The chart above indicates the "reflexology" points and what part of the body is stimulated when massaging the foot.  My husband gives me a foot massage almost every night.  I'm indeed a lucky Nia dancer...

I invite you to stand in Closed Stance (big toes touching, heels slightly apart), then move into Open Stance and "A Stance".  Sense "Whole Foot".  Now step in Bow Stance -- the front foot is Whole Foot, the back foot is rests on the ball of the foot with the heel up. Move back into "A Stance" and then create Cat Stance.  The supporting leg has the Whole Foot sensation for grounding and balance.  Walk around using Whole Foot (not Heel Lead).  Feel your feet as drums on the earth.  

Meditation:  I was reading the other day from a publication entitled, The Pulse of Spirit. In it was this passage talking about the difference between being "spatially oriented" and oriented in time.  

"It is important, if you have a piece of equipment that you’re trying to operate, to know where all the parts are and how they fit together. And it might even be important to know the names of the various parts.

The spatially oriented part of the operator’s guide is important, but it may not be enough. Because even if you know where all the parts are and how they fit together, you have to know the steps to take to operate the equipment. You have to know how the equipment operates over time. So there is probably step number one, step number two, and so on. The instructions take you through time and the process by which the piece of equipment works."

I began to consider an analogy using this information on how we go about loving our bodies.  In Nia, we talk about "The Body's Way (TBW) -- moving the body the way the body was designed to move.  To do this, it's helpful to know the parts of the body and how they fit together and what those parts are called.  Most of us know that there is a head, usually two ears, two eyes, a mouth, two arms, two hands, 10 fingers (including the thumbs), a torso, two legs, two feet and ten toes.  Obviously there are many different formations of the human body, but those are the basic parts of the body.  

Do you know how many muscles, bones, tendons, ligaments and nerve endings are in each of those body parts?  Do you know how they are put together and how they're designed to work?  Unless you study anatomy, you probably don't know the answer to those questions.  

We were not given an Operating Manual when we were born.  Most of us have aches and pains, many of us have injuries related to not knowing how our body parts are put together and how they're designed to work.  Over time, we do begin to understand how our body works (or doesn't work).  It takes some discipline and effort to bring OUR Body's Way a little closer to the design of THE Body's Way.  

Ingredients:  Self-Love (Acceptance of what is); Desire (Passion) to Change.  

What other ingredients are necessary to Manifest the Changes you want in your life? (Hint:  It's not Ego)

Love Your Body, Love Your Life.

As you take a step forward, sensing the heel lead -- stop for a microsecond as you lift your toes. Notice the sensation in both legs.  In the leg that is leading forward, I sense the "dancer's muscle, anatomically known as the "gastrocnemius" muscle, and my achilles tendon activated.  I also sense a definite strength and stability in the other leg. It's so interesting to isolate all of these sensations.  I love Heel Lead -- it's one of the most natural for me of the 52 Moves of the Base.

Meditation:  Changing one letter, Heel Lead becomes Heal Lead.  As I manuever through my daily living, I have the opportunity to allow "healing" to lead the way. During the period of my "great purge" (toward the end of 2011), even though my body, my mind and my emotions were all experiencing great discomfort, the "I am healing" mantra of Spirit was ever-present.  

Our inner dialogue, the way we talk about ourselves is so important to our healing and transformation.  The next time you find yourself dishonoring the magnificence of your own body, mind or emotional realm....STOP.... and allow these words to penetrate through the armor:   "I am beautiful, I am healing, I am whole and complete."

There really is nothing else to say.

Day 6 of 52:  Cat Stance - Practicing Cat Stance improves balance which improves the ability to move at various speeds (agility).  Standing in place resting into one foot, balance yourself much like the photo above of the Karate Kid; however, you can press the foot that is up against the supporting leg.  Keep the knee and hip joint of your supporting leg soft and spring-loaded and keep your hips level.  This develops the agility for all of the movements that are required to balance on one leg.  Go ahead...do it and see what I mean!  Keep your elbows down and your hands and arms engaged.

I've always had a sense of balance -- in the physical sense.  It comes easy for me.  Not so for others.  Many of my Nia students do not feel they have a sense of balance.  I invite them to find "the sensation of balance" perhaps by touching the toes to the floor rather than lifting the entire foot up.  Balancing requires a quiet mind and a deliberate focus.

When I am practicing Cat Stance and actually find I am able to balance, my mind says, "YES!"  My emotional realm says, "YES!"  The physical sensation is "Ahhhhhhhhh, yessssss".

Meditation:  Balance is missing in the affairs of this crazy world.  There's not alot of "yes" that I hear.  It's mostly "no".  The ABCs of the world are Accusation, Blame and Criticism.  Sides are taken, lines are drawn, fingers are pointed and opinions are more important than expressing  

My mantra is "The ways of the world are not my ways".  The less time I spend in finding fault or wanting to blame and criticize something (or someone), the more time I can spend on finding Balance in MY world.  THE world may be out of balance and marked by fear and hate, but MY world -- and the things for which I am responsible -- can be one marked by love.  That is my choice in every moment.  Love or Fear?  It's your choice, too.

What does the physical sensation of balance feel like to you?  What does the Mental sensation of balance feel like to you? Again, list a few words or expressions that describe this sensation.   What does the Emotional sensation of balance feel like to you?

 Take a moment to jot down a few words or expressions that answer each of those questions for YOU personally.  If you feel that you have not had the experience of balance in the physical, mental or emotional realms, "imagine" it.  Describe it. And then manifest it.

You can do it.  Bring balance into your living.  If you don't do it, who will?

Day 5 of 52:  Bow Stance - Stand in Open Stance (feet hip width apart), then take a step back onto the ball of one foot.  Feet should still be hip width apart, as if standing on two separate railroad tracks.  Maintain balance by keeping knees slightly bent and back heel high.  Bow Stance builds powerful strength and agility in the legs and feet.  The 3 Planes of Movement (Principle #7 of Nia) are available with Bow Stance -- High, Middle and Low. Practicing Bow Stance is excellent conditioning for walking and for delaing with changes in levels, descending and ascending, changing the body's center of gravity.

Bow Stance can also be achieved from "A" Stance and Sumo Stance.  Stand in either "A" Stance or Sumo Stance and take a step back onto the ball of one foot.  My preference is Bow Stance from Sumo Stance.  The wider base makes it easier for me to descend and ascend.  There is more mobility in my pelvis and hips.  My range of motion throughout my body increases.  

Like Sumo Stance, I really love Bow Stance...my body has learned to descend and ascend easily in Bow Stance.  This was not always the case.  Rigidity moved into Flexibility and Mobility.  Experience and practice has allowed my body to adapt to the rising and lowering -- the changing of my body's center of gravity.  

Meditation:  One of my favorite aspects of Nia is it's adaptability to any body type, any size, any weight, any level of experience.  Adaptability.  I notice that my cats adapt to whatever changes occur in their environment.  It takes a little time and most cats are more comfortable with a set routine; yet they adapt to change very easily.  

Do you resonate with change?  I find that human beings actually do resonate with change, they adapt quite easily when the change is something they already want or desire.  When the change is sudden, unexpected, or if the person is being asked to change an attitude or a behavior, the adaptability tends to go out the window.  Change is the only constant in this world.  We can depend on it, so why is it that we tend to fight it?  

What changes are you willing to make?  Make a list.  Start with the small stuff -- the changes with which you can resonate.   Notice any resistance that appears as you continue to make a list of areas in your life where changes might be necessary -- food, exercise, addictive attitudes and behaviors.  

Change...adapt...change....adapt...

I like to invite my students to start in "A" Stance and then either walk or jump out a little further; knees are slightly bent, the feet and legs apart as if riding a horse. It took me a while to feel comfortable in Sumo Stance.  My legs have always been strong, however, I've discovered that as I practice this stance and use it in my class routines, my legs are more flexible, I feel a great deal of mobility in my hips and spine, and the strength and stability is very powerful.  I'm very comfortable in Sumo Stance...especially when I'm aware of the alignment of my Pelvis, Chest and Head. After years of feeling limited in my ability to sink into a squat from Sumo Stance, I now find great ease in doing so.  Letting go of limitations...surrendering to the natural power of the body's design.

Meditation:  I'm going to use a poem by Jane Anetrini for this day's meditation.

Set Free

Set free from all that I thought, believed
and was told,
I am born today without limit,
without judgment.
I am possibility, I am a fertile crescent,
I am pregnant wit potential.

All that I see is changed in the seeing...

What would happen if you set yourself free from all that you thought, believed or was told?  What would happen if you were without limitation, without judgment.  Oh so many possibilities.  What are you waiting for?

My strength and stability are empowering as I stand in "A" Stance.  I can bob and weave around in this stance.  I feel much more flexible and mobile in this stance than in Closed or Open Stances.  The energy still rises up through my grounded feet, just as it does in Closed or Open Stance, yet with soft, relaxed or spring-loaded knees, I feel as though I am ready to spring into action if needed, or stay in place and actually relax into this stance.  When relaxed, my breath is deep pulling up from the bottoms of my feet all the way up through my belly and ribcage.  Ahhhhhhhhh..."A" Stance.  It is my friend!

Meditation:  All radiance emanates from a center point.  Everyone has a place of strength and stillness, a place where one is fearless, ego-less, a place of Self love.  Stand in "A" Stance, relax, breathe and access your center point.  The mind is still -- there is no inner chatter; the emotional realm is still -- the only emotion is unconditional love.  The body is still -- energy rising up through the legs (relaxed knees), up through the pelvis, lifting up through the ribcage.  The head, chest, pelvis, shoulders and arms are relaxed.  Breathe in through the nose and exhale with an audible "Ahhhhhhhh."  

This center point can be accessed at any time -- standing or seated.  Find at least one minute every day to find stillness in body, mind and heart.  Spirit is relaxed, alert and waiting.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

I have found that most student new to Nia have far too wide of a Open Stance.  To find what is "hip width" apart, take the heel of your right foot and place it next to the arch of your left foot.  Pivot your right heel out without lifting your foot.  THAT is hip width apart. The measurement is from the hip JOINT, not the outer flesh of the hip.

When I am practicing Open Stance, I have a greater sense of range of motion of my hips and upper extremities than when I'm in Closed Stance.  The sensations I am aware of in Open Stance are Flexibility, Mobility, Strength and Stability.  

Meditation:  The mind and heart could use some practice with an open stance.  As humans our definitions construct our perceptions -- we tend to put things (and people) in boxes.  It's this way and no other -- most often it's "my way or no other".  By re-constructing our perceptions -- letting go of attitudes and behaviors that no longer serve us -- we transform our reality.  If you don't like what you see, change the way you see it -- not with your physical eyes, but through your mind and heart.  

I teach Nia -- a lifestyle practice and cardiovascular fitness fusion program. Through Nia I am able to experience and achieve life and body enhancing changes.  

As a Sensation Scientist, I am invited to use my body as a laboratory.  The science, craft and art of Nia, the 13 basic principles, and the use of the 5 sensations (flexibility, agility, mobility, strength and stability) -- to name just a few of the reasons I appreciate Nia -- as well as the Continuing Education modules and videos provided by Debbie Rosas, co-founder of Nia, make it THE premiere fitness fusion program in the world today.  

Nia has 52 Moves.  Beginning today, as part of the pre-training process for a 52 Moves Certification which I will be attending in July, my goal is to 1) embody one of the 52 Moves and share the fullness of my experience with the specific move and 2) create a daily meditation to expand beyond just my physical experience.  Nia accesses the realms of body, mind, emotions and spirit and allows for a creatively inspiring experience.

Day 1 of 52:  Closed Stance:  Toes touch, heels slightly apart, feet and knees relaxed; arms hang; lengthen up. Closed Stance trains the upper body to work efficiently with the lower body.  Imagine that you are a deeply rooted tree.

As a sensation scientist using my body as a laboratory, I sense Closed Stance has the physical sensation of Strength...as I ground through my feet, the energy lifts UP through my legs, into my pelvis and my ribcage expands.  The image of a deeply rooted tree is helpful.  Without that imagery, this stance becomes uncomfortable for me through my knees.  The neuromuscular connection comes alive when I "relax" and ground, imagining my legs as the trunk of a tree, my torso and arms as the limbs moving and undulating like a willow tree.  The sensations of Stability and Mobility (of the torso and arms) are then added into the mix.

Flexibility and Agility are not within my body's scope of sensation if I keep Closed Stance as a Stance (meaning that I do not "dance" or move my feet).

Meditation:  A willow tree bends and sways with the wind, it dances freely.  As I look out my window, I see our 50 foot willow tree, whose wispy foilage is turning a soft yellow with these warmer temperatures.  The trunk is solid, grounded through a Closed Stance. The limbs which radiate out from top to bottom, gently sway and glide with even the gentlest wind, yet withstand the gales of change.  I sense an abundance of love from this willow which has been on our property for 12 years. Having been shaded by other tall trees, she continues to grow tall looking to reach the light and the warmth of the sun.  Her service to the world is the ability to move easily and gracefully with any kind of winds that come her way.  She embodies all 5 of Nia's Sensations:  Flexibility, Agility, Mobility, Strength and Stability.  It is my desire to be like the willow.

And I make it so.

I've tried the resistance thing, the manipulation thing, the I know better thing.  None of them get me very far.  Once I stopped resisting, stopped the insanity of manipulating situations to be what I thought was right...once I stopped all of that...I discovered that Life was there all the time just waiting for me to get out of the way.

I must admit that I live a charmed life.  I'm married to a wonderful man, I have an incredibly creative job, a lovely home with gorgeous gardens, and 3 divine, magical, furry creatures (cats) who live with us.  But I have to say that the first 30 years of my life (I'm 61 now) are a blur and a life that is unrecognizable to me.  The last 31 years have been filled with adventure, discovery and a lot of joy.  The adventure has not been without challenges though.

Yes, challenges -- which is today's meditation.  I find the easiest way to navigate through challenges is to change the way I see them.  So much of the world correlates challenges with restrictions and limitations.

The by-line of this blog is "Living the Truth of Who I Am" -- and that's what I do. I choose to see challenges as opportunities -- for growth, for expanding the radiance of love, for breaking through or breaking down barriers.  Is it easy to live this way?  The answer should be "Yes", right?  Most of the time it is easy, but habitual ways of thinking and doing things, conditioning, attitudes of accusation, blame and criticism are always lurking in the background, ready to spring into action at a moment's notice. 

And yes, I do get caught in those trappings on occasion.  What I have found though is a miracle.  Because time is moving so quickly these days, the returning cycle (what goes around comes around as my Mom used to say) is quickened BUT so is the lesson learned.  So as quickly as I'm knocked off center, I can regain my balance and hop right back on the train going NOW HERE.  It's a journey I wouldn't change for anything in the world.

Have I told you that I teach Nia (www.nianow.com)?  Of course I have!  Dance Through Life!  Go ahead!  The invitation is always there...

That was then.  I was younger and a bit reckless and a bit more rebellious than I am today. I did listen to my wise friend, but I also allowed the things of the world to seduce me and I did not totally fill the void with the essence of spirit.  I do not look back at this time with regret. Obviously everything that occurs in one's life leads to one's present circumstances (as my mom used to say, "what goes around, comes around"). The great Karmic debt must always be paid.  We are always responsible for the choices we make and we must be willing to accept the results of our choices, learn from them -- and move on. Accepting my choices and learning from them is what I call "repentance".  It's much easier in the long run to repent than it is to accuse, cast blame or criticize (myself or anyone else).  In truth, there is no one else to blame for our circumstances except ourselves.  The ego would argue that point and mine does quite often...ergo the Great Purge.

This time as I emptied myself of that which no longer serves my purpose on earth, I did and continue to fill that void with the essence of spirit.  I do get caught up in the things of the world, as many can attest who know me or who follow my Facebook page as I rant about the government and the FDA policies, etc.; however, the difference between the current void and the void of my younger self can be summed up by two words: spiritual expression.  And for those who might not know me, I do not mean "religious expression".  

I am spirit.  I am one with Source.  I do not need to seek answers.  I am the answer.  My expression comes through the truth of who I am.  I am not my body, I am not my mind, I am not my emotional realm.  I am spirit in form -- I have a body, mind and emotional realm that are governed by spirit, not by the human ego; and every once in a while, the body, mind and emotional realm have to be purged of the effects of the ego -- I am a human BEING (as opposed to a HUMAN being)...there is a difference and at the tender age of 61, I know the truth of that difference.  Hallelujah.

So, sometimes things DO fall apart (the things of the world), so that other things (the things of spirit) can fall into place.  

Nia (www.nianow.com) has had a major impact in my life.  Nia keeps me honest.  Nia creates the space that allows "stuff" to move out so that what is true of life is allowed to fill the void.  I dance through life...I am a living meditation...I am Life As Art.

Now I am.  

Come and dance!