NIA Principle 1 – The Joy of Movement
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.
– Mary Oliver
Joy is Nia’s source. When we first started creat- ing Nia we had nothing but a huge desire to honor and appreciate our bodies. As we went about teaching class after class, with no written routines or maps to follow, the one constant was this incredible feeling— joy. It was a new and pleasurable feeling that we landed into when we moved our bodies in this new way. We didn’t know this at the time, but the sensation of joy would become a guide-line for experiencing Nia fitness. This joy was different. It was more than liking or disliking
a step. It was a voice that came from our body knowing itself.
In Nia, we use the energy of “joy” as the seed that grows
through the branches of our dance and through the heart of our communication. Joy can alter your attitude and response to any experience. This joy is an energy that can sit right next to or in the middle of sadness or anger. This joy doesn’t repress negative emotions, it invites them in joyously, to learn from them. It respects the truth of what is real for you. Joy is a conscious choice. Choose to stay authentically and joyously connected to your experience regardless of what emerges. Joy is different than enjoyment. It is a quality of alive-
ness. It is an attitude that stops resisting and embraces the reality of the body as it is and moves with the body in such a way as to create further joy and pleasure. Joy is the con- text, the background, in which the contents, or foreground, of our daily dance arise. When you allow this seed of light to sprout in you, you feel held, connected and supported. You have a context in which to place the dance of your life.
Joy is not a technique or a choreographic method. It is
an attitude toward the body and toward life. Joy is not just for when things in life are going well. It is an open accept- ing energy that accepts whatever comes its way. First choose to sense joy in your body. What is the sen-
sation of joy? What sort of impulses accompany joy? Does joy have a temperature? Does it have an expansive qual- ity? Stay connected to it, regardless of the emotions that surface. Hold the context of joy, and as the contents or
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emotions and thoughts arise merely notice them. Avoid grasping any single emotion, just notice each one. Let them rise, one by one, and allow them to pass. Watch them come and go and observe them with curiosity. Never deny a feeling, this will only make it stronger. Certain emotions may have a stronger pull than others,
but these emotions can also feed you with powerful fuel for growth and change. Even though you may judge some emotions as negative, all emotions give you energy to work with. Remember, do not get carried away by emotions or thoughts. Choose joy and choose the joy of the body. Align your movement with the energy and sensations of
that joy. Search for your own expression of authentic joy. Become the joy – the breath and body of joy. Dynamism in life will eventually wear off. Without the seed of joy nothing remains entertaining forever – not our marriage, not our job, not even dance. If you beat the joy out of your movement, if you mechanize your movement or disconnect from your body and joy when you move, you are not prac- ticing Nia. Slow down. Receive the gifts of this moment, whatever they may be. Choose Joy. Sense Joy. If you lose your connection with joy, let joy show you the way back. You are not a victim to your negative or positive thoughts. You are not a victim of your mind. Choose to observe your body, rather than observe the tangential adventures of your mind.
The soul of Nia is the Joy of Movement. It is the physi-
cal celebration of the body. Use the thread of joy to tie your dance experiences together and weave a life tapes- try that reflects honesty, truth and health. When moving, search for and remain connected to joy, regardless of what else is happening. To find out more about NIA, go to
www.NiaNow.com
Upcoming White Belt Trainings with Stephaney Robinson
at The Believe Center
Thurs. June 24 – Wed. June 30, 2010
or
Sat. Sept 18 – Fri. Sept 24
www.BelieveSC.com 803.356.1806
11:11—MARCH/APRIL 2010
www.1111mag.com
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