Zumba and Nia in My Life
As you know, I finally made peace with Zumba (read my earlier blog). I have been teaching it for about seven months here in Sao Paulo, and have been doing it since I moved here a year ago. My experience with Nia is much deeper, however, I have just started teaching it again here in Sao Paulo. So I have had a chance to live with mostly Zumba in my life and can now compare it to living with mostly Nia in my life. Please note that I tend to teach a more athletic version of both Zumba and Nia. I have made some very interesting observations and conclusions (FOR ME!):
- I think I need Nia in my life to balance out the Zumba. Zumba to me feels very YANG, and a whole hour of Yang is hard on my body, mind, emotions, and spirit.
- Teaching Zumba, I definitely have had more injuries than I ever did teaching Nia.
- Teaching Zumba, I burn WAY more calories than I ever did teaching Nia.
- After a Zumba class, I am amped up – like after a party or a club. It’s hard for me to go to sleep! After Nia, I am calm and centered. Like after church.
- Sometimes when I don’t feel energetic, I wonder how I am going to muster the energy to teach a Zumba class. I never felt this way with Nia – I always knew I could show up and teach from wherever I was. I think Zumba has a performance or entertainment factor that Nia does not.
- My feet definitely prefer being barefoot.
- Overall, the Zumba music makes me want to dance more. I love the variety and getting my groove on. The Nia music, while beautiful, does not have enough variety of beats and sounds for my personal taste (so far).
- In my limited experience so far, people here in Sao Paulo prefer Zumba over Nia, and they are not familiar with either. This is both in a gym setting and in a wellness center setting.
- I have concluded that I am NOT a fitness instructor – or rather, that is not my goal.
I learned all this by approaching my teaching AS a fitness instructor, and have now realized that that’s NOT what I am. I think I am more of a spiritual teacher that uses movement, stillness, and conversation to create profound experiences for people to awaken their consciousness. I feel I can better accomplish this with Nia than Zumba. That’s not to say I am giving up Zumba (I also believe in the value of meeting people where they are, and Zumba seems to be where more people are!) – but for my own joy, I have decided to limit how much Zumba I teach and focus more on Nia.
Categories: Fitness, Zumba, Nia Technique
Tags: Zumba Nia teaching
HI Steph...EXcellent, as usual. You write with such clarity. It shows the amount of thought you've put into this whole subject...Yes, I so agree - you are MEANT to be a Nia teacher. It is in your heart and spirit and i pray that things will build in Natural Time. Sooooo hard to wait, as I well know. I have been tempted here & there to jump on the Zumba bus even though it's taught down the street (think they have 3 classes going). I know i'd be a better teacher simply by my experience of being a dance teacher all my life. I think the "cuing" is the lamest thing ever! And belly dancing?? I've yet to really see any in any of the classes I took. But they're marketing by selling cheap knock-off coin belts that are the bling everyone loves....That being said, like you, I teach Nia very athletically as well, and know myself enought to say that I'd throw myself into Zumba the same way! Not at all sure whether to jump on this bus or not. The other studio is well-established and we're just getting our feet wet at the new studio...*sigh* I am teaching BD on Monday nights, Nia on Tues/Thurs nights and then a 2 hour troupe class on Fri/3:30-5:30. Inbetween all of that, I put a LOT of intention into creating Sharing Circle for Nia every week, plus all the outside studio hours spent in lesson plans for BD & troupe, choreography, etc. My plate is full. I let paranoia creep in & then I think 'hmmm...maybe I should jump on the Zumba bus'...I dunno. Not sure where i'd fit it in! I also found your comments on Nia spot on and identify 100%, even w/the music. Am teaching Birth right now and the continuity of the music just did NOT flow along, esp w/the theme. I subbed out a couple songs entirely. All the techno/hip-hoppy stuff that seems to creep into Nia routines just leaves me cold! I always wonder "who chooses this stuff??!" So, am quite happy with my version. And, I keep telling myself that Zumba will burn itself out, like so many other flavors of the month & Nia has stood the test of time...That being said, I know BB's who have a hard time getting students for a class...I don't know what the answer is. Thanks for your thoughts - your blogs really help me!
mucho love, Melanie (:
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I'm absolutely loving the honest conversations about Nia and Zumba. I really need this. THANK YOU!
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My pleasure! And, I LOVE your blog as well - very well done!
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