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.

Strength is sensed as muscle hugging the bone, energy in.  There's a feeling of sustained power, a vibration of positive tension in the muscles. Losing strength may be sensed as quivering of the muscle uncontrollably, pain, fatigue, a lessening of balance and coordination. Access strength by progressively alternating tightening and relaxing of muscle groups.  One place that often stays tight (and uncomfortable) is our jaw.  How's yours? Dynamic strength is a balance of power and grace, sensed as relaxation more than tension.

Stability is sensed as a calmness in the  muscles combined with readiness for action.  Stability is the base from which we move.  Dynamic stability is sense as a balance of opposites, a powerful peace.  Loss of stability may be sensed as weakness, loss of balance, or loss of support.  The amazing thing is that stabile stances involved the whole body, not just the legs.  One way to access stability is to start with movement, a gentle swaying back and forth from an open- or A-stance -- let the whole body be involved, then letting the sway become smaller and smaller until stability is attained.

In Nia, we cultivate flexibility, agility, mobility, strength, and stability through sensation and consciousness.

More information about FAMSS can be found in these resources:

• All Things Nia on this website. Click here.
• Book, The Nia Technique. Click here.
• Online video, Helen Terry, Nia Trainer, demonstrates the Five Sensations.  Click here.

EnJoy,
Lesley