Sacred Geometry - Creating Shapes in Space!

"It is our tunnel vision and singular sense of identity that often limits our sense of our own possibilities - and yet it is the genius of humans to imagine being something we are not and thus to extend what we indeed are"  Jean Houston, The Possible Human

Hello Dancing Friends!
Whether I am aware or not, every shape I make with my body contributes to the world of symbols, patterns, numbers and shapes of creation.  Sacred Geometry...the energy that unifies all things and the organization of the Universe itself.  Take a moment right now, pause and sense the shape you have created.  Sense your shoulders, sense the direction of your toes, sense your head, sense your chest.  How does this shape feel?  What does your body tell you about your shape?  Does it bring your body pleasure, healing, pain?  Through the art of sensation I can sense my bones and notice what shape I have created in space, and also bring consciousness to how my shape contributes to the well being of my body.  So many times, I may move through life with my habits and not notice what I am creating in space.  Can you relate?  The gift of Nia and the art form of Modern Dance honors the sacred geometry of my body and invites me to be aware of every movement, and how every movement is sacred and has the potential to be purposeful and healing.  With 206 bones and 700+ muscles in my body, I have unlimited ways to birth and create movement.  With this comes transformation, healing and play that helps free my spirit. Exploration of movement ignites my imagination, and allows me to be an artist in motion, where my body is the paint and the space around me is my canvas.  Sacred, healing and contributing to Universal Art!!  Ha!  I love it. 

Let's play in space this week as we dance and honor the sacred geometry of our body.  Who knows what we will create!  See you on the dance floor!

Lot of Opportunities to create and dance!  My classes this week:

Monday, Thursday and Friday at 5:30 pm
Thursday morning at 6:45 am
and Saturday at 9:30 am all at The Synergy Studio

And join me Sunday Morning, May 25th at 10:00-11:15 for JourneyDance™, The Prayer Circle at The Synergy Studio.

You are the Prayer; your body, your movement, your breath. You are the Goddess; your passion, your emotions, your sensual heart. You are the Warrior; your power, your intentions, your life's journey.   The JourneyDance™ Prayer Circle  is a  community movement event of deep expression and celebration. We begin with inspirational story, then set our inner most intentions and spark our personal dreams.  We embark as moving prayers, holding sacred space for our community in a dance that builds from solo, to partner, to group and beyond.  We learn the power of witnessing and inspiration.  We learn the power of being seen in free expression.  We allow evocative music to invigorate our emotions and our dancing to unfold us into true appreciation and celebration of our praise-worthy Self. 

 We're gonna praise you like we should!   $15 or a punch on your studio card.

  

Love & Light,
Joanie Brooks,

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!
 

Hands - Connecting and Supporting!!!

“Sometimes, reaching out and taking someone's hand is the beginning of a journey. At other times, it is allowing another to take yours.”
― Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration

Reaching out and sending you a big hug!  I've missed you and have just returned from an awesome 6 days of JourneyDance Facilitator training in Lenox, Massachusetts.  And I'm ready to dance with you!  I love expanding and connecting to fellow beings who love to dance and enrich their connection to their body and life, and I am honored to have met new connections and hands of support that will always be with me.  So this week we will play with our hands as we connect and support each other - giving and receiving. 

Our hands build, create, connect, nurture, support 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 use our hands to direct energy to an area of our body that needs healing, for ourselves and others. How wonderful does it feel when a friend or loved one places their hand on your shoulder when you need reassurance or support; or a soft touch on your cheek that communicates you are loved?  Our hands have this special form of communication that does not require words. 

When we focus on our hands, we support the movement of our arms to come from their roots - the core of our body. Hand gestures that include movement of the fingers and wrists, help to engage the joints of the elbow, shoulder, and shoulder blades; and condition all the muscles in your arms.   Softening of the hands, soften our heart. Tense the hands and the tiger from within emerges. Shake the hands and the snake charmer sends tingling sensations throughout your entire body. When our hand gestures match what we feel inside, our body feels that the dance is authentic and real.

So reach out and connect with someone, embrace their support, and then give your loving support.  Place your hands on your heart and sense the connection inside and your own internal support.  He/she is there, softly placing hands on your back and whispering "Lean into me, I have your back.".  I cannot wait to dance with you!!!!

My classes this week:

Monday and Thursday at 5:30 pm

Wednesday Somatic Awakening at 6:45 am
Saturday at 9:30 am

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

Interested in the Nia White Belt Intensive? 

There is still room!!!  Our next training in San Antonio is a split weekend that starts at 3:00 pm on Thursday, June 5 and goes through Sunday June 8. The next weekend is June 13, 14 and 15 (Friday, Saturday and Sunday). This is a PERFECT opportunity to take the Nia White Belt w/out having to take a full week from work. 

Love & Light,
Joanie Brooks,

Nia Training Faculty, Nia White Belt Trainer, Nia 1st Degree Black Belt

Nia 5 Stages of Healing Facilitator, Journey Dance Guide, Mindful Change Coach and 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!

Dancing Through Life!

“Dance is the hidden language of the soul” - Martha Graham

​Good morning fellow dancers!

This week we celebrate National Dance week!  EveryBody is a dancer and EveryBody is meant to dance.  I know this...watch a baby/young child when they hear music.  They autoMagically start to dance and move with the rhythm.  Rhythm is a part of our body and our life...our unique heart beat, our unique breath, the rhythm of the sun, the moon and the stars.  Everywhere!!

Nia invites us to always be a dancer no matter what we are doing.  It is called Dancing Through Life...where every day movements feel like a dance.  When I'm unloading dishes out of the dishwasher, it is a dance of folding and unfolding my bones as I release down to pick up a dish and then reach up to store it on the shelf above.    As I walk through the grocery store it is a dance of flexibility as I reach for what I desire on the top shelf.  I'm may even get to act as if I wearing high heels!  HA!  When I hug my loved ones, it is a dance of touch and embrace as I rock side to side.  AHHH - I love that dance!

Take the opportunity to connect to your dance no matter if you are on the dance floor or moving through your day.    Notice how it can change the energy and sensation of what you are doing when you make it a dance.  Who knows someone may want to join in with you!

Let's dance this week:

Monday (Today!!) at Noon and 5:30 pm

Wednesday at 6:45 am for Somatic Awakening

Thursday at 5:30 pm

Saturday at 9:30 am

all at The Synergy Studio.

​

​
June white belt.  Come join us!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTJAkspWdY0

Love & Light
​

Joanie Brooks,
http://www.joaniebrooks.me/
Nia Training Faculty, Nia White Belt Trainer, Nia 1st Degree Black Belt


Nia 5 Stages of Healing Facilitator, Journey Dance Guide, Mindful Change Coach and 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!

Grace, Gratitude, Love!!

"Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet, and the winds long to play with your hair."  Kahlil Gibran

Spring is underway and our Earth is blooming with beautiful colors...it is truly a time of new beginnings, growth, and abundance!  My husband and I, along with our dog Rocket, went on a ride Friday through the beautiful Texas hill country and everything is bursting with life, vitality and beauty.  Thank you Mother Earth!!  

This week we honor and give gratitude to our Earth, the source of our stability, our roots, our life support system.  Mother Earth is sacred and dedicated to you, and each day we have the opportunity to sense this dedication as we step onto our earth with grace, gratitude and love.  Grace, gratitude and love has the power to manifest throughout our body, and is represented through our actions and words.  When we approach our body, our earth and our life as universal gifts, and we share this with others in our unique way (our actions and words), we are teachers and healers to the world; we are Sacred Athletes.  Image a world where everyBody is a Sacred Athlete...unlimited possibilities!

Close your eyes for a moment, connect to earth through your feet, inhale deeply and as you exhale, create the deep sound of  "UUUUU...". Sense Mother Earth kissing the soles of your feet. Relax, smell the moment and then sound a "Thank You." 

Join me in Grace, Gratitude and Love of Earth and U.  Many opportunities to share your uniqueness and rocking music awaits your dance!! 

My classes this week...all at The Synergy Studio except where noted: 

Monday 5:30 pm Nia

Tuesday 6:45 am Nia

Wednesday 6:45 am...Somatic Awakening - experience a unique dance of earth!!

Thursday 8:30 am Nia (at Gold's Gym Rodgers Ranch)

Thursday 5:30 pm Nia

Saturday 9:30 am Nia

Sunday 10:00 am JourneyDance...a dance of Beginnings!

Sunday 4:00 pm Nia

Interested in the Nia White Belt Intensive? 

Our next training in San Antonio is a split weekend that starts at 3:00 pm on Thursday, June 5 and goes through Sunday June 8. The next weekend is June 13, 14 and 15 (Friday, Saturday and Sunday). This is a PERFECT opportunity to take the Nia White Belt w/out having to take a full week from work. 

7 days dedicated to you, your body and your life.  You go deep into each one of the 13 principles of the Nia White Belt where you create a loving relationship with yourself and your body.  In this intensive you learn tools for managing stress, enhancing your relationships,  and creating a work/life balance. I invite you to explore techniques using your body, voice, intent, mind, emotions and unique spirit to master getting into and living in your body.  Empower yourself, open up to your potential and step into your greatness!

Love & Light,
Joanie Brooks,
Nia Training Faculty, Nia White Belt Trainer, Nia 1st Degree Black Belt

Nia 5 Stages of Healing Facilitator, Journey Dance Guide, Mindful Change Coach and 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!

Regeneration - Connecting to Our 5 Senses!!!

I am grateful for the gift of sight. My ability to to see life in all its glory!!

I am grateful for the gift of touch. My ability to receive life through my skin and embrace a cool morning. My ability to give my love and life to others through touch!!

I am grateful for the gift of taste. My ability to taste life and drink it its majesty!!

I am grateful for the gift of sound. My ability to hear sound and silence, the music of life!!

I am grateful for the gift of smell. My ability to breathe in life and smell the moment!!

Dear FRIENDS!!!
It's spring and I am regenerating my body, mind, spirit and emotions, by placing conscious attention on my senses - sight, taste, smell, touch, and hearing!  It   activates movement and flow of timeless and ageless energy. Senses deeply connect us to our experiences, and increase pleasure and vitality, while integrating our body, mind, spirit and emotions.  So in class and as you dance through life...

Sight:  Use your eyes to see, perceive and feel.  Connect to the visual magic around you.  Give your brain a workout by changing images around you; ones that relax you or stimulate you.  It is a choice!  See and be seen.  Say:  "Now I Am seeing life!"

Smell:  Smell the moment and use your body to breathe in life.  Smell deeply and passionately, and notice the smells around you.  Act as if you are smelling fresh baked bread or your favorite flower.  You body will NOT know the difference.  Say: "Now I Am smelling life!"

Touch:  Touching expands our relationship with our body, with others and the world.  Touch with tenderness, respect and love.  Give your touch and receive touch from others, touch from the space on your skin, the floor touching your feet.  Say:  "Now I AM touching life!"

Taste:  Taste is the sense that internally feeds us.  When we taste, we internally receive color, texture and life force energy. Taste with your feet, your hands, your skin, and your eyes.  Say:  "Now I AM tasting life!"

Hearing:  Hearing is the sense that connects you to all things around you, seen and unseen.  Perceive sound as a sensation you can feel in every cell.  Hear and really listen to another, to silence, to sound, to your breath.  Say:  "Now I Am hearing life!"

Can't wait to dance with you!!! 

My classes this week:

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

at The Synergy Studio

Interested in the Nia White Belt Intensive? 

Our next training in San Antonio is a split weekend that starts at 3:00 pm on Thursday, June 5 and goes through Sunday June 8. The next weekend is June 13, 14 and 15 (Friday, Saturday and Sunday). This is a PERFECT opportunity to take the Nia White Belt w/out having to take a full week from work. 

7 days dedicated to you, your body and your life.  You go deep into each one of the 13 principles of the Nia White Belt where you create a loving relationship with yourself and your body.  In this intensive you learn tools for managing stress, enhancing your relationships,  and creating a work/life balance. I invite you to explore techniques using your body, voice, intent, mind, emotions and unique spirit to master getting into and living in your body.  Empower yourself, open up to your potential and step into your greatness! Check out all my trainings at: http://www.nianow.com/joanie#trainings.

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


Nia 5 Stages of Healing Facilitator, Journey Dance Guide, Mindful Change Coach and 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!

Sensing Within - 4 Elements of Our Human Nature!

Happy Monday My Sweet Friends and Family!!! 

This week I am "playing" with the number 4 as I send you the 4 elements of love, peace, joy and abundance.  4 is a very prominent number in our world and lives, and is a symbol of exactness and elegance.  4 seasons, 4 phases of the moon, 4 divisions of the day, 4 directions, 4 dimensions (volume, height, width, depth), 4 realms of self (Body, Mind, Emotions and Spirit).  4 also symbolizes the principle of putting ideas into form.  Check out Wikipedia if you are interested in all the fascinating aspects of the number 4:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4_%28number%29

This week we will dance the 4 elements of our human nature:  Earth, Water, Air and Fire, as a way to tap into our movement creativity and connect to the basis of life itself.  

Earth:  Sensation of stability, fullness, weight, weightlessness, core, support, balance, rooting, connection with self, feeling outside/inside edges, breath

Water:  Sensation of mobility, fluid, flowing, circular, no edges, no beginning, no ending, coolness, sensation of dripping, floating, creation, rejuvenation

Air:   Sensation of flexibility, bending, off balance, on balance, controlling, out of control, lifting, swirling, openness, lightness, being, being effected, blowing, filling spaces

Fire:  Sensation of agility, strength, heat, precision, flames, smoldering, intent, intense, sharp, confidence

In the book I am re-reading, A Beginners Guide to Constructing the Universe by Michael S. Schneider, these 4 elements also relate to:

Earth: Nature within us...that which is most dense, most slow to change and transform.

Water:  Emotions...the moods of water:  surging, rising and falling

Air:  Atmosphere within us...where our thoughts fly, soaring flights of fancy, day dreams, clouded thoughts.

Fire: Intuition, our deeper self...flash of insight, seeing the light, idea hitting like a bolt of lightning.

Join me in class this week.  Tonight wear green and we will dance to a fun St. Paddy's day playlist.  On Thursday, Saturday and Sunday we will dance to an older Nia routine called Chakras, as we sense within and connect to Earth, Water, Air and Fire!!!!!

In Sacred Geometry, 4 is the tetrad, the square, giving exactness and volume to the world.  In Nia, 4 represents the holistic workout and life style practice of Nia for your body, mind, emotions and spirit.  Volume and depth, addressing our entire human nature!  See you on the dance floor!

My classes this week:

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

Wednesday Somatic Awakening at 6:45 am
Saturday at 9:30 am

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

Interested in the Nia White Belt Intensive? 

Our next training in San Antonio is a split weekend that starts at 3:00 pm on Thursday, June 5 and goes through Sunday June 8. The next weekend is June 13, 14 and 15 (Friday, Saturday and Sunday). This is a PERFECT opportunity to take the Nia White Belt w/out having to take a full week from work. 

7 days dedicated to you, your body and your life.  You go deep into each one of the 13 principles of the Nia White Belt where you create a loving relationship with yourself and your body.  In this intensive you learn tools for managing stress, enhancing your relationships,  and creating a work/life balance. I invite you to explore techniques using your body, voice, intent, mind, emotions and unique spirit to master getting into and living in your body.  Empower yourself, open up to your potential and step into your greatness! Check out all my trainings at: http://www.nianow.com/joanie#trainings.

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


Nia 5 Stages of Healing Facilitator, Journey Dance Guide, Mindful Change Coach and 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!

Sensing 3 Part Harmony!!

 "Wherever there are 3, as in 3 knights, 3 musketeers, 3 wise men or 3 wishes there is 'throughness', rebirth, transformation and success."  Beginners Guide to Constructing the Universe by Michael S. Schneider. 

I love the harmony that 3 represents. In our body, we have 3 body weights, pelvis, chest and head, that can move individually, and when integrated together, create a harmonic dance of power, expression and relaxation.   Nia invites me to explore my body weights separately through pelvic circles, hip bumps, chest isolations, shimmy and head and eye movements, and then to sense the harmonic dance of the 3 through spine undulations and spinal rolls.   This dance conditions my body joyfully, transcending to my breathing and body alignment, and provides a foundation for physical, mental, and emotional well-being.  3 dimensional movement, 3 part harmony that supports my body as a whole. 

Join me this week in dance as we sense 3 part harmony, playing with our pelvis, chest and head.  I will be dancing to the new routine Feeling, that is a wonderful creation by 4 fellow Nia trainers:  Casey Bernstein from Albany New York, Kelle Rae Oien from Sante Fe New Mexico,  Megan MacArthur from Hawaii, Winalee Zeeb from Lansing Michigan.  Some of you met Winalee in November when she was here for the Nia Blue belt intensive.  You will love the music!!!  In Sacred Geometry, 3 is the triad, an inherent tripartite wholeness of the universe.  In Nia we use the triad as a map to place attention on 3 elements that when combined creates wisdom...creates "throughness" rebirth, transformation and success!!!

 See you on the dance floor!

My classes this week:

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

Wednesday Somatic Awakening at 6:45 am
Saturday at 9:30 am

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

Interested in the Nia White Belt Intensive? 

Our next training in San Antonio is a split weekend that starts at 3:00 pm on Thursday, June 5 and goes through Sunday June 8. The next weekend is June 13, 14 and 15 (Friday, Saturday and Sunday). This is a PERFECT opportunity to take the Nia White Belt w/out having to take a full week from work. 

7 days dedicated to you, your body and your life.  You go deep into each one of the 13 principles of the Nia White Belt where you create a loving relationship with yourself and your body.  In this intensive you learn tools for managing stress, enhancing your relationships,  and creating a work/life balance. I invite you to explore techniques using your body, voice, intent, mind, emotions and unique spirit to master getting into and living in your body.  Empower yourself, open up to your potential and step into your greatness! Check out all my trainings at: http://www.nianow.com/joanie#trainings.

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


Nia 5 Stages of Healing Facilitator, Journey Dance Guide, Mindful Change Coach and 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!