My husband and I used to dance. We danced “Country Western”, we did the two step, the cha-cha, the waltz, and the west coast swing. We liked to dance. I sometimes would fake it though. Yeah, I would. We would go to a lesson and they would show us a move. We would practice it during the lesson then usually there was a dance party after. We would join the party. My husband would always DO THE MOVE WE JUST LEARNED. I would say, “Ack! You’re doing the move we just learned!” And he would look at me with a look that said to me, “Of course, Silly Woman, that is why we are here. To learn stuff and then actually DO IT.” But for me the time spent in the lesson was never enough to actually learn it. Even though the leader’s part is much more difficult than the follower’s, I still couldn’t get it in one lesson. So a lot of the times I would fake it. And by fake it I mean, that if you were to look at my feet and KNOW where there were supposed to be, you would know my feet were not correct. I could move in a way that if you were just casually looking you would think I was doing it right. I would always make sure I was facing the right direction so you wouldn’t really know my feet were not doing the move correctly unless you knew the move yourself! Since most people don’t stare at your feet the entire time I often got away with it. I was good at faking it. Faking it was easy in the fast songs.
Eventually I would learn the move correctly, but there were some moves that took me a long time to get. Then somewhere along the way we decided to compete. I mean, competing really is the only way to know if you are really improving and to spend all that money on lessons and not improve can be a silly thing. So we decided to compete. Do you know what that meant? No more faking it. I mean the whole point of competition is to have someone look at you and judge — among other things — your feet. So I had to stop faking it.
I am learning a lot as I sub for different exercise classes. I recently subbed a class and I was reminded of the faking it. It is easy to fake it in some classes. Let’s say Zumba for example, I’ve posted before about how Zumba is all agility (I have since learned otherwise, but I will reflect on that in a post at a later time). Zumba is the fast start and stop. Move stop the move and move the other direction, move stop, move stop. The full range of motion is usually not achieved, you are moving to another move before you really get to finish the first one. Start, stop, start, stop, start stop. It is easy to fake. The fast dances were always easy for me to fake. The good thing about faking it is you are still moving and that is good in a sense. Even if you are not doing the move correctly you are moving and burning calories and often it is so fast the casually observer or someone standing next to you is not going to notice. I think this is one of the things that people like about Zumba . . . you are moving and dancing even when you are faking it.
It is the slow dances that are difficult. With Nia it is not as easy to fake. With Zumba a move could be hopping from one leg to the other. With Nia we might actually balance on one leg. No speed to it, just lifting one leg off the ground and standing on one leg. Strength and stability. No faking. I always invite participants to use a chair, a wall, the barre, or even their other foot, but either way you cannot FAKE standing on one leg. Sadly, I think for some, not being able to fake it keeps them from joining in the joy of Nia. The judgment from themselves is so great that they can’t let go and just do what they can because what they can do is not blurred by the start and the stop. What they can’t do is not blurred by speed. And they don’t give themselves the chance to learn how to do the moves. They don’t allow themselves the time to get the muscles in a condition where they can move slow and controlled. Faking it is easy, it is actually doing a move slow, controlled, and correctly where the difficulty comes in.
When I take a Zumba class I know I fake it often because I don’t know the move so I concentrate on being at the right place and/or facing the right direction at the right time. Eventually I get the moves . . . well, most of the time.
I know this is my opinion, I don’t really KNOW, but it is coming from a place of judgment based on some things I have seen and heard. You know I am always trying to figure out the differences between Zumba and Nia and why people like them. And recently this was a thought because of something I heard and observed . . . the speed, the faking, the judgment.
Do you fake until you make it in your exercise class?
So if you are participating in the little challenge of not getting on the scale for either 21 days or 30 days, today is the 21st day. I assigned 21 days so that is would land on a posting day (I post Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays). I will let you know that due to more “stuff” as I had posted about before, I got off to a late start on my own challenge! So how is it going for you? Has it been a challenge to stay off the scale? Have you noticed that you are not obsessing about the number the scale displays because you are not looking at it? Now the thing with measuring with a measuring tape instead of scale means you need to keep doing what you’re doing. So if you were doing some type of cardio three times a week and adding some strength training in and weighing yourself, looking for that number to change when you stop using the scale it doesn’t mean to stop doing the other stuff. It is just a different way to track progress. And for some it could be a little bit of a reprieve IF they allow the scale to affect their mood. I found it funny that today on FaceBook someone posted about the scale stealing motivation and she reminded people it doesn’t tell the whole story. That is what I am saying too. That is why I thought it would be nice to change it up.
I know that some people don’t even have a scale. Some people don’t even use one. Everyone is different. I just hear a lot about people being upset because they didn’t lose a pound “today” and they’ve been trying so hard. So I think that maybe for those people it is nice to try a different way to track progress.
My schedule is a bit “off” this month as I am spending time dealing with “stuff” and I have picked up a lot of classes that I am subbing for the City of San Jose. I picked up eleven classes which is great but I have not been able to concentrate as much on my resistance training as I would like. My numbers did not change as much as I was hoping to see when I thought of this challenge. What about you? Did you see a change in numbers? Are you stopping at day 21 or going to continue on and see what 30 days will do?
Not only do I have the added class times to do I have a little bit of added prep time for each class and the travel time to and from each class. Since I am subbing in Nia for other classes such as Zumba, Zumba Gold, Pilates, Kick Boxing, and Cardio Toning, I do try to pick Nia routines that will fit. I am not changing Nia to fit the class, because I explained how that turned out in a post earlier this month, but I do try to pick routines that might fit a little better. With a Zumba Gold class I might do a Nia routine that is a bit mellow or doesn’t have a lot of bow stances. And with subbing a Zumba class I might put together a lot of the higher energy “get moving songs”. So all of that cuts into my plan. But I’m going to buckle down a bit because I have some stuff that I needed to get done this month behind me. I am going to keep up with this little challenge myself and see where that tape leads me.
Well? How are you still with me? Are doing the challenge? How is it going? Doing it for 21 days? Doing it for 30 days?
I have a confession to make. It is one I might have even confessed before. I know I have done it before. It is easy for me to get caught up. I want to please people. I want the supervisor to know that I am working to keep the students IN the class. I want the students attending the class to like it and want to be there. When you are a substitute instructor leading a different format than is usually taught it is very different from when you are teaching a class of the expected format. Many people are taught that cardio – aerobic exercise – is extremely fast, high impact, and difficult so it is very hard to change that mindset. I was asked by someone who understands both the fact that cardio does not have to be extremely fast or high impact and that people are trained to think it is, if I could do Nia a little higher because people expect cardio to be a specific way. So caught up in wanting to give the students what they are accustomed to getting I put together a routine . . . kind of rushed . . . that didn’t have ALL the elements that a Nia class normally has. It was not good. It felt “off”. I was trying to make Nia something it is not. Nia is not Zumba. Nia is not Cardio-Sculpt. Nia is not extremely fast, rushed, and high impact. Nia is not Jazzercise. Nia is not UJAM. Nia is not all of or any of these other names that there are for classes that are fast, rushed, and high impact. Nia is an amazing practice. Nia is a great workout. Nia is a wonderful cardio dance exercise. And I need to stop trying to make it be something it is not just because people are used to cardio a specific way.
So I did a routine that didn’t feel right to me. I thought I would get up the next morning and do the same routine for the class I was asked at the last minute to sub, I was going to try to “bring it” to the students. As I was getting into bed a little agitated from the “not feeling right class”, it washed over me like a refreshing revelation . . . . DO NIA! Duh! Bring “IT”, and make that “IT” Nia. I got caught up and in my trying to bring the students what they are used to, I didn’t allow them the richness of something new. The richness of Nia.
Now, I want you to understand that the Nia Technique creates wonderful routines and all we teachers have to do is learn them and teach them. But we are also allowed to use other music, make up our own routines, mix and match the routines they have created, and make up our own katas. Of course, we need to follow the Nia class formula and the seven cycles which contain the traditional warm-up, move it, and cool-down. I also think when creating a routine/class – in general – it should be balanced; as an example not all songs/movements should be lateral ones or forward and back ones, there should be a mix of movement and the 52 Nia moves. I create routines from Nia routines all the time. So it was not the fact that I put songs together that created the not feeling right routine, it was ME. It was ME trying to make Nia something it is not.
I need to center myself. I need to stick to what I know and not try to give people the class they are used to. I KNOW Nia is amazing and awesome and does need to try to be anything it is not. I KNOW THAT. I just get caught up.
Another point I want to make is, I am not saying those other formats are bad. In fact, I like some of the other formats I have tried. One of these days I might even teach another cardio format. I am saying Nia is Nia, it is not any of the other formats and I need to remember that and let it stand on its own. I need to remember to trust Nia and allow it to touch the people it needs to touch and let the others attend the other dance classes. I need to remember that when I am asked to sub a class I am going to sub it with Nia and not try to make Nia be what that class usually is. I keep thinking to myself, “DUH!”
Thank you for letting me confess and do a public face-in-the-hand-plant!
Do you EVER do that in any section of your life – try to make something be something else even though what you have is just perfect the way it is?
I learn A LOT when I teach Nia. I learn a lot when I teach anything, but since my focus now is teaching Nia, I say I learn a lot when I teach Nia. One thing I learn or I am reminded of is not everyone has taken a class that has taught them basic steps. It is like when I take a Zumba class and the teach calls out a basic Latin dance and I have no idea what she is talking about. I always laugh to myself and say, “I don’t know what the steps are to that basic Latin dance!” But then I remember my Nia training and my Nia practice and while I try to do whatever dance it is she says we are doing, I remain in Joy and just allow myself to move my body in a way that is dance to me. But not everyone has had Nia training and not everyone practices Nia so it is not as easy for them to just allow their bodies to move and not think so much. One of the tools that Nia uses to help teachers instruct the dance and to just help one dance in general is the clock. I posted about how we look at the clock in a Nia class — ok that is just me because I need the actual reference. I have posted about our step called the “Slow Clock” . This post is about the movement called the Fast Clock. The Fast Clock is one of Nia’s 52 Moves
The Fast Clock is similar to the Slow Clock in that we are stepping on the “hours” of a clock (oh, imagine that!), but with the fast clock we don’t return to center before stepping on another number/hour. So if you stand with your feet together imaging you are in the center of the clock, then step your right foot to 12 o’clock, then back to 6 o’clock (without stopping in the center) that is the fast clock. There are a lot of combinations that can be done when doing a fast clock. You could step to 12 o’clock, then 3 o’clock, then 6 o’clock, then return to center. Then your other foot could step to 12 o’clock, then 9 o’clock, then 6 o’clock, then return to center.
POP QUIZ: Which foot would step to 12 o’clock, then 3 o’clock, then 6 o’clock, then return to center? 🙂
Just the same as the Slow Clock you can actually take a step where you place the weight on the foot that is on the number/hour or you can touch or make it a tap. Sometimes you might even get fancy or really dancy and just do it in the air. But all that fancy stuff is obviously added after you learn the basic Fast Clock. As with many things, Nia does have basic steps and proper ways to execute them, then as we dance we add on to them to make them a more animated part of the dance.
As with many of the moves in Nia the participant is responsible for providing their own desired intensity. You can easily work up a sweat in Nia if you make your movements bigger or louder. We sometimes refer to it as turning up the volume. But again, that is up to you and how you are feeling during that class. A “louder” fast clock could have lengthier steps making the imaginary clock face you are dancing on very large. Or your “bigger” could be going deeper into the steps, bringing your body closer to the earth. Having tools like the face of the clock to assist in knowing where to step, allows the Nia student to focus on their body and what it needs and not be so caught up in whether they are “doing it right”. With the clock it makes it easy to teach and easy to follow!
Ok, now get up and practice your clocks! Which foot goes to 12 o’clock? Which foot goes to 9 o’clock?
I have a huge favor or request. I know I have mentioned it before, but I don’t think I have done a single post on it, but recently I, myself, was confronted with this situation so I really want to make a serious plea. I am going to go out on a limb and say this is a plea for many fitness instructors/dance exercise teachers. If you go to a class and you don’t like it, please, please, please try it at least two more times. If you are ok with the instructor, but the class is just not that good in your opinion, give it another chance. There are a million reasons why you might not like that particular class on that particular day. It could be the routine or exercises you were doing that day so ask the instructor when s/he will be changing to a new one. Or it could be the music, so, again talk to the instructor. Maybe ask if the class you just experienced was the norm or the typical class. Sometimes instructors decide to change it up and try something new but after taking it to the class they might decide they didn’t like it either. So ask. Also ask the other students. Don’t give up on something after just one class.
If taking three classes from the same instructor sounds like a waste of time and money to you, try a different instructor. We are all different and we strive to represent the brand/technique/practice to the best of our ability, but we also add out own style and it could be that the style is not something that you connect with. It could also be — if you don’t like the class — that the instructor is not necessarily sticking to the program. You might enjoy the class with an instructor that is more closely following the idea of the fitness brand/technique/practice.
I had been to a few fitness classes recently and I felt some elements that I believe should be included in this type of class were missing. Plus in a couple of classes I felt as if it was not all that the brand promised. But I attended a few more classes with different instructors and I began to see a big difference. I also took it upon myself to become educated a bit in the type of class and now I understand why I like one class over the other. One instructor was following the program more closely than the other one and it actually is more enjoyable. I actually went to four or five classes with three different instructors. I walked out of one class saying, “Dang, I really hate that.” Whereas the other two I thought, “Now that is what it is all about!”
So if you walk out of a class thinking you really don’t like it, that is ok, you obviously didn’t like THAT particular class, but it could be the brand/technique/practice wasn’t represented correctly. So try again. Maybe the instructor was having a bad day. Yes, it is our job to instruct and hold a good class, no matter what, but . . . c’mon we are only human. Sometimes we just have “off days”. There are all types of reasons to give an instructor another chance.
I know I have mentioned this before, but if I HAVE done an entire post on it before and I am repeating myself I apologize, but I really feel strongly about this. Because, as I said, twice I walked out of a class saying, “No way!”, but then the two other instructors showed me a “Yes way!”
Now keep in mind that I am not just talking about Nia, I am talking about ANY class you try; Zumba, Jazzercise, Barre Fitness, Turbo Kick, whatever.
If you end up giving it a good try and still end up not liking it at least you will have burned some calories in the process. But I bet if you were drawn to the class in the first place you will end up finding a class and an instructor that you like. Just don’t give up after the first class, do yourself a favor and keep at it and you’ll end up finding something to allow you to gain all the benefit of an exercise workout.
Have you ever gone to a class and not gone back because you didn’t like it after only one class?
I wrote a post about a four-point turn, that is what I call one of the turns we do while we are doing Nia. In Nia it is sometimes called an Aikido turn. But it is a turn that is done in many dance exercise classes, including Zumba. I realize that even if you are reading the post while trying to do it, it could be a bit confusing so . . . . . voila! A video.
The first clip is of me facing away and I start with a RIGHT turn, then alternate. Then the second clip is of me facing the camera.
As with my Aikido turn post maybe right and left indications will work better for you. In my other post I decribed the left turn, so here I will write out the right turn. And as stated, the right turn is the first turn I demonstrate. Turn your head/eyes to the right, allow your hand/arm to follow. Move your right foot to “toes out” turning your right thigh bone to the right. Then step on your RIGHT FOOT in a “toes out” position, put your weight on it 100%. As you are stepping all your weight on your RIGHT FOOT, allow your body to turn to the right, in the direction you want to go. Swing your LEFT LEG (free leg) around to what seems like in front of your RIGHT FOOT. Step onto your LEFT FOOT, toes pointing to the back of the room (or what started off as the back of the room), take the weight off the RIGHT FOOT (“toes out” foot). Swing your RIGHT FOOT (free leg) behind to land about in line with the heel of your LEFT FOOT (weighted foot). You will land standing on the RIGHT FOOT, and turn the LEFT FOOT to be parallel with the right foot. . . making that the fourth point or step.
Even though in the first clip on the right turn you can’t see my right foot “toes out”, I do the turn enough times in the video for you to see how the first step is a “toes out” move. Starting the turn with the “toes out” and already turning the direction you want to go will go a long way in enabling you to get all the way around. Even if it takes a lot of practice to get all the way around, starting that first step with the leg in outward rotation will help a lot. I also said in my last post that I think it is easier to do this move fast as opposed to slow. So it might be a good idea to not try it really slow at first because it is not easy slow. Just go. Right toes out, left, right, left. Or left toes out, right left right. Remember we do not spin on our feet. We need to pick the feet up off the ground to avoid blisters and strengthen the leg. Also you might notice that this turn is done on the balls of the feet. You put all your weight on the ball of the foot.
While my fourth “point” or step I am exaggerating and pointing my toe in that might not always be the case. When we are moving to the music the fourth “point” could end up being any number of things depending upon many number of things. The choreography sometimes calls for different things. Plus there is the individual body that is doing it to consider. Sometimes people can’t get all the way around, it could be that the music is really moving and there isn’t enough time to get around and settle into that fourth step or it could be that this is one of those moves that will take practice.
It’s a great move that allows us to use ALL five Nia Sensations. Flexibility on the “toes out” and as we place our feet, mobility in our joints, strength to get us around and stop, agility to stop, and stability to stay stopped. Cool, huh?
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!
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?
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?
This is not something new to you, I am certain. Sometimes things are not what they seem. I get contacted almost every day by people wanting to help me advertise Nia and my business. I am always interested because Nia is not yet a household name. Nia is not yet as big as Zumba. More often than not, I listen to what the caller has to say. I was recently disappointed after I received a call from a rather large company. The woman identified herself as a person working for this large company. She said that they were contacting people in my industry who might be interested in being on this company’s list of preferred service providers. Since I had never had any dealings with this HUGE company, when she asked if she could send me some information regarding being on this preferred list I said yes. I was curious as to how I could be a preferred service provider when I had never worked with this company or for this company. Well, I got my answer rather quickly as this person did as she said. She sent me an e-mail with the information within minutes of talking to me. It seems that all one has to do to be included on this HUGE company’s preferred service provider list is pay, at the bottom of the scale, $395.00 for an ad. Then — boom! — you are a preferred service provider.
I was disappointed, not that I wouldn’t be on the list, but I was disappointed about the list. This list of preferred service providers is provided to the employees of this company. If I were an employee of this to-remain-nameless-HUGE-technological-company, I would expect them to be preferring people that they have had some experience with. I would think that, if I was employed by this company that they would be recommending people to me for some other reason then the company, the service provider, paid them. The pricing started at $395.00 and went to $995.00, with something else (I am not certain what type of ad) for $100 each.
In addition to payment to be preferred the item that was to be advertised on this “preferred service provider list” was DISCOUNTED services. So it was a preferred service provider list that offers discounts to the employees. I honestly didn’t know that is how it worked. I thought the preferred service provider list was more than just advertising.
Also, I would like to point out that while the caller said she worked for the company, she meant as a hired outside marketing company. So . . . not only does this company have a preferred list of providers that are nothing more than people who pay for adverting in a preferred magazine of discounts for the employees, but the company doesn’t even do its own selling of ads in this “prefered service vendor list”. So not only are the service vendors not actually preferred they aren’t even known to the company whose list they are on.
Bummer. Just another lesson in some things not actually being what they seem. If you are one that works for a company that has a preferred service provider list you might want to find out HOW they get to be “preferred”. I guess I just thought of preferred as one having been chosen over another, not just having paid to be so.
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