Jill Pagano's blog

Inside the Mind of this NiaDiva

Jill Pagano — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 18:13:12 -0500

So what's with all this change at NiaDivas? Well first off, much has stayed the same. It's still Lesley and I (and lesley's husband , NiaPimp webmaster, Don). We're still at Youngstown teachin' what we love three day's a week. And yet, something is stirring.

That's what happens when I take 8 weeks away from the daily task of having a business and let some fresh air in. You see, I've always wanted NiaDivas to be more than just a place where you take classes. And I've always felt I am more than just a Nia Teacher. Not more in a "better than" way. Just more in a "there is so much I love to share" way. And so, with the doors wide open this summer, inspiration dropped into my head. Ya know..that voice that isn't part of your own thinking brain. The voice that seems to come out of know where ( I was curling my hair) and yet make so much sense!

And the voice said...go beyond and also with Nia. Be willing to connect ... share all that you love that can help people feel better in their life. I admit, I'm a personal growth junkie. Yup, self-describe, I love to splash around in anything from Feldenkrais, to intention setting, to meditating. I've always been this way. It's my creative path. I like to get in, get a taste (or a big bite) and then share all that is great about it with others. I've learned the most important part of this process for me is --to share it. Without that--it's not so fun. So I want to bring that to you, and others. You as members of something that is more than taking fitness classes. You as, individual self-mastery seekers, who are a community of learning, loving and sharing.

What's the ultimate big picture... are you ready to envision with me?? An alternative wellness community. I want a place where the norm is treating our bodies with love, joy and respect. A place where we can do (all my favorite--and yours too) inspiring, educational and holistic alternative forms of exercise (pilates, feldenkrais, Nia, yoga). I want a place where we come together to learn about our health, decreasing stress and expressing more joy in our daily lives. A resource for exploring and learning what's groovy out there---without having to leave West Seattle. Take the regular health club environment and turn it on it's ear with beautiful music, gorgeous holistic equipment and a sensual dancing room. Now I'm seeing sexy, vibrant, wellness for the whole person.

So I'm starting this way. By introducing wonderful nuggets of "helping us feel better in our life" to NiaDivas. If the time is right for this Alternative Health Club, I trust you'll be a part of these seeds blossoming. Is it just me or does this stir something in you too? Love to hear from you.... Thanks for helping me share! xo, Jill (email jill@niadivas.com or just leave a comment for all to see!)

Jill's Summer Report

Jill Pagano — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 18:06:45 -0500

Hello Dear Friends, Nia Lovers and NiaDivas!

First off, let me say I MISS YOU! And I miss dancing with you in a group full of hip-shakin', shoulder-shimmying' contagious energy!

It's been a busy, fun summer.

My summer has been filled with travel (Europe with my kids), work (expanding on NiaDivas and helping other's market their business), and healing.

In the 90's, I was a post-rehab personal trainer, specializing in helping active people recover from injuries. This summer, I found myself going back to my roots and taking myself on as a client. During this break from teaching, I finally addressed nagging neck and lower back pain by adding stability exercise, feldenkrais and pilates to my daily practice. It has helped considerable, as well as some lovely massages and chiropractic care. I'm also doing a little Nia everyday whether it be via DVD, attending others' classes or doing the 5 stages of self healing.

But I miss teaching!

Are You Feeling Well? How has your summer months been?

My wish for you is that you are feeling well. And I hope this year we can help you feel even better. Are you looking forward to showing up and enjoying the NiaDivas community and the joy of movement? I'm ready to get us all together, laughing and dancing joyfully again.

Change is a good thing.

We've got a few changes...really enhancements..at NiaDivas. That's right, changes to help us expand from being "fitness classes you take" to an inspirational community that supports you in feeling better within your life.

Lesley and I will be offering more Nia Education and we're connecting with the West Seattle Community so you can benefit from other forms of holistic wellness. Our desire is to help you feel better in your life, and we want to make that easy, convenient and affordable. More details to come!

Nia is definitely catching on!

This is going to be NiaDivas best year yet. I can feel it! Nia is really catching on. In the last few months, we've been featured in Seattle Woman's Magazine and now Seattle Metropolitan's "Best of..." issue. Yup, Nia voted 2008's Best New Fitness Trend in the city.

Do they know we are 25 years old now? This year is Nia's 25th anniversary and Nia Headquarters has some fun up their sleeves as they deem this the Year of Living in Pleasure! Are you up for that! I am.

With the changes taking place this fall, you'll be receiving a few more emails from us than usual over the next 3 weeks. We don't want to overload your inbox, we just have some exciting news and reminders for you. To start we'll be: 1) announcing our new membership programs 2) reminding you to sign up for the week of free classes--Sept. 4, 6, & 7 (we'd love for you to register as space is limited) and 3) announcing the Fall class session running Sept. 11 through October 26.

We're updating the website soon and will have all the details there as well. Thank you so much for being part of what we love. We look forward to kicking off a year full of helping you feel better in your life, through the pleasure of Nia!

Sincerely,

Jill Pagano

jill@niadivas.com (We'd love to hear from you!)

Lesley Tinker

lesley@niadivas.com

NiaDivas

Distinctively Delicious Fitness.

www.niadivas.com

A Thank You Note to You from Mercy Corp!

Jill Pagano — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 07:37:30 -0500

A few months ago, NiaDivas' students generously gave over $300 in just two hours attending two Nia classes to raise money for the earthquake survivors in China. Today, I received a letter from Mercy Corps as well as a certificate of appreciation. I wanted to pass on the lovely lette Tracie from Mercy Corp wrote:

"On behalf of the people we serve in the earthquake devastated region of Sichuan China, we thank you for the wonderful gifts you helped raise totaling $345 for Mercy Corps' program there. Mercy Corp is honored that you chose us as the recipient of your charitable giving and that you have trusted us to implement your goal to help the survivors of this terrible natural disaster. We are very grateful for your participation in the Nia class fundraiser event. We also appreciate the increased awareness in your community which your event generated about the current needs in the aftermath of the quake and Mercy Corps program to help.

Mercy Corps mission is to alleviate suffering, poverty and oppresion and we depend heavily on the fundraising efforts of small groups of concerned individuals such as you. Thank you for being an important partner in our shared mission, and for carrying out Gandhi's inspiration charge to "Be the change you wish to see in the world". Please be assured that the contributions your raised will be wisely and promptly used to improve the lives of the earthquake survivors most in need. "

Sincerely, Tracie Weitzman

Boy, that feels good! Both Lesley and I look forward to serving Mercy Corp and other charitable agency's in the future through NiaDivas! You can donate or read more at www.mercycorp.org.

Over $300 in just two hours!

Jill Pagano — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 17:41:25 -0500

I want to thank everyone who attended our NiaDivas' Dance and Donate For China's Earthquake Survivors. Our hour-long Nia classes on Saturday and Sunday raised lots of money for Mercy Corp. We took time to reflect on those suffering and surviving this natural disaster while dancing our spirit. For those of you that missed class, our focus (for Saturday's class) was on the Strength of the Human Spirit with the intention of honoring those who will be calling on their strength to cultivate new lives.

I am always in awe of what comes up when I use a focus that taps into the energy of our emotional and spiritual bodies. I noticed in myself the following 1) I talked less 2) I spent more time with myself and then projected energy to the group 3) the energy of the group and the music contributed greatly to the dynamics of the class 4) we smiled and were a community.

I stayed up late Friday night crafting the music for this particular focus. I wanted the music to lead us on a journey from tragedy through triumph. We started with beautifully powerful music from Kitaro's An Enchanted
Evening , weaved our way through some of Nia's Dream Walker and freedance through American Idol, David Cook's version of We are all Innocent. We slowed down with a version of What the World Needs Now is Love Sweet Love and ended with Peter Koser's beautiful song Transformation (from his Songs for Humanity CD). My favorite section...all of us in a tight cluster walking with outstretched arms on the chorus of "We are all Innocent". Made me tingle!!

Thank you for coming to the event, writing your checks and dancing your spirit with me.

Lots of love,

Jill

What do you mean Sensation? It's more than a feeling....

Jill Pagano — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 18:25:47 -0500

Throughout a Nia class, you'll hear Lesley and I refer to "every body sense your___(body part)___." We are inviting you into your body's sensation. Out there in the "regular world of fitness", you won't hear the word Sensation much. You may hear the word "feeling" more. For example: "feel the burn...feel the muscle contract". There's certainly nothing wrong with using the word "feeling". In many ways, it's just semantics. We are all striving to connect to what we are noticing in our body in the moment. Noticing, to me, is another way to say awareness. In Nia, we encourage you to become aware of sensation which is just another way of saying "hey, notice what your feeling in your body".

And this begs, the question...Why do I want to notice(become aware of) my body's feelings (sensations)? For me there is both a beauty in becoming aware of sensation and there is a benefit to it. Which is exactly why I'm writing a series of articles entitled: The Beauty and The Benefit of Nia. Lesson One: Awakening to Sensation. We're going to have these articles on our site for you to download and read at your leisure. And I'd love to hear if the information and the experiential tip is of value to you. And if so, in what way?

Okay, so back to the question: Why do I want to become aware of Sensation (read: notice what I'm feeling in my body)? For me, it's because nothing speaks to me with more honesty and more perfection than when I quiet my mind and listen to what mybody is telling me. Not what my mind says my body is saying.....that's different, that's an opinion of what I think my body is saying. What I'm talking about is putting yourself in the place of not judging, not thinking, and instead listening-- without the history, without the stories, without being a victim or attached what's being said-- instead breathe, empty out, relax your body, be alert in your mind and reap the benefit of just waiting for the voice of the body. Listen with the alertness as if you were "next in line at the drivers license bureau after a 3 hour wait". Be in the moment of now and listen to the solitary voice of the most miraculous and mysterious machine ever created.

Why do this? Because, no one will ever say to you what your body will say to you. And you may never know what is has to share with you until you listen for it.

Jill's in Love, again!

Jill Pagano — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 12:32:02 -0500

I must admit. I'm in love again. It's not really surprising to me. It's part of my makeup that I fall in love like this frequently. It starts off as a casually interest and then as soon as I get my body involved....boing...I'm in love.

And now it's happened with this really amazing body...of work...called Feldenkrais.

That's right. I'm having a love affair with the magic of Feldenkrais, one of the healing art forms in Nia. I must admit, I don't even know the tip of the iceberg about Feldenkrais. I've taken about 2 hours of it. Yup, that's it. But isn't that how new love is? ...a tingley magic...an excitement that runs through your body that builds with anticipation longing for the next time you get to be together!

So what is it that's got me so "hot in the knickers" about Feldenkrais. It works. It's gentle and natural. I feel different and more comfortable in my body after just a few minutes. I don't feel like I'm "working out". I feel like I'm unraveling my body back into it's natural state...no let me rephrase that...my body is unraveling itself. I'm simply along for the relaxing ride. Staying out of the way and only being asked to be aware. I Love That. Mostly, I love how I feel when I'm doing it and how I feel afterward.

So yes, my list of lovers has now gotten longer....Nia, Yoga, Pilates, Gyrotonics, Bartineoff fundamentals, Kinesis, Rolfing, Cranial Sacral Therapy....and now Feldenkrais. Even though there are many modalities I love, I hope it doesn't dilute your perception of me! tee hee... I'm not a "run around" hopping from new thing to new thing. No, I find with body work, I DO love them all, just at different times, when my body has a specific calling. And I'm grateful they are all out there for the lovin'.

Learn more about Feldenkrais in Seattle or This gentleman, Ryan C. Nagy has audiodownloads of Feldenkrais lessons available. I did the free one at my desk and then purchased a few too!

So what's one of your favorite forms of body work?

What Makes the Nia Technique a Unique Class?

Jill Pagano — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 20:12:04 -0600

In my last post, I wrote about what I felt was at the Heart of Nia--when you peel away all the other important stuff...what keeps Nia alive.

This week, I'd like to discuss what I feel makes a Nia class unique. How did I come up with the list. Well I asked myself...if you took this out of Nia, would it still be Nia? For example...dancing barefoot. Nia was designed to be done barefoot. However, wearing shoes doesn't detract from the what Nia is. It's possible to enjoy Nia in shoes.

So here's my brief list. I feel because of these components, Nia is the uniquely beautiful and incredibly effective experience that she is:

1) Relationship to the Music- Nia music is sensational! A variety of music inspires a variety of body movements, emotional gestures and overall body conditioning. So in Nia, we listen to the music, we let the music and the artist tell us their story, and we dance our interpretation of it. Nia music that comes from Nia headquarters is personally selected and compiled just for Nia teachers.

2) Ongoing Study of the Technique- Yup, it's named "The Nia Technique" for a reason. Nia is a body of work that can be studied, in depth, for conditioning and personal-growth. In Nia, there are 13 principles for each belt level. The first belt is the White Belt, focusing on exploring and discovering our physical body. We have a total of 4 belt levels to progress through, each building upon the other's foundation. The 13 principles gives us direction, focus and a place to grow in our relationship with our body, mind, emotions and spirit. Among the Principles of the White Belt are Nia's 52 moves. Specifically chosen from dance, martial arts and the healing arts, they gives us a vocabulary of movement which to study, honor and condition our body. Though there are correct ways to do the 52 moves, the important thing is to honor that you are practicing these moves and developing your skill.

3) Class Format-Seven Cycles of a Nia Class--doesn't really sound too exciting..but blending through the seven cycles is what sets the stage for the magic to take place. Nia is an effective body-mind movement class because of the cycles guide us through a class. The cycles most unique to a group exercise experience are: Cycle 1: Setting our focus and intention (what we want to work on and how we want to feel when we leave class) and Cycle 2: Stepping In- consciously leaving distractions behind and becoming present. Cycle 6, toward the end of class, is Floorplay. This is unique because that's exactly what we do...we play on the floor, with the floor and with gravity. Who needs "floor work" when you can have floorplay!

4) Freedance- So your following along with the choreography and all of a sudden the teachers says "Okay, this part is a freedance". YIKES what's that??? It's easy! Freedance is "anything goes movement-wise". And once ya let go a litte, quiet the mind a bit, it's really a very fun and effective way to express yourself and move the way your body wants. In freedance, you can reclaim your own natural movements as you enjoy the music.

Next week, I'll discuss what makes Nia so effective and unique at conditioning the body. Till then...Dance on, Live on!!

With love, Jill P.

What is at the Heart of Nia ?

Jill Pagano — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 20:02:54 -0600

This weekend Lesley and I enjoyed sharing our New to Nia Workshop to an enthusiastic group of Nia newbies. Preparing for the presentation, we asked ourselves "What is at the heart of Nia?" Whew, that feels like a big question... and Nia is such a deep and broad practice to study. We looked to the Nia's White Belt Principals, the first level of Nia Study, and came up with these points that were essential in our own Nia practice.

At the Heart of Nia (the Technique) there is:

1. Awareness of Sensation (felt in the body). In Nia we are connecting to what we are feeling in our body--in Nia we refer to this as sensation. Becoming aware of sensation cultivates the body-mind relationship. Nia teachers invite their students to become more aware of sensation by saying in class "Every body sense your (body part).........." This is an invitation to practice and cultivate your relationship with your body. "When I'm moving this way, what can I sense in this part of my body". Defining sensations can run the gamut of adjectives beyond just GOOD or BAD. We invite you to begin cultivating your own personal "sensation-glossary"...twingey, fluid, sticky, tight, free, choppy...the list goes on.

2. Pleasure- As humans our bodies want us to practice movements that feel good. Somewhere along the line we may have hooked into the "no pain, no gain" "just do it" mentality. In Nia, we practice cultivating movements that feel good to the body which inturn elevates our mood, calms our nervous system and clears our mind. Moving with pleasure also makes taking class more fun! Learning to choose pleasure, is an evolving practice. "Tweaking" movement slightly can bring us back onto the path of pleasure, so there is no reason to "grin and bear it"....if something doesn't feel good--TWEAK (make a small change). As we learn to sense our body (#1), we begin to seek and choose pleasure.

3. Consciously-Directed Movement- Did you know in Swahilii Nia means "with purpose"? It's no surprise that at the heart of Nia, we practice becoming aware of directing our body with clarity and energy. As we become more conscious of our movement, we are able to study our body, it's current state, our movement habits and our ever-changing sensations. Another benefit of moving with purpose is, it enables us to live in the moment, which often releases us from unnecessary mind-chatter. What a wonderful way to spend time with our body!

On a final note, take notice of how often I use the word practice. This is also at the heart of Nia. There is no expectation to "get it" right away. In Nia, we are all on our own path's practice with no expectation to be like anyone else.

At the heart of Nia is the acceptance. Acceptance that comes with relaxing into the concept of yes, I'm practicing and my practice is rewarding.

Read this, copy this, forward to friends. It may save lives!

Jill Pagano — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 12:11:35 -0600

This essay was posted from a Nia Teacher on our Nia Teachers internet forum. It struct a cord with me as I remember about a year ago hearing from a female student who had a heart attack, in her car, right after taking one of my Nia Classes. Similar to this women, she had the presence of mind to call for help. Even though she didn't know what was happening, she knew the sensations were not normal.

As February reminds us of valentines and love...let it remind us too of our marvelous heart muscle.

"I had a completely unexpected heart attack at about 10:30 PM with NO prior exertion, NO prior emotional trauma that one would suspect might've brought it on. I was sitting all snuggly and warm on a cold evening, with my purring cat in my lap, reading an interesting story my friend had sent me, and actually thinking, 'A-A-h, this is the life, all cozy and warm in my soft, cushy Lazy Boy with my feet propped up.'

"A moment later, I felt that awful sensation of indigestion, when you've been in a hurry and grabbed a bite of sandwich and washed it down with a dash of water, and that hurried bite seems to feel like you've swallowed a golf ball going down the esophagus in slow motion and it is most uncomfortable. You realize you shouldn't have gulped it down so fast and needed to chew it more thoroughly and this time drink a glass of water to hasten its progress down to the stomach.

"This was my initial sensation - the only trouble was that I hadn't taken a bite of anything since about 5:00 p.m.

"After that had seemed to subside, the next sensation was like little squeezing motions that seemed to be racing up my SPINE (hind-sight, it was probably my aorta spasming), gaining speed as they continued racing up and under my sternum (breast bone, where one presses rhythmically when administering CPR). This fascinating process continued on into my throat and branched out into both jaws.

"AHA!! NOW I stopped puzzling about what was happening - we all have read and/or heard about pain in the jaws being one of the signals of an MI (myocardio infraction) happening, haven't we? I said aloud to myself and the cat, 'Dear God, I think I'm having a heart attack!' I lowered the foot rest, dumping the cat from my lap, started to take a step and fell on the floor instead.

"I thought to myself, 'If this is a heart attack, I shouldn't be walking into the next room where the phone is or anywhere else; but, on the other hand, if I don't, nobody will know that I need help, and if I wait any longer I may not be able to get up in a moment.'

"I pulled myself up with the arms of the chair, walked slowly into the next room and dialed the Paramedics. I told her I thought I was having a heart attack due to the pressure building under the sternum and radiating into my jaws. I didn't feel hysterical or afraid, just stating the facts. She said she was sending the Paramedics over immediately, asked if the front door was near to me, and if so, to unbolt the door and then lie down on the floor where they could see me when they came in.

"I then laid down on the floor as instructed and lost consciousness, as I don't remember the medics coming in, their examination, lifting me onto a gurney or getting me into their ambulance, or hearing the call they made to St. Jude ER on the way, but I did briefly awaken when we arrived and saw that the Cardiologist was already there in his surgical blues and cap, helping the medics pull my stretcher out of the ambulance. He was bending over me asking questions (probably something like 'Have you taken any medications?') but I couldn't make my mind interpret what he was saying, or form an answer, and nodded off again, not waking up until the Cardiologist and partner had already threaded the teeny angiogram balloon up my femoral artery into the aorta and into my heart where they installed 2 side by side stints to hold open my right coronary artery.

"I know it sounds like all my thinking and actions at home must have taken at least 20-30 minutes before calling the Paramedics, but actually it took perhaps 4-5 minutes before the call, and both the fire station and St. Jude are only minutes away from my home, and my Cardiologist was all ready to go to the OR in his scrubs and get going on restarting my heart (which had stopped somewhere between my arrival and the procedure) and installing the stints.

"Why have I written all of this to you with so much detail? Because I want all of you who are so important in my life to know what I learned first hand."

1. Be aware that something very different is happening in your own body, not the usual men's symptoms, but inexplicable things happening (until my sternum and jaws got into the act). It is said that many more women than men die of their first (and last) MI because they didn't know they were having one, and commonly mistake it as indigestion, take some Maalox or other anti-heartburn preparation, and go to bed, hoping they'll feel better in the morning when they wake up....which doesn't happen. My female friends, your symptoms might not be exactly like mine, so I advise you to call the Paramedics if ANYTHING is unpleasantly happening that you've not felt before. It is better to have a "false alarm" visitation than to risk your life guessing what it might be!

2. Note that I said "Call the Paramedics". Ladies, TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE! Do NOT try to drive yourself to the ER - you're a hazard to others on the road, and so is your panicked husband who will be speeding and looking anxiously at what's happening with you instead of the road. Do NOT call your doctor - he doesn't know where you live and if it's at night you won't reach him anyway, and if it's daytime, his assistants (or answering service) will tell you to call the Paramedics. He doesn't carry the equipment in his car that you need to be saved! The Paramedics do, principally OXYGEN that you need ASAP. Your doctor will be notified later.

3. Don't assume it couldn't be a heart attack because you have a normal cholesterol count. Research has discovered that a cholesterol elevated reading is rarely the cause of an MI (unless it's unbelievably high, and/or accompanied by high blood pressure). MI's are usually caused by long-term stress and inflammation in the body, which dumps all sorts of deadly hormones into your system to sludge things up in there. Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Let's be careful and be aware. The more we know, the better chance we could survive.

A cardiologist says if everyone who receives this information sends it to 10 people, you can be sure that we'll save at least one life.

**Please be a true friend and copy and e-mail this article to all your friends you care about**

Break Out of the Fitness Boredom!

Jill Pagano — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 11:19:49 -0600

A very courageous woman asked me how much longer we were sticking to our current Earthsong routine. After telling her, "for a while longer", she honestly replied she was getting bored with it. And my reaction (in my head) was...you think YOU are bored with it, try teaching it every class of the week. What, a Nia teacher admitting, yup, I was getting bored. Now, I Love Nia...and I love teaching, so I knew there is more to this single element of wistfully feeling "bored". For me, this boredom meant I was stuck in my movement patterns and habits, had stopped really listening to the music with my body, and was lacking creative energy. Having just finished our first Welcome to Nia Class, where Lesley and I discussed how to energize movements, I turned to the 9 Movement Forms to break me out of my movement stigma and reenegize my body's conditioning. Any whew...what a discovery!

In Thursday's evening class, we still used Earthsong. The focus was on Energizing with the 3 Dance Arts: modern dance, duncan dance and jazz dance. WOW! What an entirely different experience allowing ourselves the experience and energy of these unique dance forms. Energizing our moves with modern dance we explored loading our legs with gravity, creating shapes in space and encouraging ourselves to be languid and emotive while connected to our base (legs). While energizing with Duncan dance, I found the upward magnetic energy in fully expanding the area around my heart and muscles in my chest. Allowing my movement to express a more carefree, child-like expression. With the energy of jazz, I found encouraging students to "be more out there" to "look and love it!". Nia movements laced with jazz have a snappy, confident-feel,--expressive and peppy!

Throughout class, I didn't have a bored moment. Did you? Instead I felt energized with new sensations, a light-heartedness in my emotional body and a stimulation in my mind. My Spirit felt inspired that I am (and you, too are) able to connect to the body-mind creative force. Each Nia experience is an hour of nurturing the relationship with my body, where I use my mind to co-create new experiences: loving, joyous, reflective and fun! And I co-created some definite conditioning for my body, I can sense that in my muscles today!

Want to see some of the Nine Movement Forms in their pure form? Go to our All Things Nia page and select a link to the form that interests you. Or try the Search feature. For example, search for "Aikido" and you'll get beautiful videoes of Aikido masters at work. This is a wonderful way to witness the movement forms energy and then play with it in class! See ya Saturday in class, for more Energizing with the movement forms!