
Do you drink Yogi tea? Do you have any favorite sayings that they have on their tea bags?
Posted in Food | Tagged: aching chest, burning chest, coughing, cup of tea, gratitude, grumpy sick person, love flow, Nia, Nia class, relief with tea, tea bags, Yoga, Yoga class, Yogi tea | 16 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on November 13, 2014
Ok, not really, but Salsa is a dance. In my post where I had asked what to make with all the winter fruits and veggies I said I had about seven persimmons and I did. I didn’t know what to do with them and I know we are going to be get more in the next delivery. I know I can always make Fancy Toast, but I wanted something else to do with them. All I found when doing a quick search on the internet were cookies and cakes. I wanted a savory persimmon recipe. So I searched for “savory persimmon recipes” and I found one on the ad infested Organic Authority. It is a persimmon salsa. I thought, “Why not?” So below is my version of Persimmon Salsa, which is not too much different from theirs. I just cut up the persimmon smaller, used tablespoons instead of teaspoons, and used a different, milder, pepper.
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Persimmon Salsa
5 small Fuyu persimmons
2 tbsp minced shallots
1 tbsp PLUS 1 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp minced fresh basil
2 tbsp minced fresh mint
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
1 tbsp minced Anaheim pepper
salt
pepper
Peel the persimmons and cut into tiny chunks. Mix the shallots, lemon juice, basil, mint, ginger, and pepper in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Let the flavors meld together for at least two hours. Then serve however you would like.
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My idea was to let my hubby munch on it as an appetizer. I wanted to serve it on crackers. That is why I cut up the persimmons really small. If I were just going to plop in on some meat, I might not finely “chop” the persimmons. Even though I thought I would have leftovers and would end up putting some of it on chicken (or perhaps pork), I thought I’d start small since its original purpose is to pile it onto crackers.
Next time I make it, I will pair it with some meat. Instead of using it to flavor the meat during cooking, like I do with marinades, I will just use it raw as a topping.
I also think the next time I make it, I might use a little more pepper since he couldn’t taste the pepper at all. Before the flavors all settled it wasn’t too hot. I was careful to avoid the peppers though when I tasted it. We will see. My husband really liked it even though he didn’t experience any heat.
Anaheim peppers are supposedly less hot than the jalapenos that the original recipe called for. I was going for “less hot.”
So now I have another type of relish, salsa to use during the holidays. It can be used as an appetizer with crackers or used to add flavor to meat, just like the cranberry relish recipe I just posted. (click here to go to: A Quick And Yummy Way To Use Cranberries). I normally try not to post recipes so close together, but I had Nia class this morning and have to rush off to yoga tonight. I don’t know where the day went. I had this post all typed up and ready to go. . . . so two recipe post close together!
I won’t be eating this salsa by the spoonful because of the peppers, but the cranberry relish . . . . no telling.
What are you doing with all of your persimmons? Do you just eat them as you would an apple? Do you have a favorite recipe?
Posted in "Recipes", Food | Tagged: cranberry relish, Dancing, Fancy toast, Nia, Nia class, Nia on Thursdays, Organic Authority, Persimmon salsa, Salsa, savory persimmon recipe, shallots, winter vegetables, Yoga class | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on November 11, 2014
It is Veterans Day today. A day where we stop and thank our Veterans. Many thank our Veterans all year round, but this is the day that the government and some stores are closed, other stores have sales, cities have parades, and Facebook feeds are full of black and white pictures in a proud display. I am grateful for the freedom that has cost so many so much. Thank you, Veterans, for your sacrifices and service. Since it is a city Holiday the community centers where I teach my Nia class and yoga class on Tuesdays were closed. So I decided to take advantage of my morning off and attend a class. I went to Tai Chi at the YMCA. The schedule indicates 30 minutes “Intro to Tai Chi” followed by 45 minutes of “Tai Chi”. My plan was to attend the first one then I would just hang around for the second one to see if I could do it without disturbing the class too much. Well, at one point several people exited the class. But the other woman who was new to the class stayed . . . so I thought, “Ok, I’ll stay too.” We didn’t really follow the clock. The first portion of the class seemed as if it was Tai Chi exercises, then the second portion was the actual Tai Chi moves. I learned that there are different styles of Tai Chi.
The instructor went through the beginning slowly as we all followed along, a couple of times. Then he told us to do it on our own a couple of times. I couldn’t remember the moves so I was following my neighbors. Then the instructor did it again with us, then he said to do it on our own without watching our neighbors. Well, that kind of worked. Then he asked another woman in the class to take the intermediate people and he would take the beginners. I felt bad because if there had been a cut and dry end and start I would have left so as not to disturb the intermediate people. But at the end of class, as I was leaving I thanked the woman who took over the intermediate students and she said that it was ok that is how they do it. So I felt better.
Right before we broke into the two groups the instructor asked us if we had any questions. I was going to ask how many moves he had just shown us, but I let it go thinking it was about five. Then the instructor said to us (me and the other newbie), “So those first two moves are called . . . “. And I laughed, because what I thought was about five moves was actually only two. He also explained that he practiced and taught the Chen style.
Just like yoga there is more than just one type of Tai Chi. In looking for the names of the first two moves (I forgot what he called them. “Pestle Warrior” did not bring up the move.) I came across this explanation on WikiHow:
#5 of part 1 of 4
“Experiment with different styles. Because all Tai Chi is good, it’s more important that you do any rather than worry about which style is right for you. But once you get immersed in the world, you may want to experiment. Here’s a brief rundown:
—-The Chen style mixes up the tempo, going very slow and then being explosive. It can be difficult for beginners.
—-The Yang style is the most popular. It has a steady tempo and, as discussed above, uses large frame movements. It’s probably what you think of when you think of tai chi.
—-In Wu, the movements are almost microscopic. This makes it easy to do, but difficult to master — there’s a lot of focus on powerful flows of energy and inner, pressured movements. The movements are very slow and deliberate.
—-The Hao style isn’t very widely spread. You probably won’t find a teacher that practices it.”
So as this says I DO think of the Yang style when I think of Tai Chi. However, I think the Chen style with mixing up of the tempo is good. It really aligns with the “balance” of it all. Fast – slow. Hard – soft. Steady – explosive. Reminds me of the song in the Nia Routine, Zensation, where the focus of the Kata is Tai Chi and we move fast and slow. We change the tempo. That is the Chen style of Tai Chi.
I was very happy I was able to take Tai Chi class. I even came home and practiced. I don’t know when I will be able to get back to the class, but I want to try to remember the first two moves. I am not certain I am doing them exactly right, but I will practice what he said was the most important part and then if I need to be corrected at least I will have a solid base.
And thank you again to ALL the Veterans!
Did you know there are different styles of Tai Chi? Do you think that you think of the Yang style (as the article states)? Have you ever taken a Tai Chi class?
Posted in Misc | Tagged: Chen style Tai Chi, city Holiday, community centers, Facebook, Hao style Tai Chi, Nia, Nia at the YMCA, Nia class, Nia for the City, Nia routines, Tai Chi, Veterans Day, WikiHow, Wu Tai Chi, Yang style Tai Chi, YMCA, Yoga, Yoga class, Zensataion | 4 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on November 6, 2014
As is my schedule I like to stop by the store on my way home from my Nia classes. I prefer the store near my Tuesday/Thursday Nia class, it seems to have better produce. But on Tuesday I am rushing from Nia to yoga so I don’t get to do any shopping at that store. This past week I wanted to make Boneless Pork Chops In The Crockpot on Wednesday so I would have them for Wednesday’s dinner and Thursday’s dinner. So I went to a different store on Wednesday after class on my way home. I decided to buy fresh basil for the recipe. Argh! The basil was anything but fresh. It all looked like it was growing something. Something black and fuzzy. There was enough nice leaves in each bunch, but I hate buying fresh herbs as it is because they go bad so quickly. If I bought ones that were already bad that would really not be good. So, I decided not to buy them. I stood there wondering if I should ask the produce guy if they had more in the back, I decided not to. I did decide to buy tomatoes which I had already passed. So I had to go back over to them. I was approaching the tomato display from a different angle and what do I see? Basil. A live basil plant. Ahh-ha! I don’t know how much the black, fuzzy basil cost because I didn’t see a tag on the shelf, but there was a PACKAGE of basil (that was also black and fuzzy) that was the same price as the plant so I thought it was comparable enough. Plus this plant was not black and fuzzy. It was not perfect, but it was WAY better looking than the other options. So I bought a basil plant. How does one grow basil?
I never thought of growing basil because, just like cilantro, I thought I didn’t like it. According to Organic Gardening basil is susceptible to fungal diseases such as “Fusarium wilt, gray mold, and black spot”. I think the plant I bought might even have the wilt disease because there were a few wilted leaves. But that could be because it needed water. I am convinced the bunches in the store had gray mold AND black spot!
Of course, I have no idea about how to grow it, the first site I looked at was the one referenced above. The article I linked to talks about growing basil outside. I want to grow it inside. A further search on that site returns this information: “Basil: Start basil from seeds and place the pots in a south-facing window—it likes lots of sun and warmth.” Well, I didn’t start it from seed. But I believe I have it in a south-facing window. It will get a lot of sun and warmth there.
SF Gate gave me more information. It said that as soon as it flowers, the plant will die. So I should start a new one right now. So basil is an annual, but you can have basil all year round. This sounds like it will take a little bit of work. But I am frustrated enough with buying a bunch of basil when I need it and then having half the bunch go bad. I don’t use basil that much . . . but with plants to snip from I might.
The article says:
–the plant needs about 12 hours of light daily
–to encourage new growth it should be trimmed every few days
–the plant likes warm humid air
–feed the plant every two weeks with nitrogen rich food
I am going to root a cutting from the plant so hopefully I will have a plant with enough basil on it by the time this one dies and I can just keep going.
We’ll see how this goes.
Help. What can you tell me to help me keep this plant alive/keep a crop of basil going? What else can I make (besides pesto) with basil?
Posted in Food | Tagged: basil, basil plant, Boneless Pork Chops In The Crockpot, growing herbs, indoor plants, Nia Classes, nitrogen rich food, Organic Gardening, pesto, SF Gate, Yoga class | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on October 25, 2014
You might know from reading my posts that 1) I teach Nia in the morning and yoga in the evening on Thursdays 2) On Thursdays I like to have dinner at the point of readiness at which it will only take a 20 minutes tops for me to have dinner on the table 3) I cook a lot of ground turkey and use the same flavors/spices. So, I was so excited that on Sunday I thought ahead to what I would cook on Thursday. I found a recipe in my “Recipes I really want to try” folder. Artichoke hearts are not something I think of using because I didn’t always like them. The recipe I decided to try had them in it. I was very focused on the artichoke hearts. My plan kind of consisted of the fact that by the time I went shopping on Thursday we would need A LOT of things. The weekend before we had been out of town so I let the fridge get rather empty. So this trip I was going to be grabbing some staples. I had added a few things to my list as I thought of them. I was focused on the artichoke hearts, that DIFFERENT flavor. The recipe I chose was a chicken recipe and when I glanced at it when scribbling out my list I thought the chicken was shredded. My idea was to check the recipe again before I shopped on Thursday to see if it was or not. If it was I could have used chicken I had, if not, I needed to buy some. I got busy and didn’t check the recipe again and I just decided I could buy the chicken and use it if I needed it or save it if I didn’t. Something came up Thursday morning after my Nia class so I arrived home after shopping later than I planned. After putting away the groceries and having some food, I looked at the recipe – the SPINACH and Artichoke Chicken recipe. I hadn’t bought spinach. I hadn’t even put it on the list. (EYE ROLL!)
So click here for the recipe I was going to make. The recipe I ended up making is below. Just some slight adjustments. (Be sure to visit Dinner of Herbs for more yummy recipes!)
When I was putting away the groceries I noticed I had a container of “fresh” baby spinach that needed to be used. There was about a handful of nice looking leaves. I had also noticed we had our leftover Rainbow Chard. I had cooked the Rainbow Chard as I usually do with onions and garlic and salt in some olive oil. I had even added a bit of Worcestershire sauce to help over power the “green” taste. So the chard was tasty. I was just concerned that it would get too cooked after baking for 25 minutes. But . . . I didn’t have the time nor the desire to go out to get spinach. I needed to use up the chard anyway so . . . why not?
Also, the store I was at did not have the usual brand of chicken breast so I bought some that I have never seen. They were quite large.
So below is what I ended up making. I thought to take a few pictures while I was making it, but after I got home from class and was in get-it-on-the-table mode I forgot to take pictures of it cooked. It was good. I will be making it again . . . . next time with spinach and then who knows. It seems any green you would cook would work.
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Chicken With Spinach, Rainbow Chard, and Artichoke Hearts
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, butterflied
garlic salt
handful of baby spinach, chopped
1.5 cups of cooked Rainbow Chard
2 6.5 oz jars of artichoke hearts, drained (save a little for the pan)*, and chopped
1/8 C sliced almonds**
2 oz Neufchâtel cheese
2-3 tbsp Parmesan cheese
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Preheat oven to 375° F. Sprinkle garlic salt on both sides of each chicken breast. In a large bowl mix the spinach, chard, artichoke hearts, almonds, Parmesan cheese, and powders. Use two utensils to cut the Neufchatel cheese into the mixture. Put the chicken in a 9X13 glass casserole dish. Spoon the filling onto one side of each of the butterflied chicken breasts, then fold over. Spoon any remaining filling onto each folded chicken breast, if you have enough put it all around. Bake for at least 20 minutes . . . until chicken is cooked to your liking.
*I poured a little bit of the artichoke marinade on the chicken.
**Next time I am going to add more AND sprinkle some on top!
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The chicken breast I used were so huge, I actually had to cook them for 40 minutes. PLUS, I left them in the oven with it turned off for an additional 10 minutes while I prepared our plates with the rice I served. I don’t think that the chicken I normally buy would require 40 minutes.
Neufchâtel is like cream cheese in that it has the same consistency, so it just didn’t stir into the other ingredients. I had to “cut it in” with two utensils. Basically you want to make sure there are no clumps of cheese.
The store I was at had only ONE brand of Neufchâtel cheese and I don’t know how authentic it is because it tastes just like cream cheese to me. Perhaps on my next go at this recipe I will find a brand that I feel is more authentic. I will do some research.
Sounds yummy, huh? Don’t you think any green that you would cook would work? If you make it with another green (kale, collard greens, etc) let me know. Go wild!
Posted in "Recipes", Food | Tagged: almonds, artichoke hearts, baked chicken, boneless chicken breats, chard, Collard Greens, cream cheese, Dinner of Herbs, Kale, Nia, Nia class, nuefchatel cheese, spinach, Yoga, Yoga class, yummy dinner | 4 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on October 7, 2014
I often tell my students at the end of class that making them get up is the worst part of my job. I have posted blog posts about savasana. The restful period of time at the end of a yoga class where you take time to relax letting the body and mind absorb the benefits to be had from the asanas that were just practiced. Let the body remember the stability and strength. Give the body time to become accustom the space that was created. Allow the mind to reflect on the stillness. Well, in Nia we often end the routine in Floorplay. Floorplay is either playing with gravity to experience the muscles or stretching or . . . it can be a combination of both. There are a lot of ways to play on the floor. There are a lot of ways to end the class. Our Nia training DVDs have floorplay and ending movements, but they are not choreographed. So there is a lot of freedom in the last songs. Nia teachers can either duplicate what the trainer does on the DVD or they can create their own movements to the songs and end the class in their own way. I know I sometimes do what I sense the class needs so sometimes I lead the class through movements and sometimes I instruct them to do their own free dance. Often times we end by lying on the floor in a restful pose. Just like in my yoga classes I don’t like to have to make my students get up.
In the studio I rent, I think that I should rent an extra 30 minutes so we can just lie there. Sometimes I sense the class could easily just stay there for an extra 30 minutes beyond the one hour Nia class. In the classes I teach for the San Jose Park and Recs Department, I sense they could do that too, but we need to end on time. Sometimes there is a class right after us so our restful period is interrupted. But when it is not, it is a challenge to know when to interrupt the peace.
Recently I taught a class and I really didn’t want to tell them to get up. The clock in the room was not working so I snuck up to check my phone and as I was returning to the circle I saw such peace and relaxation I didn’t want to bother them. I toyed with the idea of just letting them stay an extra 5 or 10 minutes. But without having planned that in advance, I didn’t want someone lying there past the hour and not knowing it. Many people workout on their breaks so they need to get back to work. Or they just need to get on with their day. So as much as I don’t like interrupting their peace and as much as I would like to just let them relax, I need to keep to our schedule. But it really is the worst part of my job when I feel they would love to just stay.
But, on the other hand, it really is a great part of my job when I can be in the presence of those that can just relax and let go. After dancing and getting all sweaty it is so nice that they can just take a deep breath and melt into the earth and relax. I get a huge sense of peace when I am in the presence of their stillness . . . . that is why it is so hard to disturb them.
Do you take moments out of your day to just relax and experience peace?
Posted in Nia, Yoga/PiYo/Pilates | Tagged: asanas, body weight exercises, Body-mind, dance exercise, gravity exercises, Nia class, Nia DVDs, Nia flooplay, Nia Free Dance, Nia Practice, Nia routine, Nia routines, Nia songs, Nia students, Nia training, Nia workout, restful period, San Jose City Nia classes, San Jose Park and Recs Department, savasana, shavasana, Yoga class, Yoga Practice | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on September 18, 2014
Ahh, I really wanted to have my blog post for today written yesterday. I wanted to “take the day off” today. Well, I taught a Nia Class this morning. And I have a Gentle Yoga Class to teach tonight, so I am not really taking the day off. I just didn’t want to have to think about a blog post or clean any part of the house today. I was going to take the day off from cleaning and doing chores. Ha. Well, it didn’t work out that way. But it is still a good day. We had a bit of rain. But that just made the traffic this morning very bad. My hubby was very thoughtful and called me to alert me to the chaos on the freeways this morning. So I left early than I normally do to get to class. I started to get on the freeway and got right back off. Since the traffic was not normal Thursday morning traffic I didn’t know if there were accidents that were blocking the roads so I decided to chance it and take the inner city streets. I actually made it to class RIGHT ON TIME! Which to me is not “on time” because I need to do a little set up before we start. But we still started only about five minutes late. Most of the Nia students didn’t even know we started late. So it worked out. The rain was only a very small amount, but it was moisture. That is a good thing. So there are a lot of things that can go into my Goodie Jar just today. So I am making this a check in day.
I haven’t checked in on you and your Goodie Jar for four months. I am still putting things in mine. I ALWAYS have something to put in mine. Regardless of what is going on I consider myself blessed. I hope you have at least one thing you can put into your jar.
I am doing a check in as a sort of “day off” from writing a blog post. Since I didn’t get the day off from chores and cleaning. I really don’t need a day off from teaching. Teaching is fun and I get so much good energy from my Nia and yoga students it doesn’t count as work. I can do without the extra travel time and traffic, but . . . we need the rain. Don’t know why it practically shuts our freeways down . . . but whatever.
Rain. To class on time. Birthday love. Hubby cooking dinner. These are the things that make me smile that I put in my Good Things Jar.
I have seen some people post on Facebook and others on their blog that some of you have gotten new family members . . . whether human or animal, that is a thing for the Goodie Jar. I always put notes about my family in my Goodie Jar.
So . . . what about you? Are you still putting things in your Good Things Jar? What have you added recently?
Posted in Good Things in the Goodie Jar, Misc | Tagged: birthday, blog post, California Rain, Facebook, freeway chaos, gentle yoga, good things jar, Goodie Jar, Nia class, Nia students, rain shuts down freeways, teaching Nia, Yoga class | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on June 26, 2014
Here is a beautiful picture of a place I am lucky enough to visit. I was looking through my pictures and I thought I would share it. I taught a Nia class this morning and we went to coffee afterwards. It is so nice to have such a great group of students. I also taught a yoga class this evening. They are also a great group! We have not gathered for a visit after class. Not sure that will ever happen because I like to rush home to get dinner on the table. But there is a very tasty taqueria really close so maybe one of these days we will go out after class. Perhaps I can talk my husband into joining us, or at least promise him I’ll bring home a burrito! This post is really just a filler. I mentioned “stuff” in my last post. Well, it is taking up my thoughts so I didn’t come up with an educational post. I thought I would share some bright spots and remind you of your Goodie Jar.
If you are doing a Goodie Jar, I am using this post to do some checking in with you regarding it. My wonderful students are often notes in my Goodie Jar. Our current weather gets mentioned too. Our weather has been very nice the past few days considering it is summer. It has not been sweltering hot. Yesterday my husband and I sat outside most of the day. It wasn’t too hot to do so. It even rained a bit last night. We need rain so bad, it was nice to see the street wet this morning. Since we need rain so badly it is so great that our temperatures are not so hot.
Last week my niece visited us. She and I spent one afternoon making candles. You may have seen my post about when we did it the first time? Last time I made myself a candle. This time I made a candle for my hubby. A sun, because he is my sunshine. With kitties below. Hummingbirds because we love ours in our yard, along with our roses. And then the words because, well, I love him. The colors were just because my niece and I liked them. My niece is a bit of a Disney fanatic so she made one that looks like a symbol of Minnie Mouse. I did not take a good picture of it, but it was very cute.
I did mention two other bright spots in my last post. One was the return of a Nia student to my Nia class and another student bringing his own yoga mat. Well tonight I had another returning student. It was to my yoga class. There are many, many teachers around so it is so heart warming when a student returns to class. Something to put in the jar of Good Things.
I have many bright spots to acknowledge and be thankful for. How about you? Are you still making notes / documenting the good things in your daily life? Jotting down things that make you smile? Here it is open for sharing.
Posted in Misc | Tagged: Bright Spots, Disney, good things, Goodie Jar, making candles, Minnie Mouse, Nia, Nia class, Nia teachers, summer weather, taqueria, Yoga, Yoga class, yoga mat, yoga teachers | 14 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on May 17, 2014
I was in a yoga workshop all day. The day was beautiful and I was in Santa Cruz, but I was inside all day. Well, most of the day. I was in a class about “How do we make our yoga practice and our approach to teaching yoga more meaningful?” A lot of people do yoga just for the physical exercise of it. But some people are interested in making it more of practice. Some people are interested in exploring the deeper aspects of it. I often compare Nia to yoga because it is the same thing in that both are a great workouts in and by themselves, but there is the part that I call the “practice” where it is more than just doing the exercises it is it taking some of the “deeper aspects” out into the world. Or even applying them in the class. But first you have to be exposed to the deeper aspects. This class touched upon that and throughout the class I smiled at the similarities between it and Nia.
Yes, Nia has taken aspects of yoga and used them to make the mix that is Nia, but I am not certain that all of the similarities were used on purpose. As an example, several people have told me that they do not do yoga because it is a religion. I have experienced debate on this. I have read articles that exclaim angrily that Westerners have taken their religion and made it into an exercise. Then I have had yoga instructors/owners of yoga studios vehemently deny that yoga has anything to do with religion. I have had people say they will not come to Nia because we talk about “Spirit” and in a song or two there is an “Om.”
Today it was said that some people do use yoga to connect to God. But “there is no God in Nia” (as quoted from Carlos Rosas during my Nia White Belt Intensive in 2008.) Today’s workshop started out with the religious aspect. Briefly exploring how to teach and stay true to oneself.
During the class there was a lot of talk about awareness and being present. Something that is understandable when in a yoga class. Sensing the body while moving through and holding asanas. This is also something we employ in a Nia class. Being able to dance in the now. At one point Nia was NIA = Now I Am. So during both types of workouts there is an emphasis on moving with awareness and being in the present. Being aware of how your body moves. Noticing the bends and flexes, the circles and lines. Being present and not thinking about our to-do list we have to accomplish after class. And, this is where I consider it a practice . . . where you take those ideals out into your everyday life. Be aware of what you are doing while you are doing it and BEING in the moment. (By the way: This is particularly challenging for me right now. As you might imagine.)
Then the topic of listening to students to learn what they needs was discussed. It went along with teaching people as opposed to teaching poses. I particularly loved this because just last week I told my students we were going to start doing a particular group of poses and they looked at me and said, “Why?” And I said because you told me you needed to. They hadn’t actually told me they needed to so I explained to them that what they told me led me to that conclusion. As a teacher you might be able to relate to the eye rolls I received. Of course, as I feel I do this (teach people), I know there is always room for improvement so I will continue to listen.
Most often I ask my Nia students if they are having any issues or would like to focus on anything in particular during the class. I feel that allowing them to pick the focus or take part in picking it helps me teach to them and their needs. I felt that was a Nia connection to this part of the yoga workshop.
In the workshop, I also kept hearing talk from the students about no judgment and self acceptance. Two things which are also taught and emphasized in Nia. No Judgment is part of witnessing which is a stage in Free Dance. While dancing just witness what is happening but don’t judge. Could be something like, “I kick to shin height.” Instead of, “I am in such bad shape I can’t get my leg higher than my shin.” Non-judgment. Accept what you can do and work to do more if that is your desire.
It was a nice day. And this about sums it up. Plenty of things to think about and work on.
What did you do today?
Posted in Nia, Yoga/PiYo/Pilates | Tagged: physical exercise, Santa Cruz, teaching yoga, workout, Yoga, yoga asana, Yoga class, Yoga Exercise, Yoga Practice, yoga workshop | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on March 15, 2014
Sometimes after a Nia Class or even a yoga class a student will come up to me to explain why they weren’t doing something I said to do. This is a HUGE education for me because some times what they say they can’t do is not what I intended for them to do. When my students share with me it helps me teach them better. Their understanding of what I am instructing them to do helps me hone my teaching skills and at times has me finding different ways to say things. Could be an entirely different way of saying something or it could just be a matter of me explaining it a little better. Either way, I am always learning from my students.
As an example, one day after one of my yoga classes a students explained to me that she has a very high arch so she cannot use her whole foot. Many standing poses in yoga require you to stand on the entire foot and in Nia we also use our whole foot at times. Whole foot meaning your weight is distributed over the entire foot. Not standing on the toes or leaning back on the heals, or even to either side of the foot, but to use the “whole foot”. Since I say whole foot all the time it didn’t even dawn on me that someone could take it as the WHOLE foot. To be fair, she is correct. When I say whole foot, I actually mean your whole foot PRINT. I don’t mean to include the arch of the foot which would actually be covered in the term “WHOLE foot”. I am not certain if this was ever a thought for any of my Nia students, but just to be clear, I throw whole foot PRINT out there every once in a while in all of my classes so people understand when I say whole foot, I mean the foot PRINT. Not the arch. Flash! I learned something.
There was another time when we were on our hands and knees doing the cat pose. In this pose I have my students look “down” into their lap. If the individual’s neck allows and they are comfortable with that, I go for the big stretch all the way down the spine. So when we arch down with belly towards the earth, I tell them to look up since I consider looking into the lap looking “down”. After class one day, one student told me she can’t look up because of a neck issue and when she said it we were standing and she looked up at the sky. At that moment, I just said, “Ok. Good for you for recognizing a position your body cannot do and not doing it.” I wasn’t exactly certain what she was talking about because I hadn’t instructed anyone to look up at the sky, but if her neck can’t do that, is great that she not do it. The next time I was doing the combination, I thought “look up” and – FLASH! (the light bulb again) – I understood what she was talking about. When I said look UP, she thought I meant UP at the SKY and not just up from the “down”. So, again, I learned something. I can still say look up, but I clarify that I mean up from your lap (or the other options I give).
It always amazes me and make me happy that I learn so much AS I TEACH. I think I have shared before in a post that there comes a time in my process of learning a Nia Routine where I just have to take it to the class. No matter how much time I spend at home by myself learning it, I always learn more in that hour of teaching it than all of that before time. Awesome. I might have even posted something similar to this before. It just goes to show that I am always learning something from my students! Ta-da! Students are teachers too.
Do you ever talk to your teacher about stuff? Did you ever thing that you could be teaching them something?
Posted in Nia | Tagged: cat pose, foot print, Nia, Nia class, Nia routine, Nia students, Nia Teacher, whole foot, Yoga, Yoga class | Leave a Comment »
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