Cat Stance improves balance.  As I stand in place on one foot, I am experiencing the sensation (physically and emotionally) of balance.  My knee and hip joint of my supporting leg is soft and spring loaded.  The foot of the raised leg can be flexed or pointed.  It can be tucked behind the back of the supporting leg's knee or the toes of the raised foot can touch the floor slightly.  As I move and shift from one leg to the other, I like to sound "meowww".  

Cat Stance always surprises me.  In my humble opinion, it is one of the best ways to experience balancing on one leg, while having a ton of fun!  The raised leg can also shake and shimmy like a cat's tail -- that's always a fun one, too!

The ladies in the photo above actually have their knees rarised a bit above the hip.  In Nia's Cat Stance, I like to invite my students (and myself) to keep the raised knee at hip level or below.

I feel all the muscles and bones of the upper body as well as the solid foundation of the supporting leg when I practice Cat Stance.

Meow, baby.

 

Katniss from Hunger Games is an archer.  I decided to use Katniss' picture to draw attention to the "Bow" of "Bow Stance".

Bow Stance can be somewhat elusive to new and/or seasoned Nia students.  The elusiveness seems to come from not having a sense of balance due to the back foot's raised heel .  I personally didn't like Bow Stance early on in my Nia practice.

It's now one of my favorite (aren't they all?) Nia moves.  Bow Stance can be practiced from Closed Stance, Open Stance, "A" Stance and Sumo Stance.  

I like to begin in Open Stance -- my feet are hip width apart (remember hip width is measured from the inside hip socket, not the outer fleshy part of the hip).  I step the right foot straight back so that my heel is raised high and the ball of my foot feels like it is sticking to the floor (and image I like to use for balance in this stance).  For additional balance, I slightly turn in my front Whole Foot.  

My range of motion is altered as I use "A" Stance or Sumo Stance to create my Bow Stance.  The wider my Bow Stance the more balance I sense.  

While practicing Bow Stance (which is one of "The Base" moves), I can also practice undulating my arms and shoulders and finding a range of motion of my upper extremeties that allows me to feel graceful and elegant.  I can also move my hands, arms, shoulders and head in a way that allows me to sense on/off center kinds of sensations.  That's where the "sticky" sensation of the ball of my foot comes in handy.

Mobility, Agility (alternating sides), Flexibility, Strength and Stability are all Sensations that I sense while practicing Bow Stance.

When I think of "riding stance", I think of a cowboy (John Wayne for instance), as in the photo above.  Yee haw.

Practicing Nia's Sumo (Riding) Stance is excellent conditioning for all the muscles of the legs.  Practicing Sumo Stance creates a solid foundation for creating and improving the power and mobility of my upper body -- all of the Martial Arts blocks, punches and elbow strikes can be practiced in Sumo Stance.  

My ability to sink down farther in Sumo Stance, depending on the width of my stance, has come over time.  The flexibility and strength in my legs has definitely improved.

I can keep my feet parallel, using the Whole Foot technique to support my posture (aligning my pelvis, chest and head) from underneath.  I can also turn my toes out slightly which allows me to sink even deeper; in fact, the more I sink and rise, the more conditioning I give my legs.  Using my arms and hands, along with moving my head, neck and spine conditions my Core.

This is one of my favorite Stances as it gives me the sensation of Confidence and Power.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"A" Stance is standing in place, legs wider than hip distance, imagining the letter "A".  Energy flows up and out.  This particular Stance in my experience is my Warrior Stance.  I feel the most power in this stance. The immediate sensations are Stability and Strength. I have more range of motion in my upper body in "A" Stance.  

I am a Sensation Scientist.  There are any number of sensations that can be created from "A" Stance.  I can hinge from my hips, keeping my knees soft and lengthen through my spine to create the sensation of flexibility.  I've already mentioned Stability and Strength. Mobility is sensed by the freedom provided by flexibility in the joints -- my upper body's ability to have a greater range of motion.

Other sensations are awareness, groundedness, positive tension, powerful, pleasure, expansiveness, confident, balanced.

The sensation of being an Action Figure comes to mind when I'm in this stance...Wonder Woman for instance.

YES!!

An Open Stance is with feet hip width apart.  Hip width is less than what most folks think...it is not measured from the outside of the hip, but from the hip joint.  The hip joint is a ball and socket.  One of the easiest ways to find "hip width" is to place one's right heel into the left foot's arch.  Without lifting the right foot from the floor, simply pivot the heel out from the left foot's arch so that both feet are facing forward and parallel.  Voila'!  Hip width. 

The energy rises up from the bottoms of the feet into the legs, up through the pelvis and hips into the belly, the ribcage, the chest and lifts up through the whole spine.  There is an "open" feeling through the solar plexus and heart realm.  An Open Stance -- being open to receive what is present.

An open stance does not mean that I receive everything without filtering out what does not belong or what no longer serves me.  Being open does not leave me vulnerable; on the contrary, it gives me power.  An open heart, an open mind.  Make it so.

Joy is a place to start.  The sensation of absolute bliss while grounded in Closed Stance; my upper body in motion, swaying like the limbs of a willow in a warm summer breeze -- that is Joy for me.  

Closed Stance is both of my feet close together, big toes touching and heels just slightly apart.  I keep my knees soft, yet strong.  The earth's energy rises up through the bottoms of my feet, into my ankles, up through my legs into my pelvis and hips, lifting up through my ribcage into my chest.  My arms move, I can bend and sway and swirl my upper body, still grounded through Closed Stance.

It is a place to start...a beginning.  From here I move out into my day with joy as a companion of my heart.

Ahhhhh...tomorrow is my Galactic Birthday. It seemed appropriate to begin my 52 Moves pre-training on the eve of my galactic birthday.  My new personal adventure with the 52 Moves begins tomorrow.

The 27 Base (Legs/Feet) Moves:

Closed Stance, Open Stance, "A" Stance, Sumo Stance, Bow Stance, Cat Stance

Heel Lead, Whole Foot, Ball of the Foot, Releve', Rock Around the Clock, Squich Walk, Duck Walk, Toes In/Out/Parallel

Sink and Pivot Table Wipe; Stepping Back onto the Ball of the Foot, Cross Front, Cross Behind, Traveling in Directions, Lateral Traveling, Cha Cha Cha, Slow Clock, Fast Clock

Front Kick, Side Kick, Back Kick, Knee Sweep

 

The 7 Core (Pelvis, Chest, Head) Moves:

Pelvic Circles, Hip Bumps

Chest Isolations, Shimmy, Undulations, Spinal Roll

Head and Eye Movememts

 

The Upper Extremeties (Arm, Hands, Fingers) Moves:

Upward Block, Downward Block, Inwark Block, Outward Block

Upward Punch, Outward Punch, Across Punch, Downward Punch

Elbow Strike Down, Elbow Strike Back, Elbow Strike Out

Touching, Fists, Pumps, Strikes, Chop Cut, Webbed Spaces, Palm Directions

Finger Extensions, Finger Flicks, Creepy Crawlers, Spear Finger, Catching Flies, Claw Hand, Power Finger Cross-Over, Balance Finger

 

Nia!  http://www.nianow.com

My last blog post was about having the consciousness of Abundance or having the self-centered motivation of Lack.

I'm continuing that train of thought by considering things that happen in life as seeing the Glass Half Full or the Glass Half Empty.  In the self-centered state, the state of the ego, human being see things as lacking -- there's always the need for more.  The ego also says, "I'm only human."

From the world of Spirit, there is no ego.  Yes, of course we are human -- we have a physical body, but we are also being -- we have a divine spirit that animates the body.  The human part of us has feelings (heart), thoughts (mind), pain (body).  The being part of us knows that NONE of that is in fact reality...we are not our thoughts, our feelings or our bodies...those are capacities through which we are given the opportunity to express Love, Truth and Life.  

We live in this world, but we do not have to be "of" this world.  We are constantly given opportunities to rise up out of the ways of the world and provide a consistent expression of our divine spirit.  I was given such an opportunity yesterday.  I began the situation seeing the glass as half empty -- I saw a tremendous "lack of."  I ended up (after a grueling self-imposed butt kicking) with the glass half full -- an abundance of Love.  The difference was in how I chose to look at what was happening.  There is ALWAYS a choice to be made.  

 There was a palpable vibration and energy available to me when I chose to see the situation with new eyes -- choosing to see it as an opportunity to clarify, clarify, clarify, forgive, forgive, forgive...and to have an abundance of gratitude.  

There will always be things to handle in daily living, circumstances that will rise up, situations that will test my ability to stay centered.  Keeping handy the Four Agreements (or in Nia we call them the Four Energy Allies) is essential:

Speak with Impeccability:  Speak up, say what you mean and mean what you say with the fewest words that have the greatest clarity.  

Don't Take Anything Personally: Stay centered.  Avoid making up stories in your head. There are no excuses for giving away your power - which is what happens when you take something personally.  Forgive, forgive, forgive.

Don't Make Assumptions:  Ask questions.  It takes 10-12 seconds to ask a question that will bring clarification -- speak with impeccability.  Avoid letting something go by that is unsettling and that could lead you to take something personally. Clarify, clarify, clarify.

Always Do Your Best:  It's your personal best, not someone else's interpretation or expectation.  In your heart, you know what doing your best means.  

When we see ANY situation with the eyes of clarity, forgiveness and gratitude, the glass is ALWAYS half full -- in fact, with water as the symbol of Truth, I choose to see the glass as TOTALLY full.

Drink!!!

My husband and I were walking in our gardens today. I was telling him about a friend who had expressed some angst over the small numbers of students in her classes.  I had related to her that my classes are generally smaller in the summer...it's been that way for the past 11 years that I've been teaching.  I've gotten over the ego's need for large numbers in order to feel that I'm a worthy teacher.  I love every one of my students who come to class -- whether it's one, two, three or sixteen. The students that want to be there -- the ones who are compelled -- come, and they want to dance.  I've taught class with just one person before...actually a few times...it's a more intimate setting...a little one on one Nia class.

Most human beings look at things through the their vision of "lack" rather than their vision of "abundance".  It's a choice and all it takes is deciding to see things differently.

Sometimes for close up computer work or reading, I wear what are commonly called "cheater" eye glasses.  I have my prescription glasses for reading which I keep in my purse.  I also keep several pair of cheaters around in different places where I know I'll be, just in case I need to grab them to read something.  I used to have 20/20 vision, until I turned 50 (11 years ago).  When I turned 40, I found that I needed reading glasses occasionally, but the instant I turned 50, my eye sight changed dramatically.  Cheaters were necessary more often than not.  

The metaphor here...in case you were wondering...is that we tend to cheat on how we see things. The quickest and easiest scenario is pick up on what is lacking in the situation, rather than seeing the abundance of what is already present. Use your super vision...no need for cheaters...be thankful for what IS.  

Be grateful.  Gratitude...with an attitude.  Love what you have, not what you want.  You might be surprised at what is actually occurring...

It's magic.

 

Day 52 of 52:  Balance Finger integrates the upper body with the lower body and directs energy through the cneter of your palm to the center of the your body.  Challenge your balance by standing on one leg and use your hands in space for support.  With your palms face down, extend the pinky, ring and index finger and your thumb, while pressing down with your middle finger (your power or balance finger).  Test your balance by looking up and around and by varying the height of your free leg in space, moving that leg front, back and to the sides.  Alternate legs.  As you balance, release tension by exhaling.

 

Meditation:  It's time for 52 pick up!  We've gone through 52 Days, Nia's 52 Moves and 52 Meditations.  WOW!!  Congratulations if you've been following the entire time.  You just completed a major event in your life requiring discipline and consistency!

Discipline and consistency are your allies!!!  Some folks snub their noses at discipline, (thinking it to be militaristic) and consistency (thinking it to be boring).

Nothing could be farther from the truth when creatively expressing life.  It's an art.  A spiritual discipline (I'm not speaking of religious discipline) can be quite rewarding. Consistently expressing the spirit of love into all you do every moment of every day will profoundly effect your life.  It is a discipline that brings an abundance of opportunities and challenges.  It does not mean being a Pollyanna.  It does not mean never being ill or having a temper tantrum.  

Discipline and consistency are available 24-7.  One has to be in a place to accept the responsibility of being disciplined and consistent in one's expression.   

I see the world in the 21st century as a world full people who are undisciplined and whose expression is inconsistent; there's very little creativity. There's plenty of accusation, blame and criticism.  Taking sides.  Judgment.  Lots of folks talk about love and finding the secret, but their actions speak loudly of bigotry and hate and finding ways to manifest material things. Emotionally, the world is full of anger and fear. Mentally, the world is full of mind games and intellectual battles of wit.  Physically, the world is full of either starving or obese people.  The food of the world continues to be genetically modified.  

So where is the Balance??  There is only balance when one is being the crossover point between heaven and earth.  Practically speaking, it means taking responsibility for one's thoughts, one's words, one's action.  I know that there is a creative cycle -- a returning cycle -- what comes forth from me will come back to me.  THERE is the balance.  

Conscious movement upon the face of the earth.  There are small bands of angels (beings expressing spirit through human form) present on this planet who are taking responsibility for restoring balance.

Will you join me?