Not where I plan to be or where I once was.
To Dance and enJOY every moment with awareness.
Designed so that I can personalize the way I
move and the way my body was meant to move.
Fit, Centered, Balanced, Flexible, Strong,
Couragous, Daring, Beautiful, Happy, Energetic, Alive.
Nia is based on The Body's Way. Simply put, everything we do in Nia is supported by the design of the body, which tells us how and why we do what we do. The Body's Way is our map that when followed, allows the body's own elegant responses to create functional movement. It is a map that uniquely supports everyone's body, mind, emotions and spirit. Nia is an expressive fitness and awareness movement that is filled with depth, tenderness and clarity.
It blends steps and stances taken from the essence of nine movement forms including Martial Arts (Tai Chi, Taekwon Do, Aikido), Dance Arts (Jazz, Modern and Duncan Dance) and Healing Arts (Yoga, the work of Moshe Feldenkrais and Alexander Technique). Nia offers an experience that embraces your individual creativity, self-inquiry, and free expression.
In Swahili, Nia means with purpose. It is a living system that works with the body's natural wisdom and intelligence. Nia supports the Pleasure Principle. If it feels good, keep doing it. If it hurts, stop. Nia can be done on your choice of movement levels one, two, or three on any exercise. The levels are basically just more creative and more difficult amplifications of the same movements so you can pump up the volume on any exercise at any time. Nia is a complete program that tones and trims the body superbly -- through pleasure, not pain. So kind to the joints, it is done barefoot. It starts with fitness and ends with comprehensive healing of the whole self. It is a cardiovascular program that uses whole-body, expressive, grounded movement, rather than repetitive jogging or lifting. Nia is adaptable to every level of fitness, every age, and type of body, even those with special limitations such as asthma, arthritis and is even adaptable during pregnancy.
That is what makes the method so much fun and so accessible; you are creating all the time, not following a tight, rigid method or teacher. You are creating from the inside out. Liberation of the body is the goal and liberation is fun. Liberation is breathing. There is no competition, no right or wrong (but there is better), no master teacher to heed and no goal except the liberation of the body. That liberation comes through building a deep emotional connection to the body through the movements.
It blends steps and stances taken from the essence of nine movement forms including Martial Arts (Tai Chi, Taekwon Do, Aikido), Dance Arts (Jazz, Modern and Duncan Dance) and Healing Arts (Yoga, the work of Moshe Feldenkrais and Alexander Technique). Nia offers an experience that embraces your individual creativity, self-inquiry, and free expression.
In Swahili, Nia means with purpose. It is a living system that works with the body's natural wisdom and intelligence. Nia supports the Pleasure Principle. If it feels good, keep doing it. If it hurts, stop. Nia can be done on your choice of movement levels one, two, or three on any exercise. The levels are basically just more creative and more difficult amplifications of the same movements so you can pump up the volume on any exercise at any time. Nia is a complete program that tones and trims the body superbly -- through pleasure, not pain. So kind to the joints, it is done barefoot. It starts with fitness and ends with comprehensive healing of the whole self. It is a cardiovascular program that uses whole-body, expressive, grounded movement, rather than repetitive jogging or lifting. Nia is adaptable to every level of fitness, every age, and type of body, even those with special limitations such as asthma, arthritis and is even adaptable during pregnancy.
That is what makes the method so much fun and so accessible; you are creating all the time, not following a tight, rigid method or teacher. You are creating from the inside out. Liberation of the body is the goal and liberation is fun. Liberation is breathing. There is no competition, no right or wrong (but there is better), no master teacher to heed and no goal except the liberation of the body. That liberation comes through building a deep emotional connection to the body through the movements.
