The Nia 5 Stages is an integrative movement practice based on the five stages of human development: Embryonic, Creeping, Crawling, Standing and Walking. Practiced with awareness, these stages have the power to facilitate optimal alignment, improved function and comfort in the body. Whether practiced at length or for as little as five minutes a day, this system provides a tool for reclaiming and sustaining mobility, flexibility, strength, agility and stability.

Watch this brief video to learn more about the Nia 5 Stages of Healing:

Your Pot of Gold of Mobility & Stability

Did you know that your foot has a partner called your ankle? Did you know that ankles are built-in shock absorbers? Like all joints, ankle joints are designed to move body parts, in this case, your feet. Without ankle joints, your feet can’t move efficiently. And you need movable feet, as they are your wheels! Every time you dance, walk, stand, run, or skip your ankles act as shock absorbers and provide you with the ability to move with grace.

Your ankle is a hinge joint. Like the hinge on a door, it opens and closes. Your ankle is made up of the space between the top of your foot and the ends of your two shinbones. Your ankle is a space keeper. Moving your foot and sensing your ankle joint involved as you walk and dance is one way to maintain ankle space. Your ankle makes it possible for you to circle your foot and flex and point your toes, which are movements that keep your ankle healthy. When you walk, do you sense your ankles? You can.

In Nia, we teach you to sense and use your ankle joints in all stances, walking and stepping motions. Every time you step, lead with your heel
and imagine your foot as the mouth of an alligator opening. As you walk, sense the lightness of being by imagining rainbows of air filling your ankles. Keep your movement light and resilient by walking on clouds.

Ankle Wellness

Walk and touch the earth with your feet. Keep your ankles agile by sensing your relaxed feet.
Roll through your entire foot from the heel to the ball and toes to integrate your feet and activate your ankles.
Keep your ankles pliable and strong by rising up onto the balls of your feet as if reaching for something on a shelf, then slowly lower your heels down. Repeat 10
times before any meal.
Walk barefoot as often as possible to become aware of your foot and ankle relationship.
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International Nia Headquarters

Stress release through movement practice

As Debbie Rosas explains in an interview, the result of Carlos and her work was a synthesis and a blend of the very, very best of East and West. A movement form on its own, called Nia. It allows people to move in a way that respects the body’s way and the design of the body. That makes it possible to dance and move in bare feet, still getting cardiovascular conditioning but not jump up and down. Nia allows people to use the body in expressive ways that also includes the use of the voice. When you really begin to explore the design of the body and you learn about the body, how it is put together and how to use it, it brings one into relationship with sensation, which is the “voice of the body”. And everything that we do in Nia is guided by sensation. We teach students to choose pleasure, to seek pleasure. And if they are moving in a way that doesn’t feel good, basically their anatomy is telling them “you have to change what you’re doing” and if you make a small, tiny adjustment, the body can then regain balance and harmony. We note that in our body as “this feels good, this is pleasurable”. You can get fit and stay healthy by following the “pleasure principle”. There is no need to use pain to change the body.

News from Nia Headquarter:

2010 will mark an important year for Nia, as after thirty years Carlos Rosas, the co-founder of the Nia Technique, is planning his retirement. 2010 will be the last year Carlos will be teaching Nia intensive trainings. Carlos will remain involved in the education and curriculum as we transition forward. We hope many of you will have the opportunity to work with Carlos over this next year. Watch his announcement online:

http://www.nianow.com/ntn/835

It’s all about beauty…

Being beautiful on the outside is all about keeping the face young and looking healthy. We know that the absence of wrinkles and sags, as well as having taut, toned, smooth and glowing skin are the signs of youthful and healthy beauty.

A facial fitness routine is a great addition to any beauty maintenance program.  The idea behind facial fitness is similar to the principle of doing a body workout: by exercising, you build up the muscles of your body and keep them toned and firm. In case of the face, by exercising the facial muscles regularly, the muscles will be lifted enough to remove the sags. Maintaining a regular facial fitness routine is easy. It only takes a few minutes of your time.

Here are a few sample exercises for different areas of the face.

Forehead. This will smooth down the wrinkles of the forehead. Place your fingers just above your brow. Then, with your fingers, pull the skin down. At the same time, try to raise your eyebrows. Repeat this ten times.

Eyelids. To deal with crows’ feet at the corners of the eyes, put the thumbs at the corners of the eyes and then shut

your eyes tightly. Then, with your thumbs, pull at the skin towards the forehead. Repeat this ten times.

For sagging eyelids, hold your index fingers close to the brow bone. Afterwards, raise your eyebrows. At the same time, try to close your eyes. Again, repeat this ten times.

Cheeks. Form an ‘O’ with your lips and try to push them forward as fast as you can. Then release the ‘O’ and smile as widely as you can. Repeat ten times.

Lips. Push your lips outward in a pout as far as you can, then smile. Or you can suck on your finger as hard as you can. Once again, repeat ten times.

Neck. Arch your neck backward and place your hand on your neck just under the chin. After that, let your hand slide downward and push at your collarbone. An alternative to this one would be to push your lower lip outward as far as you can and tilt your chin up toward the ceiling, resting the hand against the collarbone as you are doing so.

Chin. Push your lower lip upward as high as you can. You can also press your thumb on the bone just under your chin and then push your tongue against your lower gums as if it is trying to meet your thumb. Another thing you can do is to tilt your chin up and massage the flesh under it with your thumb with strokes directed towards your neck. These exercises will take care of the double chin.

Just like in total body workouts, facial fitness exercises take time. However, if you truly want to see results on your face, try doing this once or twice a day, five times a week.