Purpose, Potential, Possibility - The Path of the Sacred Athlete!

“Don’t limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as you mind lets you. What you believe, you can achieve.” Mary Kay Ash

Our BIG focus as we stepped into 2012 has been becoming a Sacred Athlete.  The path to becoming and being a Sacred Athlete is a choice; it is a mindset.  It is a clear path of living into our greatness and opening to our limitless potential and endless possibilities available to us when we choose pleasure and love as our path.  Have you ever looked up the definition of Athlete?  It is defined by Webster as a "person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina".  The definition applies to the game of Life, and requires the same skills.  The game of Life becomes Sacred and we become Sacred Athletes when we bring awareness to all we do; where every move is meaningful, fulfilling and rewarding to the honoring of our body, mind, emotions and spirit. 

A Sacred Athlete is a teacher and healer to all people.   We are all teachers.  We teach others with our actions, our thoughts and words.  We teach others through our choices.  Choosing to keep your body healthy through movement and dance shows others how you have chosen to love your body. 

Whether you are starting this journey, continuing your journey, or have stepped off the path and are now ready to step back in, honor your process and then open your heart to your potential...it limitless.  Open to all the possibilities life has for you...it is endless.  Your body's potential is limitless...200/700 (bones and muscles) unique ways to move and heal.  The possibilities of your body are endless...9 movement forms to connect to; 3 planes of movement and intensity levels to explore; Move/Explore/Create your FreeDance...ENDLESS ways to create.  In class and in life..Purpose, Potential, Possibility.  The journey is worth it!!! 

This week I will be combing 2 Nia routines:  Beyond and Birth.  Both routines are masterful creations designed for us to discover the potential and possibilities...to condition us for the game of Life.  And they both pack in so much fun!!!  Dance with me!

"Life is discovering
The love that we create
Life is a mystery
We need to embrace

In every way
You need to let go
You'll see all your dreams will follow
In every way
You need to let go...Rise by Samantha
EnJOY the music and we will dance it together in class:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9gFGfAF9O4

 
My classes this week:
Monday(today) and Thursday Nia at 5:30 pm,
and Saturday Nia at 9:30 am all at http://www.thesynergystudio.com.

Learn more and go deeper into the connection with you body and your life by taking a Nia White Belt Intensive.   Our next intensive is coming up on October 5th. Sign up and receive pre-training materials! http://www.nianow.com/joanie


Love & Light,
Joanie Brooks,  Nia Training Faculty, Nia White Belt Trainer, Nia 5 Stages of Healing Facilitator, Journey Dance Facilitator, Mindful Change Coach
http://www.joaniebrooks.me/
 Nia - Somatic Education for EveryBody.  Nia is an expressive movement form & lifestyle practice that uses The Body's Way to achieve physical, mental, emotional & spiritual fitness & well-being."   

75 trillion cells in your body…Play with them all with Nia!

There is beauty in the world. So much beauty in the world!!

All we have to do is look for beauty, and she is there all around us at any given moment.  Madisyn Taylor. 

Beauty can be found every way...in every color, flavor, scent, texture; outside your window, inside your house, in the person right next too...In the Mirror!  The beauty of life surrounds us everywhere!!!  Just pause for a moment and look around at all the beauty and art in your world.  Life as Art (LAA) is the 3rd element of the Dancing Through Life triad.  LAA reminds us that life - our life - can be as inspiring as viewing a great painting.  When we perceive the whole world as art, inspiration flows through our entire body.  It's a physical sensation that can change your body, mind, emotions and spirit!  And this ability to appreciate beauty around you can have a healing effect on your being as well.

So I LOVE the song by Macy Gray "Beauty in the World".  It has been singing in my mind for many days and brings a smile to my face no matter what is going on in my life.  Sensing LAA makes the ordinary seem inspiring.  I get this rush of energy and love when this happens.  Inhaling beauty...I know it affects my cells and all inside me.  My spirit auto-Magically sours and my emotions are revived when I'm feeling down.   Principle 5 of the Nia White Belt, Awareness, is about paying attention to body sensations and from this information, making choices that bring healing into our lives.  It is also a method of channeling and using this awareness to improve the quality of living in your body and life..Dancing Through Life.  It invites us to go beyond the dance studio and bringing this awareness into every thing we do.  It is big!!  LAA, changing my perception of life to create pleasing things around me is MEDICINE.   

So smell the moment and then go ahead - look in the mirror and take on the beauty of YOU - your sacred shape.  Now that is ART!!  Here is the link to the Macy Gray song...I can see you dancing and it is beautiful!   
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qX7ZsxD3Ik

See you in class this week and feel inspired to be artful with your outfit in class!! 
 
My classes this week:
Monday and Thursday Nia at 5:30 pm
Saturday Nia at 9:30 am and
Sunday at 4:00 pm all at http://www.thesynergystudio.com


Learn more and go deeper into the connection with you body and your life by taking a Nia White Belt Intensive.   Check out my trainings with Adelle Brewer at:  http://www.nianow.com/joanie

Love & Light,
Joanie Brooks,  Nia Training Faculty, Nia White Belt Trainer, Nia 5 Stages of Healing Facilitator, Journey Dance Facilitator, Mindful Change Coach
http://www.joaniebrooks.me/

Nia - Somatic Education for EveryBody.  Nia is an expressive movement form & lifestyle practice that uses The Body's Way to achieve physical, mental, emotional & spiritual fitness & well-being."   

75 trillion cells in your body…Play with them all with Nia!

The Power of Our Heart

Good Morning EveryBody!

Our hearts have the power to give and receive love for ourselves, others and the Universe.  Our hearts have the power to transform any situation into peace, harmony, and joy through the giving and receiving of love.  

"The moment you have in your heart this extraordinary thing called love and feel the depth, the delight, the ecstasy of it, you will discover that for you the world is transformed."
—Jiddu Krishnamurti

Our heart loves to dance and be open, and through this openness...a heart wide open...we are present to give and receive love to ourselves, others and the Universe.  We can open our hearts by simply undulating our spine and moving our ribcage.  Or by allowing our sounds to vibrate and open our heart.  Take a nice deep breath and then on the exhale sound AAAAAAA!!!  Sense the vibration in your heart!!  This vibration is the voice of your heart! 

One of the ways we can sense the giving and receiving of love is through our hands.  Through touch our hands give and receive love and compassion through the simple act of a hug or a soft brush on a shoulder or cheek.  Take your hands and place them on your heart center and breath...close your eyes and smell the moment.  Receive and give love simultaneously, unconditionally.  Now open your eyes and sense the world around you...did it transform?   Our hands are an extension of our heart.  Did you know your left ring finger has a direct vessel to your heart?

I recently finished a 21 day mediation challenge with a focus on love...opening, giving and receiving.  At times the opening of my heart was overwhelming and I felt vulnerable.  When this occurred, I allowed myself to move through these emotions, and through this dance I reaffirmed there is no greater gift than the giving and receiving of love.  In order for me to receive and give, I need to open my heart!  So today and everyday I will do my best to give and receive love in its full power and glory; to connect to the power of my heart.

Join me this week in love and dance as we celebrate the power of our heart.  This afternoon at 4:00 pm, I join 5 other Nia teachers as we come together as a community to give and receive at our Nia Jam benefit, honoring the Lone Star Paralysis Foundation and the Colorado Red Cross.  I will continue this focus the rest of the week in my other classes.  Heart wide open..giving and receiving on the dance floor. 

My other classes this week:  A student request, I will be teaching the Nia routine Sanctuary in my Nia classes. (I love requests!):
Monday and Thursday Nia at 5:30 pm
Friday JourneyDance at 6:45 pm
Saturday Nia at 9:30 am
all at http://www.thesynergystudio.com.
On Monday I celebrate my stepping into Nia 18 years ago.   I stepped in with an open and curious heart, and I have received so many gifts from this practice.  The biggest gift is the receiving of your friendship and love, and to receive your dance.  I am blessed!!

Learn more and go deeper into the connection with you body and your life by taking a Nia White Belt Intensive.   Check out my trainings with Adelle Brewer at:  http://www.nianow.com/joanie

Love & Light,
Joanie Brooks,  Nia Training Faculty, Nia White Belt Trainer, Nia 5 Stages of Healing Facilitator, Journey Dance Facilitator, Mindful Change Coach
http://www.joaniebrooks.me/


 Nia - Somatic Education for EveryBody.  Nia is an expressive movement form & lifestyle practice that uses The Body's Way to achieve physical, mental, emotional & spiritual fitness & well-being."   

75 trillion cells in your body…Play with them all with Nia!

Receiving!

"Everything in life is most fundamentally a gift.

And you receive it best and you live it best

by holding it with very open hands"...Leo O'Donovan

Hello Friends!!
Last weekend I had the privilege of attending the Nia 52 Moves training.  It was an amazing weekend of dancing, conditioning, learning and sharing with fellow Nia trainers, teachers and students from across the country, and Italy!!  There was so much I received from everyBody at the training; gifts that I allowed to come in and touch my heart.

Take a moment, close your eyes, smell the moment and receive.  Receive your breath, receive the sounds around you, and receive the temperature in the room on your skin.  Notice where your body is touching, and receive the sensation of touch on your skin.  Your skin is your body's largest organ and receives temperature, pressure and texture sensations.   Now go inside and receive from your joints and connective tissue.  Principle 5 of Nia invites us to receive the gifts of sensations from our body and be in Awareness..to pay attention to our body sensations.  Next touch your body and let your body receive the calming and meditative effects of stillness: Living Meditation. .  Once you have opened your eyes, look around and receive.  Receive from all around you and transform what you are receiving into something “inspiring” and extraordinary:  Life as Art.  Gifts you may not have been aware of!!

As you go through your day be open and receive:  from your body, from the people in your life, from nature, from the Universe.  Receive with an open heart.  When I remind myself everything in life is a gift, the tone of my day becomes one of abundance and magic happens! 

What do you want to receive, how good are you at receiving?  Let's step into Nia and JourneyDance this week and receive, and see what happens!  For me, coming together and receiving your dance, your smile, your light are gifts that touch my heart and YES, I am rich and my heart is full.  See you on the dance floor!!!

My classes this week:
Thursday Nia at 5:30 pm
Friday JourneyDance at 6:45 pm
Saturday Nia at 9:30 am all at http://www.thesynergystudio.com.

Please join us next Sunday, August 12 at 4:00 pm for a rocking Nia Jam with Nia teachers from all over...  benefiting the Colorado Red Cross and the Lone Star Paralysis Foundation. All proceeds from the class will be donated to these wonderful organizations who are helping others in our community. It will be at The Synergy Studio... we hope to dance with you then!

Learn more and go deeper into the connection with you body and your life by taking a Nia White Belt Intensive.   Check out my trainings with Adelle Brewer at:  http://www.nianow.com/joanie


Love & Light,
Joanie Brooks,  Nia Training Faculty, Nia White Belt Trainer, Nia 5 Stages of Healing Facilitator, JourneyDance Facilitator, Mindful Change Coach
http://www.joaniebrooks.me/


 Nia - Somatic Education for EveryBody.  Nia is an expressive movement form & lifestyle practice that uses The Body's Way to achieve physical, mental, emotional & spiritual fitness & well-being."   

75 trillion cells in your body…Play with them all with Nia!