What is Nia?
Nia is
almost like a chameleon – it changes as the person who is practicing Nia
changes. From person to person, or day
to day, Nia might be something different.
Ask 1,000 students or instructors and you might get 999 different
answers!
At its
roots, Nia is a 30 year old movement technique that urges the student to find
Joy in Movement. On the surface, Nia
utilizes 52 moves drawing from dance arts, martial arts and the healing
arts. Nia is the original fusion
movement practice, including the mind, spirit, and emotions along with
training, or exercising, the body.
In a one
hour Nia class, you will enjoy imagery along with movement. You will be urged to listen to the music,
dance to the music, and dance or move “your way”. You might find yourself dancing with a jazz
feeling one moment, and then kicking and blocking with tae kwon do strength and
precision the next moment. Also, you
might experience long alignment from yoga, slow movements from t’ai chi, and
even cues from the natural world that surrounds us.
To me, Nia
is my happy place. I feel as if I am a
child again, allowed to move as I wish, not as I am being told. I feel free – with my body to move, with my
mind to wander or get quiet, or to get excited!
My spirit is able to soar to the clouds, or find solid ground on the
earth. My emotions run from quiet and
reflective to joyous and exuberant.
What is
Nia? Worth a try! You won’t know what it is to you unless you
try it. Sign up for a class, and
experience Joy in Movement!
Amanda Brown,
Nia White Belt licensed instructor
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