It’s Fun.
It’s Fitness.
It’s unwinding from the day and simply moving to beautiful music.
It’s Exercise without Pain.
It makes you feel grounded, relaxed, free, joyous, refreshed, happy, energised, centred, connected, feminine, strong, confident and inspired.
It’s Nia and it’s for Everybody..

 
Lisa Silverstone, a Gold Coast based Nia Black Belt Practitioner, who has passionately been sharing Nia since 2009, recently explored the idea that “Nia is for Everybody”, and shares the following:

Nia is for everybody. That’s what our slogans say, but what does it mean? Does it mean that this movement practice has it all? Or that one fitness class fits all? And, if it is for ‘everybody’ then why isn’t everybody doing it? I often pondered this myself, and it wasn’t until about a month ago that the phase ‘Nia is for everybody’ became clear and real to me.

As I was teaching my regular weekly Nia class and I noticed the age spectrum of my students. I had the whole spread, one student brought her two year old daughter, I had someone in their early twenties, me in my thirties, others in their forties, fifties, sixties and an eighty six year old. Yes you read correct, eighty six! I had students who are healing cancer and injuries, and others who take up to 10 fitness classes a week. 

There really was a vast variety of students in the class. As a way of exploring the concept ‘Nia is for everybody’ more deeply I decided to ask my students a few quick questions. When asked why they choose to take a Nia class I received responses of “It’s exercise without pain”, “I have always loved dancing and it taps into my inner dancer”, “to boost my immune system after 8 months of chemotherapy” and “It’s a great workout and I get up a good sweat”.

When asked what they personally get out of a Nia class they shared a diverse array of responses. Some receive “fun, fitness, exercise, emotional expression and the confidence to dance”. While others receive  “an opportunity to unwind from the day and simply move to beautiful music”.

Similarly when asked, how they felt when taking a Nia class, no two responses were the same. These were; “I feel grounded, relaxed, free, joyous, refreshed, happy, energised, centred, connected, feminine, strong, confident and inspired”.

Everybody had a different reason for being there, and yet each student was getting exactly what they needed from the class. It was in this moment that I became aware of the adaptability of Nia.

Nia’s design creates a foundation of accessibility for all. It’s principles of Joy of movement, intensity levels, movement planes, and natural time, create an opportunity for students to personally condition their bodies. Nia’s inclusion of nine movement forms, music, the base, the core, the upper extremities and body sensations gives everybody permission to expressively create movement that aligns with their present body’s way.

When I look around a Nia class I see and feel the adaptability and accessibility of Nia for all. So is Nia for everybody? The answer is simple, Yes!

Thank you for your contribution Lisa.

Click here to find a Nia Class near you and be sure to investigate the benefits of attending the next Australian Nia White Belt Training, to be held in Sydney in April 2018.