More Than Just a Workout...Nia and Your Feet
I used to take slippers with me on trips because I was so grossed out by hotel floors that I refused to walk on them barefoot (never mind the beds!). I was in this state when I started practicing Nia – in fact, it was almost the only time I was ever barefoot! I lived in shoes, all kinds of shoes, and I was not aware of any other way of living.
Until I started practicing Nia. One of Nia’s principles and part of its uniqueness is that it is practiced barefoot. This allows the 7,000 nerve endings in the feet to do their job – sense and send information to our brains. This information includes pain and pleasure, which enables us to monitor and change our movement habits for better balance, strength, and conditioning of the entire body.
Energetically, the foot is a key area in the body where prana (life force) enters and leaves the body, and moving barefoot stimulates the circulation of this life force within each of us. Our feet are where we are connected to the earth, and sensing bare feet on the earth grounds and centers us.
Moving barefoot, we literally awaken our life – physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. For me, my journey with Nia is a story about my feet – once riddled with painuful Morton’s Neuroma and ankle weakness – now strong, beautiful, and alive. I live in Uggs and flip flops when I have to wear shoes, and otherwise I am naked from the ankles down. I marvel at and appreciate my feet and their covering of skin which is an amazing barrier to germs, and objects. I treat them with pedicures and barefoot dance every day, and they treat me to a whole new world of sensation and pleasure! Pleasure experienced living with my feet connected to the earth…
P.S. Want to know which shoes are the healthiest for your feet? Download this article from my website here .
Posted by Stephanie at Tuesday, July 06, 2010 4:19 PM 
Categories: Fitness, Nia Lifestyle, Pleasure, Aging with Grace, Nia Technique
Tags: Nia fitness
Categories: Fitness, Nia Lifestyle, Pleasure, Aging with Grace, Nia Technique
Tags: Nia fitness
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