May 2007

:: fitness is the business of the body... ::
... is principle #11 of nia, but when i read it, my first impression was, "this is dry." and then i explored it and felt into what it means to me and i soon found the juiciness within.

of all four realms we explore in nia-- body, mind, spirit and emotions-- the only tangible one is the body. so it is with the body that we start.

through movement of arms and legs, hands and feet, hips and head, chest and heart, we dance our way into not only physical fitness, but also mental, spiritual and emotional fitness.

how do we condition and "work out" these intangible and yet oh-so-real and powerful realms? through the visualizations that we use, we gain access to the part of the brain that creates, and in this creative mode, the mind expands, and with an expansive mind, new ideas, thoughts and possibilities suddenly have room to grow. with every authentic movement we make, every vocalization that comes from deep within, we are expressing our spirit, our truth, through our body. and we strengthen our emotional "muscles" by giving ourselves, through our dance, a chance to "try on" different emotions-- be that joy or rage or freedom or ecstasy or... -- that may be unfamiliar or forgotten to us.

so it may look from the outside like we're in a class for physical fitness, but if you've danced and allowed yourself to be moved, you know the power inherent in nia to strengthen and transform not just your body, but your mind, your spirit and your emotions.

even the new york times gets what nia is about: "an emotional fitness odyssey, nia is just plain exhilarating."

yeah, we know!