Jason Alan Griffin :: The Blog

MON - AUG 14 drive: Seattle to Leavenworth (2.5 hrs) teach: Nia in Leavenworth @ 12pm / 5 pm -  Gayle^ drive: Leavenworth to Moses Lake (2 hrs) blog TUES - AUG 15 drive: Moses Lake to Hayden (2.5 hrs) teach: Nia in Hayden @ 10:30 - Jamie^ drive: Hayden to Butte (4.5 hrs) blog WED - AUG 16 drive: Butte to Helena (1 hr) teach: Nia in Helena @ 2:00pm - Kathryn^ drive: Helena to Billings (3.75 hrs) blog THURS - AUG 17 shop: food, dog food, water teach: Nia in Billings @ 4:30pm - Sue^ drive: Billings to Riverton (4.5 hrs) blog FRI - AUG 18 drive: Riverton to Evanston (3.75 hrs) visit: Bear River State Park, WY blog SAT - AUG 19 teach: Nia in Evanston @ 9:30am - Lisa^ drive: Evanston to Fort Collins (5.5 hrs) blog SUN - AUG 20 teach: Nia in Lyons  10:15 - Jasmine^ visit: Rocky Mountain Nat Park shop: food, water, dog food blog MON - AUG 21 drive: Fort Collins to Omaha (7.5 hrs) ***SOLAR ECLIPSE***viewing in North Platte blog TUES - AUG...

I want to collaborate with another Nia teacher, or group of Nia teachers, on creating an original Nia routine. Here is my story: I first got my Nia White Belt in 1996. Prior to discovering Nia I was an aerobics instructor and was choreographing my classes regularly. I had also spent several years studying dance; ballet, jazz and modern. While I never attempted to choreograph outside of the realm of a fitness class, I was certainly exposed to learning a lot of choreography and was very familiar with the language of dance. So when I returned home from the White Belt, I immediately put together a Nia routine. I was busy learning my first two routines, which were Genesis and Roots, but I also used the sample workout spelled out in a section of the original "Nia Technique" book. I used some of my favorite music and created a routine I called Orbit. After that, I didn't create my own routine again for several years. I was busy learning all of the official Nia routines I...

Everyone, at some point in their life, should drive through the town of Oatman, CA. It's not so much that Oatman is spectacular, but the drive between it and Kingman, AZ is one of my favorites.  Originally, I had planned this: Nia at Dancessense Studio , which meant today's drive would have been nearly 8 hours on the Int and getting up in the morning to teach class. But it got cancelled due to lack of registrations, so I was able to cut today's drive into two parts and make the detour using the Oatman Highway.   First, we stopped in Williams, AZ so I could eat a sandwich and River could pose on a giant rock. This was the real authentic feeling historic highway. I got on Route 66 in Williams but got off in Seligman because it veered too far from my destination, and it wasn't too interesting out there. But in Kingman, I got back on the Mother Road and took a beautiful ride through the Mohave Desert and over the Sitgreaves Pass. This is some of the mos...

Usually it's only about an hour drive to Sedona but between the road construction on AZ 89A and my pulling over to properly take in the awesome beauty along the way, it took me about an hour and a half. I was meeting Alba at her house and I was going to teach her a routine. I didn't know ahead of time which one she was going to want, so I was unable to prepare. She had her eye on Firedance, but I told her I didn't remember all of that one and I didn't take good notes on it. Also, I didn't usually teach the second half of the routine. I ended up recalling the choreography for the first half of the routine once we played the music and she recorded me struggling to find it again. We went through and I taught her all I knew of Firedance (which turned out to be more than I thought it would. The moves just kept coming back to me as we played the music. And for the songs I couldn't remember, I described as best I could what was going on. She was fine with that beca...

I woke up early in Moses Lake, WA and drove to Hayden, ID without incident.  I taught class and we had a blast. I used the focus of Moving Centers for Fantasic. I wanted to get a group shot after class, and I set up my movie camera to capture our movements. I framed us and then when I got in place in the photo, I crouched down so I wasn't blocking people behind me.  But everyone followed suit and we were all crouched down for no reason. haha. They're a really fun group and always give a very warm welcome. I hung around on the big lawn in front of the fitness center and let River chase me, and a stick, and a leaf, and whatever we could find. Then we took a nice, long drive to Butte, MT. We stopped a three rest areas for eating and stretching and relieving ourselves. We drove through the smoke that I thought I had left behind in Seattle. It was really bad at one point and then by the time I got to Butte it wasn't quite as bad. But it wasn't as pristi...

I've tried a few of the grocery delivery services and am going to compare them here. This post compares: Full Circle Blue Apron Hello Fresh Sun Basket Full Circle  While the other three services are more of a full menu service, this one is a simple produce delivery service that buys from local farmers and puts together a box of locally sourced produce once a week. I used to love getting these boxes.  I don't mind having to come up with my own recipes and buy my meat and grains separately. PRO: organic, local produce CON: not a lot of variety, as the emphasis was on locally grown produce           I eventually had to stop taking delivery from them because I couldn't communicate to the driver how it was important to lock the gate behind them after leaving the box. After several warnings, I finally had to cancel for fear of my neighbors having stuff stolen from the garage. Hello Fresh With this service, you choose how many meals you want ...

Every new town I visit, I have to search for healthy places to eat and places that are ok with dogs. I'm putting these links here so I have them as a reference along my travels and in case they might serve anyone else looking for healthy food choices in a strange neighborhood. I've also uncovered some unknown gems in my own neighborhood using some of these sites. Eat Well Guide search engine for finding health minded food establishments by city Healthy Dining Finder search by city for restaurants that offer healthy eating options Green People huge listing of health food stores and healthy restaurants searchable by zip code Happy Cow a resource for vegan and vegetarian store and restaurant options, by zip code Primo Water search for filtered water dispensers, including Primo and Glacier waters Natural Grocers chain store selling organic and healthful foods When I travel with River, eating is easily the most difficult task I face. I shouldn't really leav...

I love teaching at Embody Movement Studio in Centralia, WA. The building is old brick and wood and feels like it's full of history. But inside is a gorgeous, brand new finished wood floor and one mirrored wall with a giant exposed brick wall behind. Multi-adjustable lighting that can go from meditation dim to pretty bright without ever feeling glaring or jarring. The surround sound stereo speakers installed in each upper corner of the room help fill the space nicely, even when the ceiling fans and all three floor fans are on. There's two different kinds of microphone to choose from. The students there are devoted and passionate. They're eager to learn and willing to try new things. It's a joy to present my work here. So when the owner, Christina Wolf, asked if I could come and spend a week teaching the whole Nia schedule while the teachers went to Dance Camp in Idaho, I was thrilled to be able to say yes. She has a loft that serves as a living quarters upstairs in the...