Sensation of Health!

Hello my Dancing Friends!

Nia defines Health as "...a sensation of making right choices and decisions for your body and life. It comes from knowledge, practice, and the right kind of daily movement."  I love this definition and over the past 20 years of practicing and teaching Nia, I have discovered the power of movement and choices to heal my body, and also my emotional, mental and spiritual bodies. Health or being healthy is not something I achieve, it is a constant activity, where my movements and choices are powered by the question:  "Does this make me feel better?".  If the answer is Yes, I know I have made the right choice for this moment.  The movements and the choices can change; the motivation and outcome of living in pleasure is always the same.  This is my medicine. 

In each Nia class, and in daily life, we are invited to find the healing aspect of what we are doing by paying attention to our body sensations, our thoughts, and our actions.  This is Awareness and the path of the Sacred Athlete!  As we dance this week in class, I invite all of us to find the healing in all our movement.  What is the sensation of health when I do a cross front, cha cha cha, when I FreeDance, in my closed stance, in my breathing, when laughing?  Whether it is a smile, a laugh or a reach to the sky, we all have the ability to self heal and sense health.  Choices and decisions right for me - personal and unique!

My classes this week:

Thursday at 5:30 pm
Saturday at 9:30 am
Sunday at 4:00 pm.
And on Monday, Labor Day please note:  I will be teaching the 8:00 am Nia class and there will be NO 5:30 pm Nia. 

All at The Synergy Studio

What to do deeper?  Take the Nia White belt intensive in October!  Whether you want to teach Nia or take Nia for personal growth, it is an amazing experience!!!   The October training is a split weekend.  The training starts at 3:00 pm on Friday, October 17 and will go through Saturday and Sunday.  The 2nd weekend is Thursday, October 23 - Sunday, October 26.  It is a great opportunity to take the Nia White Belt and only take a couple of days off from work.

Check out other dates at: http://www.nianow.com/joanie#trainings.

Love & Light,
Joanie Brooks,
http://www.joaniebrooks.com
Nia Training Faculty, Nia White Belt Trainer, Nia 1st Degree Black Belt
Journey Dance Facilitator Nia 5 Stages of Healing Facilitator
Mindful Change Coach
Laughter Yoga 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!

Art of Play

Good morning Dancing Friends!

"Play energizes us and enlivens us. It eases our burdens. It renews our natural sense of optimism and opens us up to new possibilities".  Stuart Brown, MD 
"We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." George Bernard Shaw

 

Are you ready to play?  Playing is so good for our brain, our nervous system, our emotions and our general well-being. Play refreshes your body, sharpens your mind, and restores your energy. Play is a creative act that inspires imagination and gives you a means to reach beyond your usual limits. Play can show you a world that is filled with possibilities and allows you to examine your life within that limitless context. Play gives you a chance to ask "What if," and explore your options. 
You may not realize it, yet each time you step into a Nia class you are playing! We play with music, emotions, creating shapes with our body.  We pretend, "act as if", sing, laugh, roll on the floor, and interact with each other. 
Play invites us to be in the NOW, be spontaneous, discover new things about ourselves and be open to new challenges. 
According to Marianne St. Clair, Life Coach, and author of the Art of Play, the top ten benefits of play:  
1.      Play can inspire you to think differently
2.      Playing can bring greater joy into your life
3.      Play is known to reduce stress
4.      Playing on a regular basis can increase longevity
5.      Play can reduce struggle, conflict, and worry
6.      Play can increase your sense of lightness
7.      Play can stimulate the imagination, curiosity, and creativity
8.      Playing softens the heart...as the heart becomes malleable, the risk of hypertension and depression decrease
9.      Play can greatly enhance your energy levels
10.     Play can provide you with an opportunity to take risks
So let's play this week and choose to embrace a playful mood today and everyday.  You just might find that life becomes much brighter!!!  Oh and have a good laugh...laughing releases endorphins, strengthens your immune system and is great for strengthening your core!!!

​ Many opportunities to PLAY this week.  And as I continue my Nia 20th anniversary celebration...we will PLAY with different Nia routines!  HMMM...tonight we will Play and Dance to Fantasia.  Fantasia was created by Carlos Rosas, co-founder of Nia, in 1997.  It's fun!  See you on the dance floor!

Classes this week:

Monday (today!), Thursday and Friday at 5:30 pm

Wednesday morning at 9:15 am (subbing for Adelle)

Saturday morning at 9:30 am

and Sunday at 4:00 pm all at The Synergy Studio

On Sunday, August 24, I will also be teaching a special JourneyDance class at 10:00 - 11:30 am. 

Open to the energy of abundance that is a constant in our Universe.  Abundance is there – we just need to recognize it surrounds us and open our body, mind and soul to its presence.   It all starts with love and gratitude.  Together we will dance and take a deep, personal journey and open to the joy of our life – open to Abundance.   Cost is $15 or a punch on your Synergy Studio card. Please bring a journal.

​

Love & Light,
Joanie Brooks,
http://www.joaniebrooks.com
Nia Training Faculty, Nia White Belt Trainer, Nia 1st Degree Black Belt
Journey Dance Facilitator Nia 5 Stages of Healing Facilitator
Mindful Change Coach
Laughter Yoga 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!
 

Pelvis - Chest - Head...3 Body Weights...Energy Centers!

Good Morning Dancing Friends & Family!

“Sense breath, sense consciousness expanding, forgive self, acknowledge the light of yourself. Be aware of spirals of energy moving through your spine. Let the heart open. Let the breath flow, the diaphragm be full and free in its movement.”  

Dhyani Ywahoo

Isn't this quote beautiful!! 

When I first started practicing Nia (20 years ago!!), I thought the core of my body was limited to my abdominal area. AND I did not have a good relationship with that area of my body!  Nia awaken and expanded my perception of the core of my body, and gave me new ways to move and heal.  Now there is nothing more healing to me then dancing my pelvis, chest and head.  This is the gift Principle 8 of the Nia White Belt gives...connecting me to the sensation of 3 body weights:  pelvis, chest and head and to my energy centers:  7 main chakras.  Principle 8 trains me to isolate my 3 body weights and integrate them via my spine.  This principle also invites me to use sound, breath, emotions and my chakras to energetically move and express, and tap into my intuitive self.  And the sensation is very YUMMY.  Nia has only 7 moves for the core of the body, and for me, they are the most healing and DELICIOUS sensations of all the 52 moves.  As you dance through life today, experiment with these sensations:

• Use your eyes to explore your environment  (Head and Eye movement).  Notice how this brings you to the NOW and can bring the sensation of gratitude.
  
• Undulate your spine while setting at your desk (Undulation).  Notice how your breath expands.
  
• When you reach towards earth to pick something up, go down in a wider stance and then rise through the base of your spine, stacking your pelvis first, then chest, then your head (Spinal Roll).
• Take an afternoon pick me up break by shaking and shimming your chest.  Smile or even add a little sound when you do this!  (Shimmy).  How do you feel?
  
• When you are paused in traffic, bring mobility to your chest to release any tension (Chest Isolations).  Notice  how your breath expands and relaxes you.
• While standing making a meal, circle your pelvis in both directions and sense the release in your lower back (Pelvis Circles).  Add little bumps with your hips and notice how this makes your feel a bit sassy!!!  (Hip Bumps)

Many ways to self heal our body, mind, emotions and spirit!!! 
It is going to be a fun weekend healing and exploring our Pelvis - Chest - Head. See you on the dance floor!

My Nia Classes this week:
Thursday (Today!!) 5:30 pm
Starting Friday, Adelle and I will be team teaching a new Nia routine called FEELING - it is a magical routine!!  Join us in these classes: 
Friday 5:30 pm 
Saturday 9:30 am 
Sunday 4:00 pm all at The Synergy Studio

Love & Light,
Joanie Brooks,
http://www.joaniebrooks.com
Nia Training Faculty, Nia White Belt Trainer, Nia 1st Degree Black Belt

Journey Dance Facilitator Nia 5 Stages of Healing Facilitator
Mindful Change Coach
Laughter Yoga 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!