As you probably know, Nia is my first love. I love the mix of dance, martial arts, and healing that occurs in every class I teach and take.  I love the way it feels in my body, and I love sharing it with others.  But this past week I met something new while I was visiting my mom in Houston, and now I am having an affair.  With Hooping. Yes, hula hooping.  But not with the hoop you played with as a child.

Hooping has grown up.  Now it is done with adult-sized, weighted hoops that are decorated in a dizzying amount of ways.  In my first class I picked up the technique easily and by the end was actually doing a few tricks!  It was exhilarating to feel successful, and to feel the hoop working my mid-section – like Pilates results with Zumba fun.   I had so much fun that I returned for another class before I left.  Then I began to watch the YouTube videos of what is possible with the hoop and I was hooked!  Just watching these amazing moves and dances inspired me to keep doing this.

So now that I am home, I have started making my own hoops, which is a blast!  I am practicing almost daily, learning new tricks and just having a ball.  I am instantly transported back in time, to the little girl who laughed and played.  And I have discovered that these tricks are teachable and that most people can learn them as easily as I did.  So…..

I am going to begin offering Hooping as a fitness class starting in May!  I know, it sounds crazy, but I did not have this strong of a response to Nia even, so I am going with it!  I am going to go to Detroit to get certified to teach with Hoopnotica (a sign from the universe that they are in town in May?), and am SO excited for you to try this perfect complement to Nia.  Your Nia moves will aid you greatly in picking up hooping, so don’t worry.  In both classes I took, there wasn’t a single person who couldn’t keep their hoop up by the end of class.

It’s time to GET YOUR HOOP ON!  Stay tuned for more details later this week on an intro class to try it out and see if you like it….

Served at the recent Nia Butterfly Routine Workshop, this low-fat, high nutrient dish won rave reviews. I even liked it, and I am not a huge fan of carrots. It is from the famous Lake Austin Spa and Resort, which alone should inspire you to try it!  I made it vegan by using egg replacer, available at health food stores.

Ingredients

¼ cup (plus a little extra) plain bread crumbs

1 cup whole raw almonds, with skins

1 cup egg substitute (or 4 eggs with egg replacer)

¾ cup sugar

½ pound finely shredded carrots

1 ½ tablespoons dark or amber rum

1 teaspoon pure almond extract

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

½ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

1 teaspoon grated nutmeg

1 ½ cups fat-free whipped topping (optional)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine breadcrumbs and the almonds in a food processor and process until finely ground, but not paste.  Set aside.  Combine the egg substitute and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat on high speed with mixer for 2 minutes.  Add the ground nut mixture, carrots, rum,almond extract, baking powder, lemon zest, and salt. Beat or mix until all ingredients are incorporated. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray, then dust with some bread crumbs. Pour the batter into the pan.  Bake at 350 F for 40-45 minutes.  Remove from the oven and cool. Remove the side from the springform pan and dust the top of the cake with confectioners’ sugar and nutmeg.  Serve with a dollop of whipped topping.  Yield:  16 servings

Nutritional Information

Calories:  132

Fat: 5g (less if you use egg replacer)

Protein: 4g

Carbohydrate:  17g

Sodium: 185mg

This is the first blog in a series on Artist Date ideas.  An artist date is a powerful tool from the book and process “The Artist’s Way,” a creativity recovery process.  I participated in this process as a class 2 years ago and highly recommend it to anyone who is in transition or even contemplating one.  You can do the process alone or facilitated, either with a coach or a group.  There are a couple of local women who lead these classes, Linda Z. Smith and Trisha Harner, and it is a blast to do it with a group.

So anyway, an artist date is time you spend alone doing something that nourishes your soul.  Something just for you - a mini-retreat of sorts.  In the Artist’s Way you do this weekly.   I try but am not always successful in keeping this frequency, so sometimes I take a whole day or afternoon to do something that THRILLS ME.  And now I am going to share my date activities with you!

Today I went to Flint for the afternoon to see the Gee’s Bend Quilt exhibit at Flint Institute of Arts.  I began my lovely afternoon at a new restaurant in downtown Flint, 501 Bar and Grill.  They feature tapas, one of my favorite foods that are tiny plates of delectable food.  I LOVE variety, so  I ordered the tuna tartare and veggie empanadas.  While waiting for my lunch I perused the drink menu and noticed (and was tempted by) the extensive exotic martini list.  I must say, the food was excellent.  A generous portion of tuna tartare, served with wasabi and ginger was $12.  The veggie empanadas had a hint of curry in their little puff pastry, and melted in my mouth.  Service was very friendly too.  I can’t wait to go back!

Then it was on to the exhibit at FIA, just down the street. I saw the original in San Francisco while living there and it moved me to tears.  This exhibit was the sequel, but featured the original, Emmy-winning video, which I highly recommend seeing prior to the quilts for context.  So much more than art, these quilts represent the triumph of human creativity and spirit, as they are made from leftover and discarded materials.  The women of Gee’s Bend, once the most isolated place in America, originally made the quilts out of necessity for warmth, and therefore they are simple yet so striking.  Like graphic art, I was not surprised to see that in fact some of the women have made prints out of their quilt designs.  And the museum itself is breathtaking and is a space I love to be in. 

My artist date was a success, as it nourished, inspired, energized, and delighted me to my very soul. I invite you to go on an artist date to revitalize yourself, and if you are interested in the Gee’s Bend exhibit, you need to go soon, as it ends on April 18^th.

Please feel free to share your artist date ideas and activities too!

If you need a little inspiration to eat healthier, watch the new show “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution.”  I caught a sneak preview of it, and it made me want to go out and change the world.  It’s a reality show featuring the famous British chef who ventures to Huntington, West Virginia, recently deemed the “The Unhealthiest City in America.” 

Jamie, fresh off success at overhauling Britain’s school lunch programs, decides to go to Huntington to see if he can inspire the city to change their eating habits.  To say they are resistant is an understatement – more like hostile.  He gets permission to go into one elementary school to try to change the food being served to kids.  When you see what the kids are eating, if it doesn’t infuriate and inspire you, then nothing will.  And I’ll bet your kids are eating the same.  The middle schools I’ve been to as part of my mentoring program have similar menus, and I have been troubled by what I see the kids eating.

Anyway, back to the show, which chronicles his attempts to get the kids to eat something fresh and healthy (vs. mashed potato “pearls” which magically turn to mashed potatoes when you add water).  The cafeteria cooks despise his attempts and it seems the whole town is against him.  And then he finds one person who is on his side…will it be enough?  Stay tuned to find out!

As we enter into spring (yay!), and asparagus season, I love to make this easy, healthy, exotic, and delicious dish. It’s not on the Cleanse, but it is great! To save more time, purchase peeled and deveined shrimp.

Ingredients

   * 2  cups  uncooked rice

   * 1 1/2  tablespoons  water

   * 1 1/2  teaspoons  red curry paste (such as Maesri) or chilepaste with garlic

   * 1 1/2  pounds  medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

   * Cooking spray

   * 2 1/2  cups  (1-inch) sliced asparagus (about 3/4 pound)

    * 1 1/2 cups  sliced green onions

   * 1/2  teaspoon  salt

   * 1  (14-ounce) can light coconut milk

Preparation

Cook the rice according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. While the rice is cooking, combine the water and curry paste in a medium bowl; add shrimp, tossing to coat. Place a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat until hot. Add the shrimp mixture, and sauté for 4 minutes. Add sliced asparagus and green onions; cover and cook for 3-5 minutes or until the asparagus is crisp-tender.Stir in salt and coconut milk. Cook for 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated,stirring occasionally. Serve over rice.

Nutritional Information

Calories:  457 (16% from fat)

Fat: 8.1g (sat 4g,mono 1g,poly 1.4g)

Protein: 32.9g

Carbohydrate:  57.8g

Fiber: 3.9g

Cholesterol:  194mg

Iron: 6.9mg

Sodium: 646mg

Calcium: 135mg

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 1/4cups shrimp sauce and 1 cup rice)

This is the second blog in a series on Nia as a lifestyle practice, where I’m sharing my own experience as well as tips on how to enhance your Dance Through Life. 

Much has been written and said about Healthcare reform in the U.S. recently.  So much so that it has become a lightening rod topic and has inspired both healthy and destructive debate.  So, I am going out on a limb to share my opinion about REAL healthcare reform, which is available to anyone right now, for very little cost.

From what I understand by researching this topic, the goal of healthcare reform is both cost reduction and quality of life improvement for more Americans.  To me, a critical tactic in doing both is prevention of the chronic diseases that are increasing for many Americans. These include diabetes and heart disease which consume a disproportionate amount of healthcare costs.  These are also known as “lifestyle” diseases because they can be controlled, and in many cases reversed through lifestyle changes.

Now, don’t get me wrong – I am not minimizing the seriousness or suffering of these diseases – I am merely saying that long term the most sustainable way to reduce the costs and effects of these diseases is by preventing them in the first place. Prevention includes changes in diet, exercise, stress levels, and other choices that maximize the body’s ability to heal and repair itself from the daily grind of living. And, perhaps most importantly, lifestyle changes have ZERO negative side effects, unlike the drugs required to manage these diseases!

Again, I am not minimizing the initial effort it takes to make lifestyle changes, for that takes courage and persistence, based on my own experience.  But combined with the almost immediate increase in energy and vitality these lifestyle changes give us, migrating to a healthier lifestyle to prevent long term deterioration of health seems like something that should be included in the government’s health care plan and certainly deserves as much funding and attention as treatment of the diseases that cripple so many of our fellow Americans.

Interested in instituting your own REAL healthcare reform?  Checkout my other blogs on how to make sustainable lifestyle changes.

Let’s begin with the first Nia White Belt Principle, The Joy of Movement.  The Joy of Movement is based on the idea that Joy is not only an emotion, but also a sensation – Universal Joy – that is available to us at all times and in any circumstance.  We activate that connection to Universal Joy through sensation in the body, by bringing our attention back to the body, as we dance both literally and figuratively. We can CHOOSE JOY in any situation, when we understand that it is more than an emotion caused by our likes and dislikes.  It is acceptance of what is, and being fully present in the moment.

My own experience with this principle has been very powerful, and it is one of the reasons I was drawn to Nia.  I first experienced this sensation a few years ago when I had a deep spiritual awakening that left me in a state of Joy for an extended period.  As that state subsided, or rather faded into the background, I was happy to discover that I could use Nia to access that state and to cultivate it in my life.  Since then, I have used the sensation of Joy to listen more to my body and to give it what it needs versus what my mind wants. This includes beating the Joy out of my movement in the studio and in life. The Joy of Movement has taught me to follow Pleasure rather than Pain, and showed me how to be healthy and fit in all dimensions of my life, not just in the studio.  I have reduced 75% of the stress in my life using this principle. I can access Universal Joy in the dentist’s chair, while driving, and heal myself and others in the process.  Joy energy is of the highest vibration and heals everyone in its field – I am proof of that.

To engage Joy in your Dance Through Life, give a couple of these things a try:

I choose Joy as my guiding energy. I am committed to sustaining and increasing Joy today, sensing Joy in my body. If Joy is not present, I will tweak what I do, changing something until Joy returns.