Joanie Brooks...Step Into Your Greatness!

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Awakening Your Psoas!!

I have just returned from an awesome week of learning. Last week I attended a training on healing physical and emotional trauma, which included a training that was specific for our military and how they are uniquely affected by trauma. I love learning and experiencing new things that feed my desire & purpose to awaken the healing human potential, and to discover more about my own personal journey of life. This training was very unique in that it addressed how trauma and stress can be healed through "somatic therapy" (body movement) in order to bring our bodies back to homeostasis - peace. I am excited with all I learned and cannot wait to share. So on to our focus...Awakening the Psoas!

The psoas is a large muscle, with a length of up to 16 inches, that attaches at the bottom of the thoracic spine at T12 and and along the lumbar spine through L4, then runs through the pelvic bowl, down over the front of the hip joint, and attaches at the top of the femur. It is the only muscle connecting the spine to the leg. Looking at pictures of the psoas, I like to visualize as a beautiful long blue scarf that flows and drapes from behind my heart, over my pelvis, and then wrapping inside my thighbone! Our psoas muscle is magical in the way it supports us standing, walking and running, and when healthy and relaxed, allows the diaphragm to function with ease and grace....meaning we are breathing to our full potential. The psoas provides you with mobility and core stability, and it affects the ability of your legs and spine to move freely. Your psoas muscle could be said to be the most important muscle of your body and the muscle for most people, that needs awakening and lengthening. Take a look around you in life and at work, and notice people's posture. Much of the contraction in our psoas occurs due to our use of technology, hovering over our laptops, driving hunched over the steering wheel, walking with our head looking down....the list goes on and on.
In addition our psoas muscle is a powerful reflex muscle and is affected by fear. Fear is a primordial emotion we feel and one which our body responds to automatically. For example, imagine crossing the street and a car almost hits you. How does your body respond? Our sympathetic nervous system responds with flight or fight, causing our body to go inward for safety. Typically once we know we are safe, our body relaxes. However, when we are in constant stress, fear or trauma our psoas muscle stays in this state of contraction, and the whole body pays the price!
In Nia we move the body organically that supports the conditioning and lengthening of our psoas muscle. When we move through the planes of our body (high, middle and low) we are opening and closing the front of our groin, contracting and expanding our psoas muscle. When we roll on the floor "embryonic like" we are spiraling our psoas muscle. When me engage our chest with chest isolation's, we are mobilizing and vibrating our psoas (remember it attaches to our thoracic and lumbar spine). When we use toes in, out and parallel, express with our arms and hands, we are conditioning our psoas muscle. Nia awakens our psoas, and can potentially release stress in your body!!! In fact, Nia heals and conditions every part of you body...join me in class!
My classes this week:

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

and Sunday at 4:00 pm all at http://www.thesynergystudio.com.

Please note I am starting new classes at Total Harmony Yoga on August 12th. Monday and Wednesday at 8:45. Please join me!!! Also contact me on free classes there...you first one for sure!!!

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!

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.

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.

Monday, June 10, 2013

Smell the Moment...Conditioning Our Lungs!!!

Ahh....Smell the moment. I remember the first time I heard Debbie Rosas, co-founder of Nia, say this incredible phrase. It immediately brought me to the present moment and I had a sensation of relaxation throughout my whole body. Our breath, the high of life, is the life force energy within each of us. We announce ourselves to the world, "I am Here", with our breath and sound, and it is the last thing we do before leaving this world. Breathing supports our digestion, nourishes and cleanses our body, and eliminates carbon dioxide, toxins and metabolic waste from our cells. Every cell in our body and all of our body’s systems rely on efficient breathing. Breathing is the workout for your body’s respiratory system - CONDITIONING OUR LUNGS!!!

Bringing awareness to your breath can help you stay calm and steady, give clarity to your thoughts, give you energy and get you excited about life. In addition, focused attention to your breath while moving and dancing can strengthen your body. We do this in Nia by incorporating sound, emotions and laughter, in order to move our body and breath together organically. Do this: Sit in a comfortable position or lie on your back. Place your hands on your solar plexus, the soft tissue area below your ribcage. Now laugh for 15 seconds. Pause and smell the moment. We call this a sit up in Nia. Ha Ha Ha!!!

When we sound Yes, No, WOW, AAA, EEE, IIII, OOOO, UUUU...we are actually changing the personality of our breathing and inviting our respiratory system to move and function in different ways. When I say Nia conditions your whole body, I mean your WHOLE body including everything inside!!

So come dance with me and condition your lungs. And when you are not in class, make sure you stop and smell the moment, and take in all the beauty around you!

I have a wonderful full week of dancing...Note I am holding a special JourneyDance class this Saturday, June 15 at 4:00 - 5:30...Living Through Your Heart. Join me!

Monday and Thursday at 5:30 pm,
Saturday at 9:30 am

Saturday at 4:00 pm special JourneyDance class

and Sunday at 4:00 pm (Happy Father's day!)

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

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 starting on June 21st here in San Antonio. Join us!

Go to my link & get 40% off of Nia clothing, music & much more!! Look for the 40% off purple button: http://nianow.com/joanie
Love & Light,
Joanie Brooks, Nia Training Faculty, Nia White Belt Trainer, Nia 5 Stages of Healing Facilitator, Journey Dance Guide, Mindful Change Coach and Yoga Laughter Leaderhttp://www.joaniebrooks.me/

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Movement as Medicine..Empowered to Heal!

Nia has the power of bringing people together, and through the power of dance and movement, bring healing light to the world. Nia's philosophy is very simple...Through Movement We Find Health. Movement heals and is our medicine for more than our body; it also heals our mental, emotional and spirit bodies.. Each movement, each dance, is an opportunity to ask how this dance can help me/my body to feel better? How can I find the healing aspect of this movement? How can I transcend to the next level of health? How can I find healing with my cross front, cha cha cha, in my FreeDance, in my closed stance, in my breathing, when laughing? All forms of movement medicine; all opportunities to heal.

Nia White Belt principle #5 Awareness, invites us to pay attention to our body sensations, and through this attention and clarity, find movements that help us feel better...in class and out of class. That is why we call it Dancing Through Life: every movement feels like I'm dancing. Empower yourself to heal while you are making dinner (pelvic circles are great!

), while shopping at the grocery store (sensing flexibility as you reach for what you want off the top shelf), and when you pick something off the floor (doing a spinal roll as you come up is Yummy!). You have the power within you to heal and maintain health, and Nia invites you make choices to support you!!

My life purpose is to awaken the human healing potential, and my wish for you is to always move, no matter how small; to always dance.

I have a wonderful full week of dancing, join me...My Nia classes this week:
Monday andThursday at 5:30 pm,
Friday at 5:30 (subbing for Adelle)
Saturday at 9:30 am

and Sunday at 4:00

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

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 starting on June 21st here in San Antonio. Join us!

Monday, May 27, 2013

EXPANSION!

Expansion... Today I step into my 57th birthday and I am very excited with the year in front of me. This morning as I danced in my Blue Storm Studio, the word EXPANSION appeared as my dance partner. I didn't know why the word came; however, I allowed it to dance with me. As I danced, desires and visions of expansion made brief appearances with their unique shapes and sounds. I'd like to share some of these with you. I desire to expand my body's ability to self heal by diving deeper into body literacy and self exploration; to expand the space inside and outside of my body. I desire the expansion of love; love for myself and love for others. I just finished reading a book called Dying to be Me by Anita Moorjani. One of the principles in her book that sang to me is the art of unconditional love for myself. I desire to expand unconditional love for me, for it is ONLY through this expansion can I expand my unconditional love for others.
I desire to expand my touch, my outreach to others; to touch and be touched. I desire to touch others through my healing actions, words, and thoughts, and to share my unique teachings and gifts. I desire to expand beyond my comfort, to expand beyond my current thinking, and to expand my happiness.

And a big desire I have is the expansion of the human healing potential, for we all have the ability to self heal through body awareness and intention. This is my purpose and I am grateful each day Nia has created her pathway for me to share my purpose.

Thank you for listening and allowing me to share. The desires and visions are still unfolding, and I have more dancing to do with this precious partner. Join me and let's dance this week with the word and inspiration of Expansion and see what manifests. Get your desire finger ready!!!

Life finds its purpose and fulfillment in the expansion of happiness. Maharishi Mahesh, Yogi.

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

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 starting on June 21st here in San Antonio. Join us!