The focus of today’s class was Nia Principle #13: Dancing What You Sense. When we experience the essential lesson of Nia — that life is lived through sensation — we become connected, connected to the body, connected to our lives, connected to the world, and connected to the moment and to the great presence that […]
Entries Tagged as 'The Foundation of Nia'
Dancing What You Sense and the Poetry of Kabir
June 29th, 2010 · 2 Comments
Tags: Nia Class Focus · Ongoing Nia Classes · Poem of the Week · The Foundation of Nia
Nia Focus of the Year for 2010
January 1st, 2010 · 1 Comment
Happy New Year! . . . Whatever that means. It might mean another holy every day opportunity to be here now and celebrate together the preciousness of what is happening. “Happy” and “happen” are from Middle English hap, meaning “happen,” as well as “good luck.” So “happiness” means “happen-ness” and “lucky.” It’s the fortunate state of […]
Tags: Dancing Through Life · Etymology · Nia Class Focus · Ongoing Nia Classes · The Foundation of Nia
Moving Forward in Sanctuary
December 26th, 2009 · No Comments
Today we chose the focus from the basket of 2009 focus cards for almost the last time this year. The focus of our Nia practice today was “moving forward.” As we move forward toward 2010, we find ourselves in the seven day period between what we call Christmas and what we call the New Year. […]
Tags: Dancing Through Life · Ongoing Nia Classes · The Foundation of Nia
Finding Your Own Level in Nia
December 26th, 2008 · 1 Comment
How do I adapt movements in Nia class to fit my body? What if I have an injury or a condition that I’m healing? White Belt Principle #7, The Three Planes and Three Intensity Levels, offers us an important way to personalize our movement choices. The intensity levels give us a map of how we […]
Tags: 1) White Belt #2 · Ongoing Nia Classes · The Foundation of Nia
Dancing Through Life
August 16th, 2008 · No Comments
Going about the practice of dancing through life, living meditation and life as art, the body invites us into its deep reservoir of sensation, perception and proprioception in all its 75 trillion cells. The body itself is awareness. Dancing through life invites us to experience all of life to be as pleasurable as when […]
Tags: Dancing Through Life · Ongoing Nia Classes · The Foundation of Nia
Feet and Hands: 2008 Olympics
August 14th, 2008 · 3 Comments
In Nia we call the feet, “the hands that touch the Earth,” and the hands, “the feet that touch the space.” Front paws, back paws, four paws radiating from the body center. Check out these beautiful photos of feet and hands from the Olympics in Beijing: Feet Hands Hands are feet, feet are hands Look […]
Tags: Ongoing Nia Classes · The Foundation of Nia
The Five Sensations
May 26th, 2008 · No Comments
In Nia the Five Sensations help us develop the art of sensing. Sensing how your body feels at any given moment — during a Nia class, another movement practice, or in life — is a great way to become your own best teacher. I teach myself with my senses. My senses tell me how to […]
Tags: Ongoing Nia Classes · The Foundation of Nia
The 13 Nia Principles
February 1st, 2008 · No Comments
1. The Joy of Movement 2. Natural Time and the Movement Forms 3. Music and the 8BC System 4. FreeDance 5. Awareness 6. The Base 7. Three Planes and Three Intensity Levels 8. The Core of the Body 9. Creative Arm and Hand Expressions 10. X-Ray Anatomy 11. Business and Marketing 12. Continuing Education 13. […]
Tags: 1) White Belt #2 · The Foundation of Nia
The Nia Belt System
January 24th, 2008 · 5 Comments
When Debbie Rosas and Carlos Rosas gave birth to Nia in 1983, they had journeyed through dance arts (jazz, modern and Duncan), martial arts (Tai Chi, Tai Kwon Do, Aikido) and healing arts (Alexander, Feldenkrais, yoga) guided by their bodies’ natural desire for the joy of movement. As they began training other Nia teachers, they […]