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More Than Just a Workout...Nia and Natural Time

Stephanie — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:54:00 GMT

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.

Natural Time is another very powerful Nia White Belt Principle for me. It is based on the belief that there are natural cycles (both internal and external) that we can either follow or resist. Over time, our bodies have adapted to our demands for achievement and accomplishment, often at the expense of these natural cycles. Re-discovering the natural cycles of life (like breath, birth and death, moon and tides) and learning to honor them is like paddling a canoe with the current rather than against it.

More than any other Nia principle, Natural Time has healed my body and my mind. Learning to honor and live my life in my body’s Natural Time has taught me to slow down, do less, and be more. I realize now that the level of activity that may work for others does not work for me. I have greatly reduced my level of busyness to balance doing with being. I have also learned how to let go of needing things to happen on my timing vs. the Universe’s timing. (Have you ever noticed that the Universe has a different schedule than you do?) I have taken pressure off of myself to learn it “right” the first time, to push to “make it happen,” and have learned to create a space and ALLOW things to happen on their own time.

In doing so, I have seen that there is a far greater intelligence at work than mine, and I am in awe of that and learning to trust it’s sense of timing. I have seen that my timing is not always the best for everyone involved, including me.

When I lose the sense of Natural Time in my life, as I have recently, I find myself eating to comfort myself, feeling rushed, and being impatient. Here are some of the things I do to re-connect to it:

1. I physically re-connect to Natural Time by doing the 5 Stages of Self-Healing, spending 1 minute in each stage, moving my 13 joints and stimulating my body, mind, emotions, and spirit. This practice relaxes my nervous system and alleviates the sensation of being rushed. On particularly busy days, I may do this several times.

2. I go into Silence, sometimes for up to 2 days. Beyond the sensation of boredom lies the powerful, healing sensation of peace and silence always takes me there. Even 10 minutes of sitting in silence with NO intention, NO meditation, NO thing, just breathing can change my entire state.

3. I allow myself to exist for 1 day with no mechanical time (no clock, no alarm). I live on my own schedule, stepping out of the world’s time and reconnecting to my own.

REAL Healthcare Reform Is Available to You Right Now

Stephanie — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 14:51:00 GMT

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.

More Than Just a Workout...Nia and The Joy of Movement

Stephanie — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 14:27:00 GMT

Niais a dynamic fitness practice which delivers sustainable fitness by integratingbody, mind, emotions, and spirit. It isalso a lifestyle practice that can have a profound impact on life outside thestudio. This is the first blog in aseries on Nia as a lifestyle practice, where I’ll share my own experience aswell as tips on how to enhance your Dance Through Life.

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

Myown experience with this principle has been very powerful, and it is one of thereasons I was drawn to Nia. I firstexperienced this sensation a few years ago when I had a deep spiritualawakening that left me in a state of Joy for an extended period. As that state subsided, or rather faded intothe background, I was happy to discover that I could use Nia to access thatstate and to cultivate it in my life. Sincethen, I have used the sensation of Joy to listen more to my body and to give itwhat it needs versus what my mind wants. This includes beating the Joy out ofmy movement in the studio and in life. The Joy of Movement has taught me tofollow Pleasure rather than Pain, and showed me how to be healthy and fit inall dimensions of my life, not just in the studio. I have reduced 75% of the stress in my lifeusing this principle. I can access Universal Joy in the dentist’s chair, whiledriving, and heal myself and others in the process. Joy energy is of the highest vibration andheals everyone in its field – I am proof of that.

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

1. Pickan activity that you do NOT enjoy doing, but must do every day, and infuse itwith Joy energy. Choose Joy, and chooseto do it in Joy, by being totally aware of each and every movement your bodymakes. Engage all your senses in thesmallest details of its doing. Become fascinated by the activity itself. I have done this with brushing my teeth andmaking my bed, and washing dishes. This alonecan change your life.

2. Whereever you are, stop what you are doing and bring your focus to your breath. Take 3 conscious breaths in and out toreconnect to Joy. Very powerful, and canbe done anywhere, anytime. It’s how Igot through my dentist visit!

3. Usethis affirmation daily to expand The Joy of Movement from the studio to yourDance Through Life:

a. I choose Joy as my guiding energy. I amcommitted to sustaining and increasing Joy today, sensing Joy in my body. IfJoy is not present, I will tweak what I do, changing something until Joyreturns.

Music to MOVE to...Nia Joy 2010 Playlist

Stephanie — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:05:00 GMT

As requested, here's the playlist from the Nia Routine we've been dancing for the past 2 weeks:

Song	Time	Artist	Album
Lost Soul	6:16	Bliss	ZenSation! Nia Sounds
Soar	4:45	Christina Aguilera	Stripped
I Believe	3:44	Yolanda Adams	Honey (Music From & Inspired By The Motion Picture)
Everything Is Everything	4:53	Lauryn Hill	The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Get It Together	4:23	Seal	Seal: Best 1991-2004
Pride (In the Name of Love)	2:35	Soweto Gospel Choir	In the Name of Love - Africa Celebrates U2
Stand	4:26	Taylor Dayne	Naked Without You
Say Hey (I Love You) [feat. Cherine Anderson]	3:56	Michael Franti & Spearhead	All Rebel Rockers
Back to the Earth	5:27	Rusted Root	When I Woke
Angel [Alice Lounge]	5:13	Sarah McLachlan	Alice @ 97.3: This Is Alice Music, Vol. 9 [Live]
Yellow	3:38	Vitamin String Quartet	The String Quartet Tribute to Coldplay
Latika's Theme	3:09	A. R. Rahman & Suzanne	Slumdog Millionaire (Music from the Motion Picture)

Products to Help You Age with Grace

Stephanie — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:12:00 GMT

How much money have you spent on trying to look better and younger? I have 2 tips to help you spend less by finding products that really work at the BEST PRICE. Here are the top 2 things I've found recently:

1) I used to try every new skin care product that I thought would help, switching with every fad, and spending upwards of $500 per year on skincare. That was until I discovered Paula Begoun, the cosmetic cop. Her no-nonsense approach to skin care, researching books rated each line's product on efficacy and price and allowed me to cut way back on spending.

Eventually, frustrated by the cosmetic industry's exploitation of women, she formulated her own line of skin care and makeup. I now use a mixture of her products and the ones she recommends and my skin is healthy and looks great. AND, I now spend less than $200 per year on skin and body care. My absolute favorite products from her body care line include the shaving gel (which my husband and I both use) and skin relief treatment (helpful for rashes and redness after shaving or tweezing).

She recently released a new report on anti-aging products, "Anti-Aging Superstars" where she outlines the top ingredients that have a real impact on skin's functioning and appearance, along with the best products that contain them. I found this report to be very informative and useful in helping me choose the skin care regimen to keep my face in the best shape I can.

2) I also used to try lots of different makeup to find which one worked best for me. MAC, Bobby Brown, Clinique - I have used them all. But then my hair stylist Renee introduced me to Jane Iredale cosmetics and I was sold. These mineral-based cosmetics are of the highest quality and are excellent for covering wrinkles and skin imperfections. I wear the feathery mineral powder every time I teach Nia, and love how it stays in place even when I sweat. Now, in my opinion it's not cheap, but I use so little product that it lasts for up to a year for me. AND, Renee will do a FREE consultation on you if you call her.

Bonus tip: I recently tried Heel Tastic - the stick for dry, cracked heels - and WOW! My feet are completely different! No cracks, no dryness, and I love the smell! I purchased mine at Sally Beauty Supply for $6, but I think you can find it at most drugstores. I'll save you having to watch the truly gross videos of other people's feet - here's a link to more info on it.