History of Nia
Nia was born out of the aerobics craze of the 1980s in the United States. In 1983, Debbie and Carlos Rosas took off their shoes and created barefoot fusion fitness. After getting support from the medical community for the cardiovascular benefits, Nia was launched nationally in 1987.
In 2002, Kathy Wolstenholme brought Nia to South Africa.
How does Nia work?
Nia uses three tools to stimulate, motivate, and create positive change: Music, Movement, and Magic.
Music is used for inspiration and as an energy you learn to sink into, ride on, and flow with. Movement is used to integrate your body, mind, emotions, and spirit. The Magic is you. How you do what you do, how you interact and connect, and how you create.
As a science, Nia uses systemic movement, moving the entire body with grounded steps and stances from the martial arts (Tai Chi, Tae Kwon Do, and Aikido), the dance arts (Jazz, Modern, and Duncan Dance) and the healing arts (Alexander Technique, Yoga, Feldenkrais). Nia works because it is natural, organic, and free, and because you personalise every aspect of Nia to lovingly guide you.
What makes Nia unique
Nia follows natural time rather than mechanical time. In mechanical time we have to learn, remember, and perform in somebody else’s time (remember the impatient teacher when you didn’t get something right). Natural time however, recognises that each person learns in their own unique way and time. Simply put, you don’t have to get a new move the first time you do it (or the second, third, or fourth) and you definitely don’t have to do it exactly the same way as the teacher. You find the way of doing the move that feels comfortable and gives you a sensation of pleasure.
Because the teacher shows the moves in real time, it makes no difference whether you are new to Nia or have missed a class, you can still comfortably join in and experience the Nia magic. This is also why Nia does not have beginners and advanced classes. Everybody joins in the class in their unique way, without fear of doing it wrong.
Nia is presented in a way that guides each person to listen to their body and to make their own movement choices throughout the class.