NiaDivas

Want more out of your workout?  Smile! 

The act of smiling releases tension in the jaw and neck, two of the greatest tension holders in the body.  Not only do the jaw and neck hold tension, they stimulate tension throughout the entire body.  In small doses, there is nothing wrong with tension, in fact small doses of tension are healthy.  But, in this day and age, tension has become our normal way of being -- so much so that we often do not realize it!  Take a quick check -- how is your jaw? Tight or loose?  How is your breathing?  Shallow or full?  Tight jaw and shallow breathing are signs of chronic tension.

By releasing tension, we enter into relaxation, the place from where a good workout starts.  The pulsing between muscular relaxation and contraction stimulates blood flow, which brings oxygen and nutrients to our muscle cells and takes CO2 and waste products away.  We get more out of our workout and we can work out longer. 

The word, Smile, starts with the letter "S," which depicts what in our body’s chemistry is called an allosteric or sigmoidal or S curve.  At the bottom of the "S" we are in relaxation.  At the top of the "S" we are in tension.  In the swiggle between the bottom and top of the "S" we are in dynamic ease, that magic place of flow between relaxation and tension where our bodies work most efficiently and derive the greatest benefits.

Watch and listen to Nia co-founders Debbie Rosas and Carlos Rosas discuss relaxation on their NiaNow website video by clicking here.

As our ability to listen to our body increases, we fine-tune sensations and call on them to access flexibility, agility, mobility, strength, and stability -- FAMSS for short.  In Nia, we often refer to FAMSS the Five Sensations.  Together, FAMSS provide functional fitness and conditioning, which lead to balance and harmony throughout our bodies.  What do these sensations feel like?  And how do we access them?

Flexibility is sensed as energy moving outward along the bones.  There's an elastic quality of muscles and joints, and a feeling of warmth.  If we lose flexibility, we tend to feel heavy, rigid, stiff, cramped, or tired.  We can access flexibility by invoking a sense of lengthening from the center of our bodies.  Yawning with our whole body is a natural way of stretching and inviting flexibility.  Without even moving, we can sense flexibility by connecting our mind with our body in the imagination of muscle along the bone.

Agility is sensed as a feeling of pushing and pulling, a shifting of dynamic tension, a sense of yin (feminine) and yang) masucline. It's sensed as the moment of starting a movement and the signal to stop a movement. The opposite of feeling agile is a sense of losing response, speed, and control.  We can access agility by playing with sudden starts and stops, and with changes in speed of movements.

Mobility is sensed as energy in constant motion, range of motion around the joints. By playing with mobility, we can feel that "mojo flow", the magic of our body being in tune. Lack of mobility may be sensed as a tightness, discomfort, or loss of power.  Like a gyroscope that fluidly changes direction while staying in motion, we can call on the sensation of mobility.

As a Nia student, you will often hear Jill or I advise you to "Let your feet kiss the ground" or "We'd like to hear the silence of your feet connecting with the floor" or "Use soft strength when placing your feet."  You will never hear us say, "We'd like to hear the pounding of your feet on the floor!" The reason is that pounding our feet, especially when dancing barefoot, can result in injury.  "Kissing" our feet to the ground inspires conscious, aware, and safe foot placement. 

"Barefoot, we could feel the exact impact of all our movements, and it forced us to stop pounding our feet into the floor as if our skeletons were made of steel." write Debbie Rosas and Carlos Rosas in The Nia Technique book.

Each of our feet has 33 joints, 26 bones, more than a 100 ligaments, 19 large muscles, several small muscles, and 7,000 nerve endings!  Most at risk are the metarsal bones along the ball of the foot, which is a primary reason why stepping forward in Nia is guided by the heel lead and why we encourage soft sure-footed movement.

As our whole-body conditioning and awareness build, we can add jumping in Nia.  At this stage, we are highly conditioned, know our bodies, and are able to jump and land with our entire being in safety. Until that point, it's best to let our feet kiss the floor. Let awareness be your witness to grow and enjoy Nia injury-free.

Tightness in the shoulder area? Blocked energy? This is for you! Watch Debbie Rosas, co-founder of the Nia Technique, demonstrate upward blocks. See the craft, practice the craft, and listen to Debbie explain how upward blocks can help loosen the shoulders and release blocked energy.

You'll find this video and a lot more in the newest release (Vol 3, Issue 1) of the NiaNow online newsletter.

In today's Nia, we did the routine, Moodfood.  With the focus on the feet, and all those sensuous sultry lyrics, WOW!  We started with rolling our feet back and forth and "rocking around the clock", we drew our attention to sensing our feet and letting the sensation travel up through our bodies and 13 main joints.  This routine brings us several Nia moves, cross-behind, cross-front, cha-cha-cha, kicks, stances, blocks energized with Tae Kwon Do, Aikido-like harmonizing spirals, soul-based Duncan dance, and shape-based modern dance. 

Along the way, the lyrics to two of the songs vied for our attention!  Rainsong and Spiritual High.  Click Lyrics If you'd like to see the lyrics.   Click Moodfood by the MoodSwings to see more about the music CD. 

More about the moves used during the routine can be found in The Nia Technique book, available for purchase before or after NiaDivas classes at Youngstown Arts Center.EnJoy!  Lesley