More Than Just a Workout...Nia and Awareness (or Why You Should Care about Body Awareness)
During the past few weeks we have been focusing on various aspects of body awareness in our Nia Dance. Specifically on awakening and experiencing sensations (relaxation, stability, mobility, etc.). Many of you have asked me why enhancing body awareness is important and what the benefits are, so I’ll try to answer that from my point of view.
The way Nia works is that by focusing on the physical sensations we experience when we dance, we slowly re-connect to parts of ourselves that are asleep (physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually) and we literally awaken to sensation. Usually we may sense that body parts hurt, but we sense pleasure much less often. Pain gets our attention, but pleasure? How tuned in to it are you on a daily basis (I’m not talking sex, people!)? What does pleasure feel like in your body? As we awaken to more sensation in our body, we experience more, and begin to feel more alive.
On a practical level, increasing body awareness through awakening sensation allows us to detect minor upsets in our physical body, such as injury or illness, and take restorative action sooner. It prevents us from injuring ourselves because we are living in our head and just dragging our bodies around with us. This requires our bodies to have to literally scream at us to get our attention.
Increasing awareness works in the emotional, mental, and spiritual realms as well. The greatest gift I have received from increasing body awareness is the ability to sense when I am hungry and when I am satisfied. Sounds simple, but that lack of awareness is a root cause of overeating, and therefore being overweight. I was finally able to address my mindless, compulsive eating and therefore find my natural, healthy weight without dieting (YES! without dieting, people!) through the growth of my own awareness.
Never diet again? Stop injuring myself? Prevent illness? All through awareness? SIGN ME UP! No more mindless eating or mindless exercising for me!
Posted by Stephanie at Friday, June 04, 2010 10:45 AM 
Categories: Fitness, Nia Lifestyle, Weight Loss, Pleasure
Tags: Nia fitness workout weight loss pleasure
Categories: Fitness, Nia Lifestyle, Weight Loss, Pleasure
Tags: Nia fitness workout weight loss pleasure
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