Jason Alan Griffin :: The Blog

In November we used the "Orbit" routine seven times in Volunteer Park Here are the foci I used for each class: Nov 3 - Music/Body Connection Today we are beginning work on a new routine so I want to focus on the music. Today I also want to focus on Mental Energy, but on using as little as possible. Notice how you can bypass your thinking and let the music directly affect your body. Feel the music and express what you feel.  Nov 7 - Sensing Weight Shift in the Legs This routine has a strong emphasis on the legs. Today let's focus on the concept of shifting our body weight from one leg to another or to distribute the weight equally on both. Notice how proper placement of the feet on the ground and weight distribution in your legs can affect your emotions. Split your focus between your legs and my legs for the purpose of being guided to allowing the choreography to energize you with positive supportive emotions.  Nov 14 -  Steps and Stances Feel the distinction between a ste...

 I practice making any situation into a learning growing experience. What may first seem like a setback can usually be turned into a positive renewal or a discovery of new things.  Such is the case when we went into lockdown and could no longer meet for classes. Many teachers went to electronic classes and started teaching on "Zoom", but I had to honor my intuition that it wasn't the right thing for me. Personally, on Zoom or other cyber meeting platforms, I don't feel the same connection to my students which is one of the most important elements of meeting for group classes. So while I would have loved to be able to teach to students all over the world, I felt I owed it to myself and my students to only offer as full and rich an experience as possible. So I chose instead to stop teaching.  Several months later, things started to look better and I experimented with holding small classes indoors using face masks. And once again, I found that while that may work with ot...

  In October we used the Be Breathed routine 6 times, Knee-Ah once and Moss Side Story for a spooky Halloween Blue Monkey class Here are the scripts I wrote for setting the focus of each class: Oct 3 -  Feelings from our Feet   (Be Breathed in Balance Studio) The way we place our feet on the ground can have a major impact on the type of experience we have. Today I want to focus intently on the steps, stances and kicks and how it makes us feel as we guide ourselves through the choreography. Let your attention go from my feet to your feet and to a split awareness of both. Be aware of what emotional feelings it stirs up and brings forth. A feeling of comfort, security, success and relaxation should accompany the proper use of your feet. Use your emotional awareness and the splitting of your mental attention to be supported and empowered by your foot-floor connection.  Oct 6 - Being Kind To Ourselves  (Be Breathed in Volunteer Park) Today let's focus on how we're be...

 In August we used the Take Flight routine 12 times Here are the scripts I wrote for setting the focus of each class: Aug 1 -  Elegant Resonance   (Take Flight in Balance Studio) Today we are doing the Take Flight routine. And since it is a brand new routine, never before taught in a class setting, I want to focus on the music, and in particular: How Your Body Responds To and Resonates With the Music. When I create a new routine, the first thing I do is put together the playlist. That part alone could take several months as I search for just the right music and ensure that the songs fit together in just the right way in the right order. When they do, it creates a supportive soundscape for our movement journey. And then the music inspires the movement. Each song has a unique personality. Some are slow, some are quirky. Some powerful. Some nurturing. Some playful. Some mysterious... And there are often distinct unique sounds. When I create the moves, they must align with th...

Being introduced August of 2021, Jag's newest routine is called Take Flight. It focuses on the gestures of Giving and Receiving. It is a well-rounded, fun, full-bodied athletic routine. It uses unique movements such as the Rocking Horse, the Owl and the Huzzah, to reach high. And it uses moves like the Springy Lunge and the Dangle to get low. Moves like the Gorilla and Throwing the Ball take us both low and high at the same time.  It is easily adaptable to all fitness levels, but can definitely offer a physical challenge for everybody.   The music, from artists like Maya Jane Coles, Azam Ali, Adam, Shaikh, Jain, Yello and Banco de Gaia, is very global sounding and inspiring. In the song Tilinko by Laar / Zoohacker, we learn how to let the arms flow gradually from low to high while the legs walk rhythmically. In the song Funk Me Up Baby by Alex Cortiz, we learn to perform a kick coming right out of a turn, without first tapping the ground. And there is a move in Earthsong by Ka...

 In July we used the Universal Mind routine four times and Beautiful Day once.  Here are the scripts I wrote for setting the focus of each class: July 14 -  Smell The Grass.   (Beautiful Day in Volunteer Park) Welcome everyone. Thanks for coming. I'm so excited to launch a new program,  Nia in the Park with Jag. My idea is that the time and location can periodically change, so I'm open to hearing your input in that regard. First, a few words about Nia in general. It is meant to be very adaptable to each person. Nothing is expected of you - follow along and just have fun. It is taught "on the go" which means you do what you can and don't worry about the rest. Each time you come back to class, you might pick up one or two more tidbits. But no matter what, you are encouraged to adjust and personalize all of the movements so they feel right, in your body, right now.  Today we are celebrating by doing my Beautiful Day routine, using "Dynamic Ease" / "Rel...

One of the things that I learned during the 2020 pandemic was how healing it is to be in touch with nature.  My first inclination when we were asked to isolate ourselves was not to connect electronically, which I thought seemed artificial and unnatural, but to truly isolate and to take this as a strong nudge from nature to self reflect and reexamine the choices that got me to where I am. I felt like this is what the whole world needed to do, but I was only in charge of myself so I did it quietly. I removed myself from my work and from social media and read philosophy books and meditated a lot. I also found myself taking my dog to the park a lot and noticing how just a few minutes in the park could totally change my day.  I was once opposed to teaching my Nia classes outside. I felt I needed a controlled indoor environment so that I could properly deliver the type of experience I was accustomed to. But gradually, with the help of some clients who I was training in the park twic...

 Jag has been teaching and loving Nia for 25 years. In addition to having his own classes, he has taught for months in a country where he didn't speak the language and learned a great deal from that experience about how to communicate and deliver a rich rewarding experience to the student. He has also, on a number of occasions, taken a single routine on the road and taught it to a different unfamiliar group in a different unfamiliar space every day for months at a time. That also gave him a lot of unexpected insight into the student experience of a Nia class. Watching how students do or don't adjust and adapt, and seeing which ones seem to be having the best experiences, led to a deep understanding of what some of the best student techniques are. Now Jag wants to share the wisdom from a quarter century of teaching in diverse situations. He has broken it down into what he likes to think of as the essentials. The 13 Principles of Being a Nia Student present 13 very important poin...

 In May and June we used the Beautiful Day routine four times.  Here are the scripts I wrote for setting the focus of each class: May 23 - Joy of Movement.  Welcome. And thank you for joining me on this inaugural relaunch of my Nia classes. Today we're doing a routine I created called Beautiful Day. The goal of today is to experience the Joy of Movement. This means that your success is not measured by what or how much you do but by how you feel doing it. In Nia, "Joy" is defined as moving towards pleasure. Enjoying what you can do is emphasized over struggling to do more. Changing any of my moves to better suit yourself is an example of the Joy of Movement. Allowing yourself to be perfectly the way you are right now is the Joy of Movement. We may all be a little rusty and we all deserve a bit of permission and the space to explore, play and rediscover The Joy of Movement on this Beautiful Day.  May 30 - Connection. Thank you for choosing to come this morning. You c...

 Beautiful Day ...is a collaborative project, over two years in the making and involving dozens of Nia teachers. It was originally a project called Natural Time. After scrapping the project multiple times, I finally ended up with something I liked, and named it Beautiful Day after the song by Laid Back and Anders Trentmøller that appears in the routine.  Nancy Hammett (Nia Brown Belt, Milford CT) was largely responsible for helping me put the playlist together. Mark Frossard (Nia Black Belt, Santa Fe NM) choreographed the warm up song "Dissolving Time" by H.U.V.A. Network and Debbie Rosas (co-founder of Nia, Portland, OR) contributed largely to the rest by creating a routine called Sanjana which I adapted to fit the music for the majority of the routine. Musically there is a fun theme of adaptation as well, as three of the songs took older songs and reworked them significantly. Deodato took Richard Strauss' "Also Sprach Zarathustra" (well known as the theme to 2...

Play Yourself Fit with Jag get outside channel your inner child have a fun adventure in nature gain strength, balance & flexibility improve self-confidence and creativity enjoy interacting with all that Volunteer Park has to offer flexible schedule to fit your life Jag says, "I use a variety of practices and creative imagery to guide you through a fun 'play date in the park'. Incorporating natural human movements like climbing, throwing, jumping, crawling, balancing, dancing, rolling, laughing and more, this is the kind of session you will look forward to: relaxing and energizing; restorative and explorative."    Each session is different and inspired by and expertly tailored to your personal needs, desires and abilities. We can incorporate things you like to do, too, like yoga, swimming, running, stretching, meditation or other activities.  Gain practical fitness for real life while getting fresh air and sunshine.   Privates or groups of 2 - $400 / 8 sessions Gr...

Nia with Jag is back!   Let's get together for live, in-person Nia.  Following the guidelines of phase 3 of re-opening, we are thrilled to be able to offer Nia classes of up to 10 people at Balance Studio for an experimental four-week trial period.  DATES: Sundays, May 23, 30 & June 6, 13 TIME: 10am-11am PLACE: Balance Studio                418 N 35th St.  (Fremont) HERE'S HOW IT WORKS Class size is strictly limited to 10. Masks are required at all times. Full COVID-19 protocols are in effect. Walk-in attendance is possible*, but pre-registration is strongly suggested. To register, email jagfit@hotmail.com or text 917-334-3111.  Payment is accepted via Venmo or ApplePay to reserve a spot. You can also use a credit card to purchase one class at a time by visiting the PayPal link below. You do not need a PayPal account to use it.  Due to the fees they charge me, the rate is $1 extra per class to use ...