Saturday July 25, 2009
Dancing through life
By JOY LEE & ED SOON
Dance, martial arts and the healing arts all come together in Nia, a low-impact, fun workout.
Inside a wooden-floored studio on Hawaii’s Kona Coast, with the sunset and sea for backdrop, a Nia instructor leads her small class in “a dance of joy”.
For 1½ hours, she guides her students through martial arts moves, yoga stances and various dance disciplines. One moment the class is kicking, punching and shouting in unison, and next they’re in their own world, graceful bodies and limbs extended, moving to the music — an eight-beat counting system that changes from world to jazz to hip hop.
To the outsider, the scene is somewhat bewildering. What exactly is going on? But there’s something one can’t help noticing — despite the physical workout, everyone is smiling.
Nia is the embodiment of nine movement forms - three martial arts, three healing arts and three dance forms. So what is Nia exactly?
It’s the creation of Debbie Rosas, formerly the aerobics diva of Bay Area Fitness, and Carlos Rosas, a tennis teacher. Discovering that they were injuring themselves and their students in the “No pain, no gain” fitness movement of the early 80s, the two began to develop a fusion fitness technique in 1983. It began as Non Impact Aerobics, and then morphed into Neuromuscular Integrative Action or Nia for short.
In Swahili, nia means “with purpose” and for a while, the creators used Nia as an acronym for “Now I Am”.
Nowadays, their fitness regimen is known simply as Nia. What they have developed is the embodiment of nine movement forms — three martial arts, three healing arts and three dance forms.
Why the mix?
To balance the power and volatility of taekwando, with the softer art of taichi and the energy in aikido. They also added the ancient practice of Hatha Yoga, with its ability to heal mind, body and spirit, and the Alexander Technique’s lead-with-the-head, upward movement, and the Feldenkrais Method, which encourages mindful movement, breaking down habitual physical patterns.
Together, these disciplines heighten sensory body awareness whilst delivering results for body conditioning, mind relaxation, emotional release and spiritual balance. The first principle of Nia is the Joy of Movement i.e. dance.
Repetitive exercise, devoid of emotions and human spirit isn’t fun and eventually fails for many people. Dance, on the other hand, is fun and everyone is a natural-born dancer. In Nia, there is no wrong way to dance — dance is simply the means to get your body in motion.
Jazz and modern dance steps pep up the workout whilst Duncan dance (named after Isadora Duncan) increases the childlike freedom of the workout with its light and floating movements. Free Dance draws from one’s imagination and own visualisation.
Nia achieves fitness and mind-body growth through the joy and simple pleasure of moving.
But does it get me in shape?
“The Nia workout provides a superb cardiovascular workout — a full body sweat every time, if you choose it,” says instructor Renee Tillotson.
According to her, Nia routines are crafted to warm up the muscles and joints, gradually raise the heart beat to a full aerobic rate, then drop it back down during the cool-down and floor play. In Nia floor play, students use the resistance to gravity of their own body weight to develop strength, flexibility and balance.
Nia practitioners avoid the injuries associated with high impact and repetitive movement formats.
“Thanks to Nia and a healthy diet, my weight is the same as it was when I was on my college gymnastics team 30 years ago,” says Tillotson. “More importantly, I have a healthy, flexible back, even with my scoliosis. I have the endurance for three full cardio workouts in a day. ”
Tillotson teaches five to six classes a week, and one can’t help but notice just how much the students in her classes seem to enjoy moving by themselves and with each other.
“In Nia, the dance of joy is contagious — unlike some classes where one may attend for years without knowing the person you’re next to, Nia builds friendships easily, simply because you share so much together in class!” explains another instructor Melissa Dice with a laugh.
Is Nia for everyone?
“Nia is for people who are willing to leave some of their inhibitions outside the door and approach movement from a childlike perspective. It works best for those who want to find their own body’s way of moving and not just play follow the leader,” Tillotson explains.
“It’s for people who are willing to let music touch their spirit and set their body in motion. They can move in chairs, in wheelchairs, on shaky old legs or on springy young legs.”
Brad Bliss, 51, an attorney, has attended Nia classes twice a week for the past few years.
“I like the way it makes me feel. It’s a fun way to exercise and get an invigorating workout. The fun aspect is moving to music in a group and watching how others in the class interpret the moves individually.”
“Nia is a lot less boring than lifting weights! The fact that I enjoy doing Nia keeps me motivated. Nia moves are so well integrated that they stretch your abilities in a non-threatening way that gives you more flexibility, muscle tone, balance and agility.
“Nia is a major part in my fitness programme. At my age, it’s about maintaining my body weight and general fitness level.” Brad chuckles. “Don’t be threatened by the dance aspect. You have to experience it yourself, and you’ll discover it is a great workout.’’
Another Nia believer is Suzie Morgan, 35, an animal therapist.
“I was a competitive basketball player in college and the game really ruined my knee joints, and the only workout that didn’t hurt them was Nia! I was impressed,” she relates.
“Nia teaches you to listen to your body and move the way it wants to naturally. In the past, I listened to what the experts told me to do to my body, but since then I’ve learnt to listen to my body and my knees have never given me trouble since!”
Is Nia for you?
Outside the Honolulu studio, as a full moon takes its place amongst the bright city lights and twinkling stars of the night sky, Tillotson concludes — “The question is, are you willing to be aware in your body and move in new ways that bring health to the body, mind and emotions? Are you ready to set your spirit free and experience the Joy of Movement?”
o Although there are no certified Nia teachers in South-East Asia currently, there are many currently in training. To learn more about Nia, go to www.nianow.com
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