Foci for July - Beautiful Day and Universal Mind

 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" / "Relaxed Power" / "Calm Strength". It is moving dynamically with ease, being relaxed while exerting power, being calm while using your strength. There are many ways you can focus your attention to help you achieve and maintain this state of Dynamic Ease, but today we are going to use a nasal breathing technique I call "Smelling the Grass". So everyone squat down and pick a few blades of grass. Pinch them between your fingers to release the scent and then smell the grass. Smell it again, but this time notice the mechanism in your body that you're using to smell. This is a perfectly relaxed inhale. It is sensual and curious and slow. This is exactly how I'd like you to breathe throughout the class. I don't care if you do the moves right, or if you're off the music beat, or even if you turn and are facing away from me. I just want you to stay focused on this "smelling the grass" breath so you can remain in a state of dynamic ease on this BEAUTIFUL DAY. 

July 18 - The Universal Mind. (Universal Mind at Balance Studio) Today's routine is called Universal Mind and it was choreographed by Carlos Aya-Rosas, Nia's co-founder. He says that even though the term "Universal Mind' may sound like it refers to something big, it actually can be perceived for any one single minuscule point. On a grand scale, Universal Mind is what connects us with a collective unconsciousness. Emotionally, our Universal Mind is feelings of love, peace and harmony. A mental aspect of Universal Mind is our innate ability to learn through mimicry which is what we do in Nia. And the Universal Mind of the body is sensations. So in class today, I want to focus on the sensations in our feet. Steps, Stances, Heel Lead, Ball of Foot, Releve, Whole Foot, Edge of Foot... they all have different sensation to enjoy. So for this hour, pause everything else in your mind and let your experience be guided by enjoying the sensations in your feet so we become connecting to the UNIVERSAL MIND. 

July 21 - Awareness of Comfort. (Universal Mind in Volunteer Park) In Nia we don't subscribe to the idea of moving to lose weight, or to gain strength or to increase flexibility. That implies that there is something wrong with you. And in fact you are perfectly where you belong right now. Practice Nia regularly and you may notice these things happening but it will be because you've befriended your body and taken it with you on this journey. The long term goal of Nia is to sustain a lifestyle of pleasurable  movement. That goal is achieved, not by having an intense workout today, but by enjoying a session of movement with self-awareness. Today we're going to focus that self-awareness on comfort. Throughout class, be adjusting yourself so that you can take what I bring and turn it into something manageable for you. Play: not to win, but play to continue playing. Measure your success not by getting the steps correctly, but by how much fun you're having, and you'll be well on your way to a healthy movement lifestyle.

July 28 - Symphony of Joints. Being graceful or athletic is not about being strong or flexible, but more about being synchronized. When your joints cooperate and your muscles fire off in the perfect sequence, they create an elegance- a symphony of movement in your body. So today I want us to focus on the major joints (ankles, knees, hips, spine, shoulders, elbows and wrists) with the intention to notice and tune up the symphony. As we repeat the movements, let your attention move from joint to joint, not to change the action, but more to notice what it is contributing. Also pay attention to how it communicates with the joints next to it. Mentally travel through your body, similar to when you might hear an orchestra playing and tune into the violins, and then hear the tuba, and then focus on the cymbals. You haven't changed the symphony but your attention appreciates the contribution of each individual sound. So we rotate our focus through the major joints and observe what they do and appreciate how they work in concert with the rest of our instrument as we play the UNIVERSAL MIND.

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