Posts Tagged ‘Yoga’
Posted by terrepruitt on July 5, 2012
Nia is both a dance exercise and a life practice. Kind of like yoga. You can go to a class and get the exercise you want and have it end there or you can learn about its principles and take them into your life. There are levels of the practice. Nia has chosen to use a “belt” system as their levels. Instead of just having numbers or names, they have assigned belt colors to the levels. There are five levels; White Belt, Green Belt, Blue Belt, Brown Belt, and Black Belt. The intensives to gain the belts can be taken and enjoyed by people who aren’t teaching. Each belt has 13 principles, except Green. Green does not have its own set of principles because green is the belt level that is actually designed specifically for teachers and helps them hone their teaching skills. It delves into the 13 principles of the White Belt. The White Belt’s principle #4 is FreeDance. FreeDance as a practice has eight stages. I have posted about eight through two. This post is about stage one. Stage #1 of Nia’s 4th White Belt Principle is Freedance – Anything Goes (movement wise).
While you are dancing any movement is great if it is authentic movement. With Nia there is choreographed moves, but within the patterns of movement there is the ability to freedance. Also with many routines there is sometimes just freedance where we are allowed to dance free to the music without any choreography. Stage one: Freedance, anything goes, allows us the greatest of freedoms. You can dance using the wall, the mirror, a chair, the floor, or a ballet barre that might be in the room. You can dance fast, slow, high, low, or in the middle. Anything that you sense your body wants to do to the music. It is up to you.
The idea with freedance is to just let the body go. Don’t think about it. When you think about it often comes the judgment. Sometimes the judgment can interfere with movement, especially if it is judgment along the lines of, “Oh I must look silly doing this.” “Oh that probably isn’t pretty.” “Oh, I am not graceful enough to spin.” “Oh, I need to do this or that.” This is all inner dialog that clogs up the muscles and their movements.
Freedance also, as I believe I’ve mentioned before, in not club dancing. We are NOT just bouncing or undulating to the beat, we are moving to the music. We are moving our bodies towards as pleasurable sensation of health and well being.
Freedance is also not patterned dancing, we save the patterns for our choreographed movements. Freedance is just free. It is spinning twirling, diving and whirling. It could be hopping or dropping. It really is whatever your body does.
Freedance is not easy. It takes practice. It is not easy to just be on the floor and not think about how you are going to move and just let your body go. It is a challenge. But once you can stop thinking and talking in your head you will find yourself moving to the music. Sometimes you might even notice that you are moving in a way that you didn’t think about and it is really amazing to have that sensation. But don’t think too much, just keep moving.
I would like to invite and encourage you to make some space in your home or if you are so inclined find a space to dance outside . . . find a space turn on some music and just dance. Let yourself go. Let yourself be free. Allow the time, space, frame of mind and spirit to freedance. Remember, anything goes!
Wahoo! I have to add that in the middle of typing this up I secured another class to sub for the City of San Jose. So exciting to be able to share Nia through the city! Yay!
Posted in FreeDance, Nia | Tagged: Authentic Movement, City of San Jose, dance exercise, dance practice, freedance, Green Belt, Group Ex, life practice, Nia choreography, Nia class, Nia Dance, Nia Practice, Nia San Jose, Nia student, Nia Teacher, Nia White Belt, Nia's White Belt Principles, San Jose Nia, stage dance, substitute teacher for the City of San Jose, Yoga, Yoga Practice | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on June 30, 2012
I teach Nia. I have been teaching Nia for three and a half years. Not as many people who I talk to have heard of Nia as have heard of Zumba so I am constantly being asked the difference between Nia and Zumba. Since I am often asked I am often thinking about them and comparing them. First, they are actually the same in that music is played and participants dance to it. Second, in both the instructor leads the participants through the various dance moves. Third, participants of both claim they are both fun. One difference is Nia is an experience in five sensations, Zumba seems to concentrate on one.
The experience is such a big part of Nia we actually call them the five sensations of Nia. I have posted about them before (FAMSS). They are the sensation of flexibility, of agility, of mobility, of strength, and of stability. In a Nia class your body will move in a way that allows you to sense the energy moving out and away. You will bend and stretch to play with flexibility, either retaining what you have or improving upon it. There are moves in the routines that require the start and the stop. The movement that is agility could be done with our feet, our arms, our hands, our bodies, our heads or a combination of body parts but we sense the start and the stop. With every routine there is a lot of mobility, some routines have more than others, but all of them that I have experienced have a lot. With mobility it is just the same as agility in that it could be a body part that is moving or our whole body. Whatever the case there is a lot of movement from each joint that helps create a healthy joint by allowing the fluid to move to it and within it. Then we also play with strength. We might squeeze our muscles sensing the energy moving in as if the bones are being hugged by the muscles. We might do squats or sit-ups, punches and/or kicks, but there is time where we play with strength. I say Nia is very big on balance because we do many moves that requires us to be stable. Many of our moves are balancing on one leg, could be a kick, could be a stance, but it requires stability. Moving from one move to the next often requires us to call upon our stability. In a Nia routine we experience all of these sensations. I’ve reached the conclusion that Zumba is primarily agility.
In Zumba the moves are always fast. So it is a constant state of start and stop. The only sensation I sense while doing Zumba is agility. Fast start, fast stop . . . . even when there is a stretch where your muscles are yearning for a second to move to their fullest length, it is a fast stretch that does not allow for the muscle to be fully stretched. Doing a full hour of agility is not a bad thing at all. It can be fun and it can produce a lot of sweat. And many of us are programmed to think that sweat equals a good workout. I think that if you are adding Zumba to a stretching program that has some balance practice in it that is great.
I am also a believer that there are a lot of things that compliment Nia too. I actually think that if you like Nia and Zumba and you are able to do both that is a nice combination. You get two different types of cardio. One that is a workout in the sensation of agility and one that can move you through more use of the entire body to get that heart pumping.
I really believe that whatever gets you moving is GREAT. I think that you have to like what you do in order to make it a constant in your life. So Zumba, Nia, Jazzercise, U-Jam, yoga, kickboxing, bootcamp, weight training, whatever works for you is great. Do what you will do! That is the key!
It is that I am always asked about the difference between Zumba and Nia that I am always thinking about it and this was my latest thought after I did a Zumba class. I think I posted before about how I am left wanting to extend and finish my moves in Zumba and it dawned on me that it is the sensation of agility that is predominant in Zumba. Some Zumba classes I have attended do take a song to stretch at the end, but not all of them. So I guess it depends on the instructor. Nia instructors are encouraged to infuse their classes and the routines with their personalities, so I am sure that every Nia class has a few differences too.
Both Nia and Zumba are great cardio workouts. It just depends on what you want to do during your workout and what you want to get out of it. Do what you will do!
So, what is it that you do?
Posted in Nia, Zumba | Tagged: agility, bootcamp, cardio dance, cardio workout, dance exercise, FAMSS, five sensations, flexibility, Jazzercise, kickboxing, Mobility, Nia, Nia Classes, Nia instructor, Nia Moves, Nia participants, Nia routines, Nia Teacher, Nia vs Zumba, stability, strength, U-Jam, Ujam, weight training, Yoga, Zumba, Zumba classes, Zumba instructor, Zumba participants, Zumba routines | 11 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on May 24, 2012
Just a few posts ago I talked about simple stretches that could possibly bring relief to tight hip flexors and lower back pain. I referred to a yoga pose called the pigeon pose. This pose is where one leg is stretched out to the back and the front of the leg (the front of the thigh, the knee, the shin, and the top of the foot and toes) are on the ground, touching the ground, and the other leg is bent at the knee with foot towards the body, but the shin at a right angle to the body. The hand can hold the foot. The back is long and straight and upright. There are variations. Some are where the leg is bent more and the foot is more pointed toward the opposite hip. In some the back is still long and straight, but the body is lying over the bent leg.
In Nia the variation is called a Side Yawn. The leg is bent so the foot is near the opposite hip, as I mentioned above. The arm on the side of the bent leg is bent while the arm on the side of the outstretched leg is straight with palm on the floor. As the body lowers to the earth over the bent leg the outstretched arm moves on the ground reaching out further. Allow the entire body to sink into a comfortable fold. The lengthened side of the body yawns open.
For the more athletic version there is more weight on the bent leg and instead of just stretching out over the bent leg there are push-ups involved. Pushing away from the earth and sinking slowly back into it. After a few push-ups then allow your body to release to gravity and lay over the bent leg.
This is one of the moves that I mentioned were in the back of The Nia Technique Book. Both the classic version and the athletic version of this move open and release the hips. With the classic as you sink to the floor the side of the body is receiving a long stretch. The athletic version enables strengthen of the arms and core. This move is one where you would do as many repetitions as you would like and then switch to the other side. Or you could do one side then switch and do the other side. The point it to be sure that you do both sides. I would bet, as with most of us, one side is more flexible than the other.
In the Nia routines I do we are often in the pigeon pose or the side yawn pose, but we do not always sink into the yawn. Often we are dancing with our hands on the floor, not necessarily doing straight up and down push-ups, but using our arms to lower us to the earth and push-off again. As with all moves each individual is invited to do what is best for their body at that moment in the Nia class. So some might sink into the yawn. So usually in addition to stretching our hips we are using our core and our arms in our cool down or floorplay.
Do you ever sense your hips are tight and need stretching? Might you think to use this stretch to loosen up?
Posted in Nia, Yoga/PiYo/Pilates | Tagged: Athletic Nia, classic Nia, cool down, flexible, floorplay, Hip flexors, lower back pain, Nia, Nia class, Nia pose, Nia routines, Pigeon pose, side yawn, simples stretches, stretching, The Nia Technique book, tight hips, yawn the body, Yoga, Yoga Pose | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on April 28, 2012
When I first discovered Nia I bought The Nia Technique Book to see if I would be able to do it. I don’t mean do it as in do the moves and participate in a class, I mean do it as in “get into it”, as in understand it. It sounded a bit “woo-woo” to me. Listening to your body, voices of the body, energy this, moving energy that. I wasn’t sure I could sync it up with my beliefs. But as I studied it more I realized that it is based on science. It involves human kinetics. Most of the moves, although called the 52 Nia moves are quite common and are seen in many other types of exercises and workouts. The ones that I consider unique are probably part of some other dance I am not familiar with. And the “woo-woo” part, well, I realized that it is woo-woo – at least that is how many people think of certain things like energy, chakras, mind-body, and body-mind practices. I mean look at yoga, when I was young that was one of the “woo-wooest” things around and now people have embraced it. There are so many types of yoga it is difficult to keep track. For some they just ignore the woo-woo while others embrace it because they realize it makes sense. I mean cultures have been using “woo-woo” stuff for centuries. There is meditation, herbs, chanting, drumming — all types of other things that some people think of woo-woo. The woo-woo must not be too far off base though because it seems to work. Recently my posts have been about healing sounds and making sounds, this post is about the vowel sounds related to the chakras and I am sure to some people it sounds a little, or maybe even a lot, “woo-woo”. But I like to imagine that if you are reading this you are somewhat open to new things — even woo-woo things. So you might be willing to try the healing sounds or even the vowel sounds of the chakras.
The vowel sounds related to the chakras are as follows:
CROWN CHAKRA: EEE as in “me”
BROW/THIRD EYE CHAKRA: AAA* as in “say”
THROAT CHAKRA: EYE as in “my”
HEART CHAKRA: AH as in “ma”
SOLAR PLEXUS CHAKRA: OH as in “go”
PELVIC CHAKRA: OOO as in “you”
ROOT CHAKRA: UH as in “cup”
The idea is to say these sounds in a specific note. If you have a keyboard or a phone with an app that has a keyboard or an app that can give you examples of the notes it might help you. Or you might be musical and know what the notes sound like.
EEE is to be made in the B note
AAA is to be made in the A note
EYE is to be made in the G note
AH is to be made in the F note
OH is to be made in the E note
OOO is to be made in the D note
And UH is to be made in the C note
These sounds are to help open and heal the chakras. Or to keep them balanced, all depends on your needs and your practice.
As with everything there is a wealth of information out there on how to “do” the vowels. The commonalities I am seeing is to sit comfortable with a lengthened spine. Be relaxed. Use a normal breath. Repeat each sound seven times.
I have used these sounds in my Nia classes when we are using a chakra as a focus. I am going to take this list and use the vowels sounds just as I did the healing sounds. The focus can be the chakra vowel sounds and we can create an intent from there. Yay! I love thinking of things to use as focuses in my classes. I also think that sitting down to make these sounds as a specific exercise is a good idea. What do you think about chakra vowels? Might you try the exercise?
*Many places note this as “AYE” but to me that is AYE, as in what a pirate says. So I noted it as AAA, like Fonzie would say. 🙂
Posted in Chakras, Nia, Sounding | Tagged: Chakra, chakra energy, chakra vowel sounds, chanting, crown chakra, dance class, dance exercise, Dance Workout, exercise class, Fonzie, Healing Sounds, heart chakra, mind-body workout, Nia, Nia class, Nia Moves, pelvic chakra, root chakra, solar plexus chakra, The Nia Technique book, third eye chakra, throat chakra, unique workout, workout class, Yoga | 9 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on April 17, 2012
Every year there is a Bay Area Dance Week. This year is the 14th annual dance week and it is being presented by Dancers’ Group. This will be the fourth year that I have offered my morning Nia Classes to New Students for free. I did it last year, but I didn’t post about it. I figured I should post about it to remind people it is happening. My 9:00 am Nia Classes on Monday, April 23rd and Wednesday, April 25th at Halanda Studio will be free to New Students. Here is another opportunity to try Nia for free.
In addition to Nia there are many FREE Classes during National Dance Week at Halanda Studio. Halanda Studio is owned by two women who rent out the studio by the hour. The variety of classes that are offered at the studio is very diverse. As you can see by the schedule of free classes there is several types of Belly Dancing from beginning to Intermediate/Advanced. Also being offered for free during Bay Area Dance Week is Hot Hula, Yoga, Zumba, Bollywood Fitness, and I’ve already mentioned Nia.
While I want you to attend classes at Halanda and in particular MY Nia class, my dancing spirit has to bring to your attention to the fact that from April 20 – April 29, 2012 it is Bay Area Dance Week. So there are FREE classes ALL OVER THE BAY AREA!!! According to the Bay Ara Dance booklet there are more than 650 groups, artists, and organizations participating. There are over 100 forms of dance to enjoy. Not only are there free classes but there are free performances.
The opening event is Friday, April 20th at Union Square Park in San Francisco. The closing event on Sunday, April 29 will be at 2 pm in Union Square Park in San Francisco where there will be simple circle dance for peace among people and peace with Earth. Looks like this dance will be led by the amazing Anna Halprin. She is 92 years old and still dancing and teaching dance . . . now that is what I call amazing!
Below is the current list of FREE classes (as of Tuesday, April 17, 2012) being offered at Halanda Studio in San Jose during Bay Area Dance Week (Friday, April 20th through Sunday, April 29th – 2012)
Saturday, April 21:
9:30am-10:30am: Bellydance Basics with Amanda
10:30am-12:00pm: Bellydance & Beyond with Amanda
12:00pm-1:00pm: Bellydance Fusion Technique with Michelle
1:00pm-2:00pm: No Rules Bellydance with Michelle
2:30pm-3:30pm: Tunisian Folk Dance with Pamela
—
Sunday, April 22:
2:00pm-3pm: Hot Hula Fitness with Marie
—
Monday, April 23:
9:00am-10:00am: Nia with Terre
4:00pm-5:00pm: Silk Road & Middle Eastern dance for Kids with Farima
7:00pm-8:00pm: Bellydance – All Levels with Hala
8:00pm-9:00pm: Bellydance – Intermediate Technique & Drills with Hala
9:00pm-10:00pm: Bellydance – Choreography with Hala
—
Tuesday, April 24:
5:00pm-6:15pm : Hatha Yoga – Mixed Levels with Dahlia
6:30pm-7:30pm: Bellydance Workout with Natika
7:30pm-8:30pm: Tribal Fusion with Natika
8:30pm-9:30pm Fan Veil Dance with Natika
9:30pm-10:30pm Silk Road Fusion Dance with Farima
—
Wednesday, April 25:
9:00am-10:00am: Nia with Terre
6:00pm-7:00pm: Bellydance with Setareh
7:00pm-8:30pm: Hala Dance Company Rehearsal with Hala
8:30pm-9:30pm: Basic Belly with Naima
—
Thursday, April 26:
6:30pm-7:30pm: Killer Drillz Level 1 with Vanessa
8:30pm-9:30pm: Dances of Persia & the Silk Road with Farima
—
Friday, April 27:
7:00pm-8:00pm: Zumba Fitness with Melissa
8:00pm-9:00pm: Tunisian Folk Dance with Pamela
—
Saturday, April 28:
8:00am-9:15am: Power Flow Yoga with Delanie
12:00pm-1:00pm: Bellydance Fusion Technique with Michelle
1:00pm-2:00pm: No Rules Bellydance with Michelle
—
Sunday, April 29:
9:30am-10:30am: Bollywood Fitness with FusionBeatz
There are other classes taught at Halanda, but the classes listed here are the ones that are participating in Bay Area Dance Week.
Aside from Nia :-), what classes are you going to try out?
Posted in Exercise and Working Out, Nia | Tagged: Anna Halprin, Bay Area Dance Week, Bay Area Nia, Belly Dancing, Bellydance Fusion Technique, Bollywood Fitness, dance choerography, Free Dance, free dance performances, Free Nia, Halanda Studio, Hot Hula, Middle Eastern dance, Nia Classes, Nia students, Nia Technique, San Francisco, San Jose Dance, San Jose Nia, Silk Road, Tribal Fusion, Union Square Park, Yoga, Zumba | 1 Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on March 15, 2012
While Nia is not yoga nor is it a yoga class we do borrow from Yoga. We borrow some of the ideas and sometimes some of the poses. In one of the Nia routines we do the Warrior II (Virabhadrasana II). We do it both static where we just rest into it and we move in it, we bend our bent leg more and sink into it and come up. Then we do the Extended Side Angle Pose (Utthita Parsvakonasana), then a version of the lunge, which depending upon your body could be a variation of the Low Lunge (Anjaneyasana), or the High Lunge (Utthita Ashva Sanchalanasana), or the Warrior I (Virabhadrasana I) – all without the backbend. Then we straighten our leg into the Pyramid Pose/Intense Stretch Pose (Parsvottanasana). With these poses we are using a lot of muscles. The muscles can be challenged in strength, stability, and/or flexibility. It all depends are your body at that moment.
When we do the Warrior II pose in this Nia routine the arms are extended out to the sides, opposite from each other, the hips, torso, chest, and shoulders are facing the mirror/front, while one of the legs is bent at a 90 degree angle and the foot is in line with the arm. The other leg is straight and the foot is slightly turned with the toes pointed toward the body and the heel pointed away. Of course participants have the option of having the foot at a right angle, but for this dance it is led with a slight angle. Even with that slight variation it is working the glutes (all of them), the thigh muscles: inner, outer, hamstrings, and the quadriceps, and your calf muscles. And for some, like me, who have a habit of scrunching the shoulders, it works the rhomboids while holding up the arms and keeping the shoulder blades down and pulled back. This is true for many yoga poses, that is why it is so great for encouraging straight posture.
Then for our Extended Side Angle Pose the arm, on the same side as the bent leg, is lowered, forearm to the thigh, the opposite arm is raised towards the sky and extended to a position that puts the arm next to the ear. There are options to stay in this modified Extended Side Angle or to move to another modification by removing the forearm from the thigh and placing that hand on the earth next to the inside arch of the foot. With this pose the primary work is in the bent leg. It is another pose that works the hamstrings and thigh muscles. Through the back of the straight leg and all along that side of the body there is a wonderful stretch, which is greater and more wonderful the better the body is as keeping the shoulder blades down and the back straight (not leaning forward).
We then move into a lunge with many options. As with all movements in Nia the responsibility falls on the participant to decide what it is their body is able to do and needs to do at that moment. We start off by placing the hands on the ground and straightening the foot on the leg that was straight in the Extended Side Angle Pose to be parallel with the foot on the bent leg. Then gently bring the back leg down resting the knee on the ground. As I said, many options so many places to go from here. One can stay here in Low Lunge (Anjaneyasana), or do a moving lunge by moving up and down, or go to High Lunge (Utthita Ashva Sanchalanasana), or come into an extended Warrior Pose I (Virabhadrasana I) with the arms up but with a parallel back foot and a straight back. Here the body receives the benefit of a lunge no matter which one the body does. If doing the extended Warrior Pose I like pose, the glutes and thigh of the bent leg are getting a great deal of work, while the straight leg’s foot parallel to the other foot results in a slight change in the muscles being worked and stretched than with the angled foot position of a traditional Warrior I. The inner thigh gets less work while the work and stretch shifts almost entirely to the back of the leg, the hamstrings and calf. The arms extended up in the extended Warrior Pose I allows for work in the spinal extensors, deltoids, lats, and traps . . . . basically a lot of muscles in the back, including the ones that keep your shoulders down. With the crown of the head reaching towards the sky abs get a stretch too.
Moving from whichever lunge was done to the pyramid where the bent leg is straightened and the crown of the head is reaching over the leg while back is straight and chest is on or close to the straight leg. Of course, variations are offered and participants do what is right for their body to remain in the sensation of Joy. With this pose the sensation experienced is a great stretch. The leg to which the head/chest is close to get the largest stretch in the back. If the body is active with the leg and working to keep the knee cap up then the quadriceps will be engaged. The spine gets a nice stretch because the crown of the head is being reach over and down. The back leg might also feel a stretch in the hamstrings if the body is like many people’s and has tight hamstrings.
This is a small yoga-like sequence that we do as part of the cool down cycle of one of the Nia routines. Again, since Nia is not a Yoga class there are many options and variations that are offered that might not be part of a yoga class teaching strictly yoga. With all classes whether it be Nia, Yoga, Zumba, Jazzercise, whatever, the goal should be to give your body what it needs at that time. Bodies are constantly changing so the needs do too. The idea is not to force the body into a pose, but to allow the muscles and bones to sink into the pose, finding strength and flexibility along with openness in the joints and that constant sensation of Joy. This is a little review of movements that are Yoga or are very similar to Yoga, to explain some of the muscles we use in Nia.
Can you see how Nia can improve strength, stability, and flexibility?
Posted in Muscles, Nia | Tagged: back muscles, butt muscles, Extended Side Agnle Pose, Jazzercise, lunge, Nia, Nia class, Nia Moves, Nia routines, Pyramid, thigh muscles, Warrior I, Warrior II, Yoga, Yoga class, yoga poses, yoga sequence, Zumba | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on December 13, 2011
I teach Nia at a studio in San Jose. The studio is in a part of San Jose called Willow Glen. In January (2012) I will have been holding Nia classes there for three years. It is a studio that is owned by two women who teach and perform belly dancing. One woman is named Hala and the other Amanda. The name of the studio is Halanda. See how they did that? Well, every year they have a Holiday Party which is like Christmas Parties at offices once were, a BIG thank you. The teachers come together to display their talent in front of the audience made up of students, other dancers, and neighborhood people. It was an awesome show and a great party.
As I mentioned in a previous post, this is the first year that I have been able to attend. I was very amazed and impressed. I am going to spend from now until the next party telling my students they really want to attend next year. It is a busy time of the year, but it is so great to come and see all the beautiful dance we have going on in the studio.
There was a lot of food. As you can see there were vegetables, fruit, meat, and cheese. There were several types of crackers. Someone brought sandwiches. Someone brought spanakopita! There were trays of cookies. You can see the huge trays of turkey wraps. There was so much food. As one dish was emptied something else would replace it. The table was like the never ending table of food.
As you may know it is difficult to watch something AND take pictures at the same time. So I really rushed through taking pictures. I was using my phone and my camera. I was taking pictures on my phone and posting them to various social networks, like Facebook, Twitter, and Streamzoo. In addition to this being a “thank you” party, it is also a networking party and a way to try to get people interested in taking classes at the studio. So I was trying to watch at the same time I was Facebooking, tweeting, and posting to Streamzoo. All of this in addition to the fact that the subject(s) are shaking, shimmying, bouncing, and jittering caused me to have mostly very blurry shots.
The first dance shot is of Farima and her Students performing a Silk Road Fusion.
Then there is Marie Manila showing us what Hot Hula is. It appeared to be hula dance, with her telling you what muscles you are working. Maybe they repeat some moves more than they would in a typical hula dance.
Then there is a picture of Farima and some more of her students. They are doing a Persian Dance and they are dressed like princesses. I think the costumes are one of my favorite things about belly dancing. They can be very sparkly and shiny. I love that.
Here is a shot of my friend Laura Thompson. She is multi-talented. Here she is dancing under her stage name, Setareh , with a sword. I have known here for years and I have never seen her dance. It was awesome. Her other passion is jewelry making and her talent lies not only in the beautiful pieces she creates, but in the way she can tweak one of her creations to match you perfectly.
Here is Amanda, a co-owner of the studio, doing a Turkish Dance. 
Below is photo of Vy performing an Egyptian Oriental Dance.
Next is Hala, the other co-owner, doing Egyptian Bellydance.
And then a shot of Michelle and her students. Michelle teaches something called No Rules Dance, which I believe is for belly dancer who have belly dancing experience, but want to learn new things and “break” the rules.
I didn’t take pictures of all the performers, plus some that I did take were too blurry to post. Every dance was a delight to see. So much talent at the studio!
I did a two song Nia demo and many people joined me. It was awesome. We had a great time. I was so happy to be able to share Nia with so many people.
Well, I will probably point you to this post as NEXT December nears so that you can be reminded of what a GREAT time the party is and maybe (if you are around) you will attend. It really is a treat to be able to see so many different types of dance and belly dance all in one show. Thanks always to Hala and Amanda for having such a great little place we all can dance!
Posted in Exercise and Working Out, Nia | Tagged: Amanda, Belly Dance, Certified PiYo Instructor, Christmas party, CPT, exercise, Facebook, Hala, Halanda Dance Studio, Holiday party, http://www.HelpYouWell.com, Los Gatos Nia, Nia, Nia class, Nia Dance, Nia San Jose, Nia studio, Nia Teacher, Nia White Belt, No Rules Belly Dance, Performance, Pilates, PiYo/Pilates/Yoga, San Jose exercise classes, San Jose Nia, San Jose Nia classes, San Jose Nia Teacher, San Jose Workout, social networks, Streamzoo, Terre Pruitt, Twitter, Willow Glen Nia, workout, www.HelpYouWell.com, www.NiaSanJose.com, www.TerrePruitt.com, Yoga | 6 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on October 27, 2011
How do you relax? Or de-stress? There are a lot of different things to do. There is probably almost as many things to do as there are people who can do them. There is eating. Some people use food to release stress and tension. They might eat comfort foods or just eat to eat. There is drinking. Some people drink to “calm their nerves” and relax. Both eating and drinking can be abused and used in this way to excess. There is also meditation. Some people might find some sort of relief in a form of meditation. There are many different ways to meditate. At a basic level it is just a silencing of the mind to help calm the mind. In many practices the person meditating can consciously affect the body after much practice, but others just affect the body through the act of slowing down and being calm. Meditation can take the form of drumming, chanting, sitting, moving in a particular pattern . . . there are many forms. There is also exercise to release stress and relax, either resistance training or aerobic exercise.
Exercise is a great way to relieve stress. Exercise has physical effects that in turn help the body clam down. Aerobic exercise produces endorphins. Endorphins help to relieve pain. Endorphins are also contributed with bringing on a state of euphoria. The state produced by aerobic exercise can help relieve depression. These little protein molecules release stress. Exercise can relieve muscle tension through the simple act of contraction and release.
In addition to releasing endorphins exercise helps slow the production of stress hormones, like corticotrophin, cortisol, and catecholamines. Stress hormones a can raise blood pressure and increase both heart rate and respiratory rate.
By the simple act of doing the exercise you are freeing up the brain from any problem you might have been concentrating on. Having to think about the exercise you are doing is a great way to help get your mind off of anything that might be causing you stress. So in that way alone exercise is a great way to relieve stress. In addition to allowing you to get your mind off any issues that might be bothering you, exercise can also help you work off any frustration. Negative emotions and frustrations can begin to melt away.
Blood pressure is lowered through exercise. This has a very large effect on stress in the body. If the body is functioning better the stress on the body itself is less. Some people get headaches when they blood pressure is high. It is difficult to relax when you have a headache. Lower blood pressure can help in keeping the body calm.
Stress reduction is very important in this busy life that we lead. There is so much to do and so much going on people need something to allow for just being. They need time and space to allow for relaxing and de-stressing.
Nia is one of the unique exercises (like Yoga) because it is an aerobic exercise and it can be a bit of a meditation. It is a great way to relieve stress and relax. I couldn’t post about relaxing and aerobic exercise without mentioning Nia. 🙂
How do you relax? Do you light candles and devour a cheesecake? Do you fill the tub and drink a glass of wine? Do you sit out in nature and enjoy the view? Do you meditate? Do you put on your exercise clothes and workout or go running? I am curious to learn of what you do. There are so many things and ways to relax and reduce stress, I would like to know what you do.
Posted in Exercise and Working Out | Tagged: aerobic exercise, endorphins, lower blood pressure, meditation, Nia, relax, stress hormones, stress reduction, tension, Yoga | 4 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on October 22, 2011
I have learned a lot in my 43 years. I know there is a lot more I could learn, but one thing I have learned AND that I find fascinating is that I need to be ready to receive. Have you ever shared something with someone and they “pishawed” you? You had tried to tell them something you found fascinating/interesting/money-saving/yummy/good to do and they had acted as if you didn’t know what you were talking about. Then two weeks later they come to you to tell you the very thing you tried to share with them? I used to get offended, even upset, but I am starting to see it differently. I am starting to see that when I tell people things and I feel as if I have been “pishawed” it is not as I once perceived it . . . it is not their mind is snapping closed . . . but, maybe, just maybe it is the mind just saying, “What? I have never heard of that . . . let me deal with that later . . .” And then when it is heard again the mind has a space for it because they had heard it before, so their mind is more open to accepting and listening.
It is somewhat like Natural Time in a Nia workout. In Nia, in our workouts, we have natural time allowing individuals to move their bodies in their own time. Could be they are not ready to do the move the first time they see it, but after a few repetitions they are ready to receive. Their bodies are ready. — Funny. I didn’t start this post off as relating to Nia, but as I was sitting here typing it dawned on me that being ready to receive is Natural Time. And as you know, all of the Nia White Belt Principles can be applied to everyday life. Just as many principles from any practice; Yoga, Jujitsu, aikido, Ballet, etc. can be applied to life.
Sometimes we have so much on our minds that adding something new just isn’t gonna work. So maybe when we first hear something we just say, “NO!” Then our brains move on. But maybe the new “thing” left a spot, like rust . . . . but good, where it just stays and either it actually starts seeping into our brain or it just sits there until we hear it again. Then we are able to open to the idea. It is like the old idea of a seed. Sometimes it is not ready to be planted, but it is there in its own little space.
I can actually remember specific times when this has happened, especially with my hubby, but I am posting about it because I recognized awhile ago that I do this. Because I have heard something and pishawed it then later examined it. It fascinates me. It makes me wonder why I didn’t recognize good advice/information when I first heard it. I wonder why I am not smart enough to recognize beneficial information when I see it. So that is why I think that we have to be ready to receive. It really doesn’t have to do with being intelligent. Sometimes being ready is something of natural time. We have to be ready in our own time. In our own time is the best time in which to learn. Amazes me.
Have you ever learned or heard something and when you really thought about it realized that you had heard the same thing before but it didn’t sink in? Have you ever experienced the second time around as being the time you benefited from something?
Posted in Misc | Tagged: Aikido, ballet, Jujitsu, Natural Time, Nia, Nia Moves, Nia principles, Nia White Belt, Nia White Belt Principles, Nia workout, ready to receive, Yoga | 4 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on July 21, 2011
When we possess a better understanding of things it allows us to work better with them. By “work” I mean anything from enhancing, to changing, to bettering, to “dealing with”, to molding, to melding, whatever. It just is that the better we understand something the better “it” can be. There are personality types, as an example Type A and Type B. When there is an idea of how a specific personality acts, sometimes there can be ways of interacting with that personality to allow for harmony. With any “typing” there is variation, so nothing is exact, it just can give us an idea. In Nia, we have a little bit more in-depth approach to “types”. It is energy type. Now no energy is necessarily better than the other. What is better or “best” is to have BALANCE of all the types. So this form of “typing” can be utilized to allow you to learn what type you tend towards and give you a chance to work at balancing your types. The system of energy typing Nia uses is connected with the nine basic Nia movement forms; T’ai chi, Tae Kwon Do, Aikido, Jazz Dance, Modern Dance, Duncan Dance, Feldenkrais, the Alexander Technique, and Yoga.
In The Nia Technique, a book written by Debbie Rosas and Carlos Rosas, there are questionnaires that can guide you to understanding what your particular energy type might lean towards. They are “True/False” questions. Here are some examples from each energy type:
(T’ai Chi) “I am often, soft, relaxed, and internally calm” and “I breathe with great ease”
(Tae Kwon Do) “I love speed and power” and “I am physical, conscious, precise, focused, and directed in my life, getting what I want through hard work and precision”
(Aikido) “In life, I am all about win-win” and “I move with grace and seamless dynamics, turning lines into circles”
(Jazz Dance) “I am impulsive, lusty, sassy, demonstrative, showy, alive, fun, and electrifying to my friends” and “I love to shimmy, get dressed for the party, and be uninhibited”
(Modern Dance) “I love playing with extremes and contrasts” and “I love contrasts, gravity, surprise, and the start and stop of life, as well as moments of continuity”
(Duncan Dance) “I am all about the soul, and in life I move in childlike ways” and “I flow spontaneously through my life”
(Teachings of Moshe Feldenkrais) “I am all about sensation” and “I am healthy and love anything that is healing”
(Alexander Technique) “I explore life with ease and flexibility” and “I seek the simple, useful, authentic, and organic ways”
(Yoga) “I can be gentle, powerful, focused, conscious, and receptive” and “I love lying down, sitting, being prone, and playing with back bend motions.”
There are nine questionnaires with nine statements you mark as true or false. After answering each one there is information for those with “mostly true” answers and “mostly false”. The idea is to be able to identify which energy is stronger and which one is weaker. Then you can work on strengthening the weaker energy during your Nia workout and in your life. It is interesting to find out where your tendencies lie. If you are interested in finding out what your Energy Type done the Nia way is, get a copy of The Nia Technique. It is a great way to get to know Nia and you’ll probably learn a lot about yourself on the way.
Posted in Movement Forms of Nia, Nia | Tagged: Aikido, Carlos Rosas, Debbie Rosas, Duncan Dance, Energy types, Feldenkrais, Jazz Dance, modern dance, Nia, Nia energy, Nia Energy Type, Nia flow, Nia workout, nine basic Nia movement forms, personality questionnaires, personality types, Tae kwon do, Tai Chi, the Alexander Technique, The Nia Technique, Type A personality, Type B personality, win-win, Yoga | 4 Comments »
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