Joanie Brooks...Step Into Your Greatness!: July 2013

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Celebrate!!

Happy Sunday my Friends!
I hope you are having a wonderful day and enjoying the beautiful clouds! Make sure you look up into the sky at the moon tonight...tomorrow is a full moon and tonight she will be bright!
This morning was what I like to call a "Forest Gump" morning. After I stepped into the morning and started to prepare for my daily Nia practice, I stepped outside, gazed down at Rocket and said "lets go run!!". Now, mind you, I do not have a running practice, yet I am a runner. Just as I believe we are all dancers, I believe we are all runners. Our body is designed to run and it was a mode of transportation of our early ancestors. (HA!) During my run I celebrated my practice of Nia of 19 years and the ability Nia has given my body to run with grace and ease, even when it has been several months since the last time I ran. And guess what? It's Nia's 30th birthday this week!!! Yes 30 years ago today, Debbie and Carlos Rosas, the co-founders of Nia, took off their shoes and Nia was born. Boy am I glad Nia was born...she has transformed my life! This week in honor of Nia's birthday I will be teaching various routines/songs from Nia routines. You know I have about 60-70 Nia routines. What to choose? It will be fun!

And speaking of birthdays - tomorrow is my nephew Conrad's 11th birthday and we are celebrating at my 5:30 pm Monday Nia class! There will be 8 FABulous Nia teachers team teaching together - Adelle, Angie, Debra G., Jan R., Sandi, Charlotte, my dear friend Robbie from Austin and me! Many of you have danced with Conrad and know how much he loves the music and magic of our Nia class, so please join us in celebration!

There is always someone and something to celebrate..Nia is a celebration of your body and your life. Come dance this week!!!

My classes this week:

Monday at 5:30...Conrad's 11th birthday celebration with 8 Nia teachers (WOW!!)
Thursday at 5:30 pm
Saturday at 9:30 am (Nia's official birthday!!)

and Sunday all at http://www.thesynergystudio.com.

On Saturday I will also be teaching a special JourneyDance class at 4:00pm...HeartShine!
“There is a light that shines beyond all things on earth, beyond the highest, the very highest heavens. This is the light that shines in your heart.” Chandogya Upanishad......Heart Shine! When we live through our heart, we step into our greatness and our heart lights up the world. Join Joanie Brooks in dance, exploration and love, as we honor and celebrate who we are and our unique gifts. You are a shinning light! Cost is $15 drop in or a punch on your studio card.

Considering taking the Nia White belt intensive? Whether you want to teach Nia or take Nia for personal growth, it is an amazing experience!!! Check out my trainings at: www.nianow.com/joanie and click on "My Trainings". Adelle and I have one October 4th and a split weekend December 5th here in San Antonio. Join us!

Love & Light,
Joanie Brooks,
http://www.joaniebrooks.me/
Nia Training Faculty, Nia White Belt Trainer

Nia 5 Stages of Healing Facilitator, Journey Dance Guide, Mindful Change Coach and Yoga Laughter Leader

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!

Monday, July 15, 2013

Spine, Spiral, Space - Dancing With our DNA!

"The whole universe is based on rhythms. Everything happens in circles, in spirals."
John Hartford

Good morning my Friends!!
Spine, Spirals, Space!! What a wonderful weekend I spent with fellow Nia teachers and students learning and sharing a new Nia routine called AWAKE. The focus of AWAKE is a triad - Spine, Spiral and Space, with the intent to awaken your spine through spiral movement, and connecting to the space within and outside our body. Did you know the spiral is one of nature's most common building blocks and the architecture of our body is based on spirals - spirals are present in our body?!! Your blood spirals through your body like waves, your muscles spiral around your bones, and you actually have spiraling fibers inside your bones. One amazing human body spiral is our inner ear - your cochlea. This amazing spiral shape helps us to detect different ranges of sound.
Spirals are a natural and yummy way for us to keep our spine healthy and alive, and through this spiral movement we develop more space inside our body, and our body loves space!! Created by Nia Trainers Philippe Beaufour and Sabine Zweig, Awake is inspired by the image of a dolphin moving in water and the spiral of the DNA double helix. Set to the soundscape of Indian and world music, Awake is an invitation to sense, explore, and manifest the natural flow of energy moving through the body by connecting to the spine, spiraling energy, and space. Join me in a dance of spirals this week as we play in space with each other!!

My classes this week:

Monday (today) and Thursday at 5:30 pm
and Saturday at 9:30 am

all at http://www.thesynergystudio.com.

Monday, July 8, 2013

Put Ease Into Your Nia Dance...and Life...Become Seduced

“It is your work in life that is the ultimate seduction.”
― Picasso

“Beauty and seduction are nature’s tools for survival, because we protect what we fall in love with. It opens our hearts and reminds us that we are part of nature; we are not separate from it.” – Louie Schwartzberg

Being seduced is a natural and effortless way to draw us into life. It can also be used in our dance in a Nia class. How can we do this? AHHH....many ways!!! We have a practice in Nia called "Being Seduced By the Music" that trains us to engage fully into the Art of Listening to the music...the silence and the sounds. Through this practice we become intimate with the music, which in return, when we dance, brings a newness and uniqueness to our dance. The music literally seduces our body to move in new and unique ways, and open to the potential of our dance!
You can expand this sensation physically as you are dancing, by sensing the energy that seduces you from every direction. Allow this energy to give your every move the sensation of effortless surrendering, and making ease a part of your Nia dance. Mentally, let go and become seduced by space and non-thinking. Allow this freed up energy to seduce you to deeply feel life, making mental ease a part of your Nia dance. Emotionally become aware of what you are drawn to, feeling the sensation of emotional seduction. Become intimate with your desires and allow emotional seduction to be a part of your Nia dane. And Spiritually, be seduced to your true spirit and awaken your body! Regain your personal power by opening up to the authentic you, the one that can lighten your load and takes you into the personal growth that extends into all the realms of fitness and healing. So come play with this sensation in class on Monday (today) and Thursday at 5:30 pm.

Then get ready for a weekend full of newness as we introduce a new Nia routine called Awake. Awake's focus is Spine,Spiral and Space. This is a yummy routine and you can dance with us all weekend, and take an Awake Playshop on Sunday at 2:30 where you learn the katas of the routine. The Playshop includes the music and the 4:00 class. Sign up here! If you are a Nia teacher, there is still space to learn the routine with other Nia teachers on Saturday. Email me for more information.

Awake Immersion Classes...Team teaching with Adelle!

Friday at 5:30 pm
Saturday at 9:30 am

and Sunday at 4:00 pm

all at http://www.thesynergystudio.com.