Nia Gauteng

Four things I’ve learnt from Nia and Sir Ken Robinson

By Melissa Fagan

The year 2020 will be remembered for many things, not least of all phrases like:

‘The new normal’, ‘You’re on mute’, and ‘Stay safe’.

It will also be remembered for social distancing, mask wearing, and the unfortunate death of over a million people worldwide from the novel coronavirus.

For me, among other things, it will be remembered for the passing of Sir Ken Robinson (21 August 2020).

I’m guessing that if you practise Nia, you will have heard of him; he was a great fan of dance and at one time was on the board of the Royal Ballet in England. But if you haven’t yet heard of him, do yourself a favour and watch his 2006 TED talk about how schools kill creativity, the most watched TED talk of all time.

Sir Ken Robinson was a British author, speaker and international advisor on education in the arts to governments, non-profits, education, and arts bodies.

Originally from a working-class neighbourhood in Liverpool, Sir Ken Robinson was knighted in 2003 for his lifetime of service to the arts.

I originally became interested in Sir Ken’s work because of my own work in education and of course, my role as a parent, trying to find the most humane and child-centred ways to educate my kids.

But then I discovered Nia, and so much of what Sir Ken speaks to became even clearer.

Allow me to share some of Sir Ken’s teachings, which I’m consolidating for myself as I step into the dance.

1. We think in movement

“We all have bodies,” Sir Ken reminds us. Our bodies are not just vehicles for transporting our heads. Our bodies actually help us think. I’m sure I’m not alone when I say that some of my best ideas have come to me while I’ve been dancing.

2. Mistakes are celebrated

“If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.”

As a recovering perfectionist, this is where I have the most work to do. It’s okay to get things wrong, I’m discovering. If I don’t know the steps, I can just free dance and try again the next time. As one of my Nia teachers reminds me, mistakes should be celebrated – they mean I’m learning something new. And as Sir Ken’s quote implies, mistakes mean I’m exercising my creativity muscle.

3. We build a relationship with our bodies

I’m a pretty cerebral person. I read a lot and live in my head much of the time. In Nia, I’m learning to have a conversation with my body. When I step into the dance, I know it’s time to tune in to my body’s messages. Sir Ken spoke about creativity being as important as literacy in education. In Nia, not only am I exercising my creativity muscle, but I’m also developing the literacy of my own body; I’m becoming body-literate if you will.

4. In dance we find community

“Dance education has important benefits for students’ social relationships, particularly among genders and age groups.” – Sir Ken Robinson

Sir Ken’s life’s work was advocating for the inclusion of the arts and creative education in schools. He saw it not only as a way to engender a culture of creativity for a future we can’t yet imagine, but also as a way to create social cohesion so that humankind could collaborate for a better future.

This is needed now more than ever.

During this COVID year, despite doing much of my dancing in the privacy of my bedroom, with no one around to watch me (as the quote goes) I’m becoming part of a global community. Whether I’m dancing with a teacher broadcasting from Germany, Switzerland or Johannesburg, I’m doing so with other curious, creative and non-judgemental people who are putting their own bodies, their physical, mental and spiritual health front and centre. As I watch my teacher on the screen, I’m aware that there are others dancing to the same music with the same intention and focus.

We are all on a learning journey. Indeed, in this strange COVID year, we’re all on a similar journey, learning new things about the way of our new world. Thanks to Sir Ken and now Nia, I am stepping in to this journey with curiosity, creativity and community.

• Melissa Fagan is a freelance writer and copy-editor. She is also the author of four children’s books for NPO Book Dash.

I discovered Nia in 2004 after I’d joined the gym in an attempt to stay in shape. I’d just given up smoking, and didn’t want to put on weight. I disliked the gym, and going there was always a drag for me. That all changed when I found Nia! I remember being on the rowing machine (yawn!) when a friend popped out of the exercise studio and told me about this class that she’d just done. I’ll never forget her words: “I feel like I could float home!”

Fast-forward to today. I no longer have a gym membership, and haven’t been into a gym since that day (other than on the rare occasion for a special Nia class). I’m now a studio partner in Studio Kairos (the hub of Nia in Johannesburg, South Africa), and have taken the Black Belt training. Nia has become a way of life for me, and exercise is no longer the drag that it was back then. I’ve always loved to dance, and doing it for mind-body exercise is the best gift I have ever given myself.

Nia is a fitness art that builds strength, agility, flexibility, and grace in the body and mind, bringing about transformation on many levels beyond the physical. It delivers a cardiovascular, whole-body workout, drawing as it does from the disciplines of martial arts, dance arts, and healing arts. Practiced barefoot to music, Nia is self-guided, adaptable, and safe for any fitness level, from reticent beginners to highly fit athletes. Most of all, Nia is exhilarating and fun!

In Swahili Nia means “with purpose” – and that’s how Nia teaches people to move, and to live.

Studio Kairos has continued its Nia classes on Zoom during the COVID-19 pandemic, and while managing the admin for these classes, I’ve chosen to dance more often than I was able to with my busy work schedule. I’m a proofreader, and run a recruitment company as well. All I’ve had to do during this time is make a few tweaks here and there, and I’m still dancing.

I’m lucky to have ADSL Wi-Fi at home, but I noticed that the signal in my lounge wasn’t perfect. Easy solution – a Wi-Fi range extender to reach those places in my home where the connection wasn’t perfect. I bought a TP-Link device from Takealot, and it cost me about R400. Problem solved!

Nia classes are lovingly crafted and use what’s known as the ‘seven-cycle format’. It starts with setting a focus and intent (what you place your attention on), stepping in (leaving all distractions behind), the warm-up phase, get moving (where you really get your heart rate going), cool down, floorplay, and stepping out (transitioning into your next activity).

I live in a very small house, and my space for moving is quite limited. I don’t let this stop me though – I’ve just moved my lounge furniture around so that there is a bigger space to move in. I am now able to get moving and cool down safely in the space that I have. No problem!

Nia choreographers mindfully choose soul-stirring music when crafting routines, and the songs are then licensed with the original artists. Nia has been around since the 1980s, so there are many routines that teachers can learn and share. When taking a Nia class, you can be sure that you’ll be dancing to all kinds of beautiful music, with carefully crafted choreography.

The music is a big part of the class for me, and I’m currently using my laptop for classes, so it was important for me to buy an external Bluetooth speaker. That way, I’m able to increase or decrease the volume without relying on my laptop’s maximum volume (which isn’t the best). I chose a JBL Flip 3 speaker – also from Takealot – which cost about R1,300. My second best purchase during lockdown!

I also chose to use my laptop for Zoom as I read somewhere that it’s better than a mobile phone or iPad. My next purchase will be a cable that connects my laptop to my TV so that I can take the class on a larger screen.

When I’m on my Zoom class, I close down all other applications (Outlook, all web browsers, and any other apps that could be sharing the bandwidth). I also turn my phone onto flight mode, and switch off the Wi-Fi and mobile data. I don’t want any other device to be using precious bandwidth that could be better spent on my Nia class!

South Africa has been in lockdown since the end of March, which makes it four months of online Nia classes. I dance most days, and have never been in better shape, both mentally and physically! While I miss our Nia studio desperately, and can’t wait to get back there for classes with my community, I’m grateful that I have been able to make these tweaks so that I can continue my Nia practice.

It is music and dancing that makes me at peace with the world. – Nelson Mandela

For Nia classes through Studio Kairos, you can visit www.niagp.co.za, call me on +27 83 657 3377, or send me an email (kim@niagp.co.za). If you’re a Discovery member, please include your ID number so that you can earn 100 points per class attended.

Steps to create harmony in your home, and optimise your online movement classes

Zoom works best with good, strong internet

It’s helpful to have a fast internet connection via fibre or ADSL. If you’re on 3G and some other internet connections, it may make your viewing unstable. Zoom also works best on a computer, laptop, or TV screen. If you’re using an iPad, please connect this to your Wi-Fi at home for seamless streaming.

Create a family calendar, and plan your classes and internet usage in your household. Consider sending your Google Calendar to your family.

It’s important when you’re doing an online movement class that you are the only one in your household who is online at the time. This will help your internet bandwidth so that it can be used optimally for the class, and will bring clarity to the delivery of the teachers instructions as well as the music. It will ensure that the class is not slowed down or speeded up, and that your screen doesn’t freeze. This includes closing your email programme, and being off Facebook and any other social media platforms, gaming, or YouTube channels for the duration of the class. We’ve noticed that if everyone either switches their cell phones off, or puts them on airplane mode, this definitely affects the quality of the Zoom class.

Please note that whatever you’re doing affects the whole, i.e. the other people in the Zoom class.

When you’re on the Zoom call

Arrive ten minutes before the start time, so that you can arrange your mat a suitable distance from your laptop. Ensure the device you are using can elevate your screen to eye level using necessary props to do so.

If you leave your microphone on, everyone can hear what’s going on in your house. It will also affect the quality of everyone’s stream as Zoom allocates some bandwidth to your microphone. The same goes for your video. If you like, start your video and unmute yourself at the beginning or end of the class to say hello and check in. When we start the class, the teacher will mute all participants and we’ll remind you to stop your video. This will help you see and hear us better.

If you arrive a bit late and the class has already started, please make sure that you have muted your microphone and that your camera is off. Again, this will make the experience for everyone so much better! If there is something that you’d like to say during the class that’s really urgent (like the sound quality, or if you cannot see the teacher properly), there is a chat menu at the bottom of your screen.

Nia classes (for the littlies, as well as the adults)

The Nia for Kids programme has been scheduled in the middle of the day (13:00 to 14:30), so that families can take a break at lunch time while their children are doing their online class.

Some examples of how you can use this time to feed yourself with nurturing activities by taking a mental detox

• Find a quiet spot in your home inside or ideally outside, and either read something uplifting, or call a friend using your landline or Vox phone (or similar VOIP phone service), rather than your cell phone.
• Write down your feelings in a journal to give air to your thoughts so that you can re-set and liberate your mind.
• If there is more than one of you in the house, give each other a massage (back and neck / foot, or hand). You don’t need to be a masseuse. All you need is the intention of loving touch, and healing energy will flow. Use music and essential oils or candles to create a sacred time and space for this.
• Put your headphones on and listen to some of your favourite music.
• Bake your favourite cake, or prepare your favourite meal, and sit in a quiet place to savour each bite.
• Go for a silent mindful walk around your garden and notice the little things that you might not have noticed before. If you don’t have a garden, walk around your house or patio and notice things you haven’t noticed before or see them in a different way. You might also find that you see the same things, but some different sense emerges in the silence and a new perspective about the small things is created. Don’t be surprised, at this point, if you start having creative ideas about the big things too!
• Have an uninterrupted conversation over a cup of tea or coffee for at least an hour, and share your truths in a loving manner with each other. It can go like this, “My truth is…”. Recently, I shared my truth with my family, which was that in order for me to function optimally, I need more boundaries in our household. This means that I need the mornings to dedicate my focus to my Sacred Livelihood which is running my Nia studio and training business, teaching my classes, workshops and trainings, and I need to work in my home office with no interruptions to do this. My husband shared his truth that it is easier for him to respond more positively to my requests when my tone is gentle rather than aggressive. My daughter said that her truth was that she is missing school, and needed to connect to that emotion of sadness and longing.
• Spend time with your animals.
• De-clutter one drawer or one shelf of one cupboard.
• Create a sacred space in your home which is just for you. Bring articles that have meaning: artwork, candles, incense, photographs, items from nature like stones, branches, flowers, and anything that evokes some connection to you.

The Nia classes for adults are at the start or end of the day, making it a ritual and a practice for the body and soul to re-set every time for optimal health in your body, mind, emotions, and spirit. We can send you details of all classes (send an email to us requesting the full list).

For Nia classes through Studio Kairos, you can visit www.niagp.co.za, call Susan on 011 880 5223 or email kim@niagp.co.za. If you’re a Discovery member, you will earn 100 points per class attended.

Susan Sloan

Nia White Belt Somatic Trainer and Black Belt Instructor

South Africa

These last few weeks I have felt carried by my 16 years of movement art practice called Nia. I’ve realised even more how the pillars of health and wellness lie in being mindful and staying present. And also cultivating sensations of fitness in the body: Flexibility, Agility, Mobility, Stability, and Strength.

With all that is happening in the world right now, as we and many countries go into lockdown to contain this COVID-19 pandemic, I feel I have tools to stay balanced through Nia’s philosophy of The Body’s Way. A way of living with the body as a nested system in accordance with the body’s design. For me, over these years, my Nia practice fits in with my belief systems of “Through Movement we Find Health”, and learning to listen to the body to practice preventative medicine and optimal health. As I learn each day more and more to listen to my body’s voices and interpret its signals, I make small adjustments to feel better. These adjustments can be so simple, for example changing the way my feet are connecting to the earth, and asking myself if I can drop my shoulders a bit more, or deepen my breath more.

Over the years, I can sense more how much volume and space I have inside my body, and which parts have more density. I can feel when I haven’t stretched out enough, especially the psoas muscle, which carries the fight or flight response, connected to the amygdala gland that connects with the diaphragm, endocrine, and nervous systems. Without taking care of flexibility of these hip flexor muscles, it will affect how I process my emotions. I can make small adjustments to feel better physically and so affect how I process my emotions. If I am talking too much and not listening enough, my throat gets dense, and with listening to this voice of sensation I can stop what I am doing or change how I am doing it, and in turn feel better.

With my regular practice of at least five to eight Nia classes a week, I have the time to hone these small adjustments, and give dedicated self-healing time to my body.

It feels like we as a planet are now making these big adjustments to our nested system as planet earth. I have found over the years that if I don’t hone my practice or am not able to find an hour or two to move artfully (and in my case mostly Nia, Yoga, or walking), my body’s signals get louder, and it’s usually more than discomfort, and sometimes pain.

So, it feels like the planet is re-setting to make changes so we can find this homeostasis again.

In my public classes at gyms, many students have been coming to Nia classes for years and have enjoyed the fellowship of joyful movement in community, while staying fit and healthy in Body, Mind, and Spirit. Some people drop in for class, and others stay as regular Nia practitioners. Mostly, those who subscribe only to traditional medicine, can perceive our dancing as just that, dancing to music. In this pandemic, I have made sure that the regular students have the opportunity to keep dancing, not just for the personal joy, but because we are alternate health practitioners.

I see other Nia practitioners all over the globe, in 46 countries, doing the same: keeping their communities moving, because we know how to stay healthy through movement. We believe that when you move the body in the way it was designed, you set up homeostasis, and long after your session, your body is re-setting to find balance in every way. For more on Nia’s 52 Moves, please read here: https://nianow.com/52moves

References

The Psoas Book by Liz Koch – this book says that “there is a lot more to the psoas than one might initially think. It is entirely possible to harness healing pranic energy and improve mental health by keeping the psoas healthy.”

Brett Wilbanks, writing for WakingTimes.com, said that breathing is modulated in the diaphragm, and it is also the location where many physical symptoms associated with fear and anxiety manifest. Koch believes that this is due to the direct link between the psoas and the most ancient part of our brain stem and spinal cord: the reptilian brain.

Long before the spoken word or the organising capacity of the cortex developed, the reptilian brain, known for its survival instincts, maintained our essential core functioning. The way we live today, constantly rushing, competing and achieving, has the psoas in a constant fight or flight state. Trapped in a constant flight or fight state, the psoas muscle is stressed and constricted, almost from the time of birth. This situation is exacerbated by many things in our modern lifestyle, from car seats to constrictive clothing, from chairs to shoes that distort our posture, curtail our natural movements, and further constrict our psoas. This lifelong chronic stress put on the psoas can lead to many problems like back, hip or knee pain, and even digestive issues and dysfunctional breathing.

Since the psoas is closely linked to our fight or flight mechanism, fear can be over-represented in those with a constricted psoas. It is an emotion that manifests itself in the most unusual ways, and can lock itself in the body resulting in both physical and emotional tension. By restoring balance to your psoas muscle, you are likely to release this pent-up tension, which can have a profound effect on releasing unfounded fearfulness about life, and thus improve both your physical and mental well-being. You will feel a greater sense of inner peace, along with fewer muscle aches and strains.

WHY NIA IS MORE THAN A WORKOUT

Written by Susan Sloan (White Belt Trainer)

I stepped in to my first Nia class in 2003, and although I had done many movement classes, somehow I knew it was very different and had a lot more to it. It was something I had to do and learn more about.

So, I signed up for the White Belt Intensive Training to become a Nia teacher. I was with others who were also stepping in to find out more about Nia and themselves. We walked away from that seven-day training with a body experience of using tools to become more consciously aware for our body, mind, emotions, and spirit.

I haven’t looked back since. Now, 17 years later, as a Black Belt Nia Instructor and a White Belt Trainer, I am training others to live their best lives, with more intent and body centred awareness.

What makes Nia different from any other workout? Well, for starters, the one-hour Nia class workout has a seven-stage format.

Stage 1 is the Focus and Intent. This sets the focus for the class so the teacher and students can harness the mind to stay present to receive the benefits of mind-body focus for healing and creating more potential in the body. As an example, in a class I taught recently, my focus was the hara, which I explain is an Asian term used in martial arts, and refers to a location in the centre of the pelvis, behind the belly button. This point is perceived as the “sea of qi”, which means a reservoir of vitality and a source of energy. Nia incorporates the energy of Aikido which emphasises the importance of moving from the hara, i.e. moving from the centre of one’s being, from one’s body, and mind. Moving from the hara is thought to be the intersection point of the mind and body, and the seat of all intuitive or ‘gut’ knowing. This awareness is the elixir that helps you become more resilient, grounded, and balanced. Moving with this awareness helps you to relax your body, mind, emotions, and spirit.

So, in this class, my focus was the hara, and the intent was to find more balance and relaxation in all realms of the body, mind, emotions, and spirit.

Stage 2, is the Step In. In this class of about 18 bodies, we all step in to leaving distractions behind and to be present in the here and now.

Stage3, is the Warm Up. Here I use a song which takes us through some of Nia’s moves for the base of the body called the stances, for grounding: closed stance, open stance, A-stance, and sumo stance. The moves for the arms are slow and very Tai Chi-like, to connect to earth to ground and to use the breath mindfully. During this warm-up song, the focus is also on the 13 main joints of the body: ankles, knees, hips, wrists, elbows, shoulders, and spine.

Stage 4, is where we Get Moving. The tempo of the music starts to increase, and the movement becomes more cardiovascular. We use the hara to create greater stability, mobility, agility, strength, and flexibility. My choice of music is stimulating rhythmic weight shift, and then Tae Kwon Do moves like punches, blocks, and strikes for agility and strength. We build up to a peak where the music is fast and vibrant and we’re using the four corners of the room, all our bodies in unison. We bring in some hand moves from Nia, to deepen the mind-body connection, and to condition the body: chop cut, claw hand, finger extensions, pumps, and webbed spaces. At the same time, I am sounding to release emotions and connect to sounding for empowering emotions like determination and confidence. I’m using the hand moves to transform emotions sitting in my body and energy field into “energy in motion”. The whole room is sounding with me and the music in unison, and the transformational energy of connecting to the hara is palpable.

After about five songs in high intensity, we’re all glowing with sweat, exhilaration, and the joy of movement.

It’s now time for stage 5, the Cool Down. Here we bring in Nia’s hand move called “touching”, and we begin to slow down the heart rate. We walk slowly in lateral travel, one hand on the hara and the other hand touching space above, then closed stance, to bring everything inward towards the hara, and connection to ourselves.

Stage 6, Floorplay, takes us down to the floor for integration of all previous stages. We continue to focus on moving from the hara and vary the movement speed, and flow. The movement is vertical, horizontal, diagonal, and in spiral lines using the healing art of Yoga, Alexander Technique, and Feldenkrais to deepen body awareness. Every cell of our bodies is being earthed and aligned.

We’re ready to move into the final stage of the class, stage 7, the Step Out. This facilitates a step out into the rest of our day taking the practice of Nia with us. We’re calm, our nervous systems in balance, and our bodies conditioned. The practice stays with us until the next time!