What is Nia ?
Nia® is a mindful movement practice that not only conditions your body in remarkable ways, but also conditions and de-stresses your mind with the creative use of music and movement. Nia is usually done barefoot, but where needs dictate both students and teachers may do Nia in soft light shoes or gripper socks. Nia is a movement art that will elevate your movement skill and nourish your body by increasing flexibility, mobility, agility, stability and strength. Nia’s unique movement style is founded in 35 years of program development, focusing on aspects of martial arts, dance arts , and healing arts. Nia truly delivers a holistic experience that touches you body, mind and spirit.
​
​
Nia combines very simple moves based on dance, martial arts, tai chi and yoga and other techniques. Nia means community, great music and moves that feel good! A Nia teacher starts from the music in crafting his or her class based on a suggested focus and movement katas from his or her selected Nia 'routine'. The teacher can select from a variety of music styles and class ambiance from a selection of over 25 choices streamed online free or received for via DVD as part of a Nia teacher license. He or she can start small by providing part of a Nia class with agreement from a current teacher and build up, first classes can be taught with as little as 1 or two movement sequences per music track and the class becomes a pleasurable and fulfilling experience whilst still benefiting the mind body and soul. The music used with a Nia class is a very important part and is provided to teachers with Nia routines. The music is amazing - with sounds from varied genres and from all over the world. Nia has been very low-profile for the last 30 years but now it is starting to become more well know - our teacher group in Scotland want to share the joy and will advise and mentor you or help in any way we can to get you going, feeling confident, supported and empowered as part of a friendly community. Each year our trainers visit Scotland and the outlying teachers will often visit during that time to take class or repeat all or part of their training. During the two week period 13-26 July there are 2 public Nia classes a day, taught by 1 or both of the trainers.
​
Nia is suitable for any age, mobility or flexibility level or ability and improves balance, agility, flexibility and strength, it gives cardiovascular conditioning, increases body awareness and is pleasurable, stress-busting and absorbing.
​
Nia is based on 52 ‘foundation’ moves and has been spreading gradually worldwide for 35 years. It is taught by certified Nia teachers who hold a Nia White Belt and Teaching License with a lifelong journey progressing through the further Nia belts: Blue, Brown and Black, should they choose to do so. Here in Scotland we have a lively Nia Scotland community and regular visits by international Nia trainers giving teacher and public classes.
​
Nia Teacher Susan Rees says: “Nia is suitable for all ages, sizes, shapes and fitness, it is for those who love to dance and those (like me) who feel they are un-coordinated. It is true that it is sometimes described as ‘dancing’, by some Nia teachers, however I prefer to describe it as “movement that feels like dancing” since I feel can't dance (a waltz totally eludes me and too many turns make my head spin)! I discovered Nia by accident, stayed because the moves were easy to master and the music was fantastic. Nia is also often described as ‘holistic’ – this just means mind, body and spirit i.e. it conditions the body, stimulates the mind with interesting patterns and boosts the spirit with a pleasurable combination of moves to soul-stirring music. “
A Nia class follows a seven cycle program, through setting the focus, stepping in, warming up, getting moving, cooling down, floorplay, and stepping out. The technique is founded on 52 basic moves for the base, the core, and the upper extremities. These moves are used to create the body-friendly choreography of the class. The nine movement forms of Tai Chi, Tae Kwon Do, Aikido, Jazz, Modern Dance, Duncan Dance, Feldenkrais, Alexander Technique and Yoga, inspire the class with soft and slow dynamics, as well as powerful and playful moves. Nia choreography blends these dynamics to create a class that offers ample movement in a state of dynamic ease. Everyone can do Nia because the movements are so adaptable to varying skill and fitness levels. Nia is generally done in bare feet. Shoes are also fine.
The first principle of the Nia Technique is the Joy of Movement. We believe movement can be pleasurable to the body, and when we move towards pleasure we move towards healing. There are lots of smiles and happy people in Nia classes. Some even say Nia has changed their lives!
​​
Nia was founded by Debbie Rosas and Carlos AyaRosas in 1983. The headquarters for Nia Inc. are in Portland, Oregon. Nia is taught worldwide in over 40 countries and has now been taught in Scotland for 12 years, with training here in Scotland for 6 years. Our White Belt with Britta von Tagen and Letizia Accinelli has been traiing Nia teachers to go into Nia all over the world: from Namibia to the Netherlands, from Abingdon to Aberdeen. It is also taken by keen Scottish class members to get more from their Nia class; as the White Belt can also be taken as a purely personal enrichment course and if, at a later date, the student wishes to move into teaching they can then choose to take out the Nia teaching membership and license.
​
Be aware that if you watch a video of Nia is can look just like barefoot aerobics or free dance - however it FEELS entirely different when you are then in class teaching it or taking part, so it really is recommended that you try a Nia class first before you decide what Nia is! The class feels different to the way it looks because Nia movements are grounding and have a martial arts foundation in the way we stand and move from stance to stance and also becuase of the 52 foundation moves which become part of a Nia teachers body-centred vocabulary and are gradually embodied by regular class members too: in fact class members are known as 'students' in Nia, reflecting our mindful ethos coming from the martial arts.
​
So is Nia a fitness class, a dance class, a movement class, a martial arts class, a lifestyle, a personal practice, a functional movement exercise, a healing movement class or an expressive movement form ? The answer is that it can be what you want it to be - and that it is in fact all of these!
As a teacher you can choose to emphasise all or any one of these aspects - you can also go on beyond White Belt to train in more specialised Nia offerings such as Nia Moving to Heal for those with limited mobility, recovering from illness or in treatment, for example.
​
Nia offers amazing benefits to the teacher, it is empowering, absorbing and yet gentle on the soul. It offers belonging to a national and worldwide community and the chance to change lives - both your own and the lives of others.
​
Nia - through movement we find health - wellbeing - personal power
