Sunday, September 29, 2013

Awareness of our fingers and hands - open to the dance of Receiving and Giving!!

God has given us two hands, one to receive with and the other to give with..Billy Graham 


Happy Fall My Fellow Dancers!
 

What a wonderful, cool day we are having here in San Antonio!  I love this weather and it makes me feel alive and vibrant!  Take a moment with me, close your eyes and reach out with your hands, spread your fingers and Receive the energy of the space around you with your hands.  Through TOUCH, our hands provide an enormous amount of information through highly sensitive ProprioceptorsAHHH!   Now bring your hands in and Give yourself a big hug.  Our hands and fingers play an essential role in our lives.  They build, create, connect, nurture and heal. They provide warmth and tenderness, as well as protection, and have the power to silently say “stop,” or “stay away", "come towards me" or "go this way".   We can also use our hands to direct energy to an area of our body that needs healing, for ourselves and others...Receiving and Giving.  How wonderful does it feel when a friend or loved one places their hand on your shoulder when you need reassurance; or a soft touch on your cheek that communicates you are loved?  Our hands and fingers have this special form of communication that does not require words. 
In Nia we use our fingers and hands to creatively express and emote our dance.  We have 15 of the 52 moves of Nia dedicated to our hands and fingers, that condition all the muscles and joints, can increase the intensity of our dance, and provide us information to keep us safe as we dance through life.  Join me this week as we bring awareness to our fingers and hands, and open to the dance of Receiving and Giving...endless possibilities to move, explore, create and communicate!


My classes:
Monday & Wednesday at 9:00 am (NEW TIME) at
Total Harmony Yoga  (please note...Jan Braun will start teaching a Friday 9:00 am class this Friday October 4th - Woot!!)

AND

Monday and Thursday at 5:30 pm
Saturday at 9:30 am
and Sunday (Oct. 6) at 4:00 pm - team teaching a surprise Nia class with Adelle!!!

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  a split weekend December 5th here in San Antonio.  Great opportunity to take the Nia white belt and only take a couple days off from work.  It is also our last training for 2013 and a chance to give yourself a wonderful end of year gift - 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 Laughter Yoga Leader

Go to my link & get 40% off of Nia clothing, music & much more!!  Look for the 40% off purple button:  http://nianow.com/joanie
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, September 9, 2013

Sensing Our Emotions!

Hello Dancing Friends!

Feelings or emotions are the universal language and are to be honored. They are the authentic expression of who you are at your deepest place....Judith Wright

As I sit and write to you this evening I am sensing gratitude in my entire being for my family, friends and my wonderful dancing community!  A special thank you is in order for my students who danced with me at Nia this evening at The Synergy Studio.  I had full intention to end the week with my focus on Yoga; however, as I drove to the studio this afternoon something changed.  You see most of my day was spent in an emotional whirlpool that was not serving me any good, and was leaving me feeling frozen, blocked and bound. Just as my body can become stuck in a habit (whether posture or movement tendencies) that can cause misalignment, pain and discomfort , emotions can do the same thing when I become stuck and do not use the sensation of this energy to access information to make positive choices and decisions.  So today before class I realized I have been stuck in this emotional unawareness, and not just today, and it was time to move the energy before it became acute.  This is where the special thanks for my students this afternoon comes into play!  I changed the focus to "playing with emotions" and we had a bit of a wild ride!  You know who you are, so thank you for being open and generous with your own exploration, and allowing me the space to heal! 

We are emotional beings and it is our birthright to emote!  Our emotions are fuel, life force energy and can help us become physically and mentally strong, flexible, agile, stable and mobile.  Emotions make us feel alive!!  In Nia we do not label emotions good or bad; it is really about whether we are expressing our emotions and learning to work and move with them from a place of love.  The more we do this, the more freedom we gain to effectively use our emotions to bring healing into our world and the people around us. 

We are going to play with emotions this week and sense how they feel in our body!  I'm excited - I hope you are too!  As you dance through life this week notice your emotional tendencies.  Notice what emotions fueled your day...where you sense them in your body.  Where there any emotions you avoided or ignored?  And remember...anytime you are feeling your emotions are taking over, JUST LAUGH!  Laughing can heal your world and bring things into perspective.  See you in class!
My classes this week are below...there are a few changes.  Oh yes, and change seemed to be a big theme in my day today!  HA HA!
Monday & Wednesday at 8:45 am at
Total Harmony Yoga

Monday, Tuesday (subbing for Jan) & Thursday at 5:30 pm
Friday at 9:15 am (subbing for Jenn).
I will be in Ventura, California 9/14 - 9/21 with my dear friend Kate Nash.  While I am gone my wonderful Nia teacher community will sub my classes at The Synergy Studio.  There will not be any classes at Total Harmony Studio while I am gone (9/16 & 9/18). 

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 Laughter Yoga Leader


Go to my link & get 40% off of Nia clothing, music & much more!!  Look for the 40% off purple button:  http://nianow.com/joanie
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

Sunday, September 1, 2013

The Conscious Alignment of Bones + Muscles

"Yoga is almost like music in a way; there's no end to it."
Sting

Hello Dancing Friends!
September is here and I'm looking forward to the fall and cooler weather.  I love the colors and the magical beauty that unfolds all around San Antonio and Texas!!  September is also National Yoga month.  Did you know Nia is based on 9 movement forms and 1 of the movement forms is Yoga?  In Nia, we call Yoga The Conscious Alignment of Bones + Muscles, and we use the energy and chemistry of Yoga, as well as postures, breath work and meditation, to gain flexibility, strength, balance and relaxation.  Yoga is a beautiful inner directed dance of awareness that connects us to our unique spirit and reminds us we can make every gesture and posture a mudra that is sacred and aligned with heaven and earth!  Some of the pearls we use in Nia to connect to Yoga are:  Bones, Breath, Alignment, Postures, Muscles, Ligaments, Extensions, Strengthening, Flexibility, Stretch, Agility, Gentle, Powerful, Focused, Conscious, Unity, Oneness,  Surrender, Peace, Stillness, Ageless and Timeless. 

Just as Nia expanded my world of music, Nia has expanded my world of different movement and healing modalities like Yoga.  Whether I am dancing or playing on the floor, the energy of Yoga is available to me through my conscious awareness of the relationship of my bones, muscles, ligaments and connective tissue.  I love Yoga and practice yoga daily, as well as take classes and workshops as often as I can.  It has enhanced my Nia practice and teaching, and has brought healing to my body.  This art and movement form has taught me to integrate my breath in my movements and my dance, and to clear and calm my mind. 

In honor of Yoga Month, our focus in Nia this week is being with and in the chemistry and energy personality of Yoga in our Nia movements and dance.  I also encourage you to take yoga classes this month.  I teach at 2 incredible studios and the yoga instructors are amazing!  See you in class.  Namaste.


My classes this week (there WILL be classes on Labor Day)

Monday & Wednesday at 8:45 am at
Total Harmony Yoga

Monday & Thursday at 5:30 pm
Saturday at 9:30 am and
Sunday at 4:00 pm

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 Laughter Yoga Leader

Go to my link & get 40% off of Nia clothing, music & much more!!  Look for the 40% off purple button:  http://nianow.com/joanie
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