Link to my recent article in Spirituality & Health Magazine!

This link goes directly to the magazine's website.  Enjoy!  http://www.spiritualityhealth.com/magazine/2011-january-february/expressing-myself-through-nia.html

Article I just submitted to the Timberhill Athletic Club newsletter

Let the beauty you love be what you do.  ~ Rumi

In this article we will explore some of the benefits of a body/mind/spirit practice, such as the Nia Technique.  Humans are intelligent, we have so much research on the right way to organize ourselves to live long healthy lives.  We know that if we don’t smoke, or quit smoking, we can have greater quality of life as we age, free of a multitude of diseases that effect smokers:  greater risk of cardiovascular disease, lung, bladder, throat, and esophageal cancers, to name a few.  We know that if we consume a healthy, mostly plant-based diet, we can reduce our risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes, and we have studies to back that up.  We know if we exercise regularly we reduce our risk of a multitude of physical and mental health problems, and we have clinical research to help us understand how that works.  We know from Dean Ornish, and other researchers, that we need social connections to be healthy, we need to “exercise” our hearts by giving and receiving love.  Dean Ornish, in his studies about reversing heart disease also recommends a meditative or contemplative practice. We know that a contemplative practice, such as meditation or prayer helps us to slow down and reconnect with what it means to be human when our busy lives sometimes leave us a little disconnected from a sense of meaning and purpose.  And we have so many daily responsibilities that the best way to get all of our health conscious behaviors in, is to segment them into little boxes we can check off:  exercise – got that done, doctor’s appt – check, lunch with friend – done, birthday present for daughter – done, church committee meeting – check. 

When we ride our bike to the grocery store, we can cancel out two things on our list at once.  When we take a walk with a friend in a beautiful place – we get the benefits of social and spiritual connection, and exercise.  This is how a body, mind, spirit practice works:  we meet the essential human needs of exercise, connection, contemplative awareness, and hopefully color the experience with stimulating imagery – to engage you on many different levels at once.  This creates a deeper, richer experience.  When we connect with ourselves, our essential selves – where the heart of compassion lives – we tend to be nicer to ourselves.  We rely less on comfort foods and nourish ourselves with healthier fare – not because we should, but because it feels better.  We give ourselves just a little more time to unwind, a little more time to listen.  We are nicer to others. These are some of the side benefits of a body/mind/spirit program.

The Nia Technique combines movements and insights from martial arts, dance, and healing arts (such as yoga) into a body/mind/spirit practice that enriches my life and I love to share it with others.  We move with a variety of rhythms, from slower, to faster, to more contemplative.  Music moves us physically and emotionally through different spaces, allowing the release of mental and emotional tension, the most common cause of fatigue.  Moving to music in new and unfamiliar patterns stimulates our brains and increases connectivity between the left and right hemispheres.  The slower movements, include balance training – increasing intrinsic strength and general stability, with the benefit of slowing the mind and improving focus and grace.  (Yes, you become more graceful with practice!)  The faster movements increase our heart rates and improve physical conditioning, and add a sense of fun and playfulness to our workout.  We begin every Nia class by connecting with each person, introducing a focus and intention for the class, then stepping into the space to release distractions and bring ourselves fully present to the sensation of our movement.  The language of the body is sensation and each person is encouraged to follow her or his own sensation – moving into pleasure, and if pain or discomfort occurs, listen to the body and explore ways of moving that increase pleasure and eliminate pain. 

We are all so unique, and in a Nia class we celebrate that uniqueness.  It is not about fitting everybody into the perfect mold or model of ‘doing it right’ (or even the perfect body shape or size) – it is all about doing what is right for YOU.  If you feel out of shape, take it slow, takes breaks when you need to.  If you have never done a group fitness class, allow yourself several weeks or more to get accustomed to it in your own natural time.  The gentle, body/mind/spirit orientation of the class will give you all of the support you need to feel more comfortable with something new.  And the other students are 100 percent supportive of newcomers.  You are welcome to experience Nia on Tuesdays and Thursday at 7:00pm and on Sunday mornings at 11:30am at Timberhill Athletic Club, and on Mondays and Wednesdays at 11:00am at the Corvallis Senior Center.  To paraphrase Rumi, let the beauty you love be what you do – for health and wellness.

Leela Devi, MSN, RN

Black belt certified

New article about Nia in Spirituality & Health!

Written by me!  The best description I have ever given of the beauty of my Nia practice.  Enjoy!  http://nianow.com/node/47839  From this link you can download the actual article.  It is much better than the intro.

Dance like your life and world depends on it....

This article contains a couple of video clips.  One expresses the exhilaration and sense of community and connectedness that dance can engender.  The other demonstrates dramatic improvement in walking in people with Parkinsons who participated in tango lessons.   While it is probable that changes in speed and walking frontwards, backwards, and side stepping helped improve skill,  what about the physical contact (with tango) and emotional connection we can get from dance?  It is all important. 

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-healing-arts/200807/dance-your-life-and-world-depends-it

Great article from Psychology Today...

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/body-sense/201007/slow-movement-awareness-better-exercise
Teaching at an athletic club, I sometimes get the feeling that some students don't understand the value of slowing down and checking in with themselves prior to amping up into cardio movement.  This article gives a clear explanation of the benefits of slow movement, moving from the inside.  Taking the time to slow down and listen to our bodies provides information we can use to facilitate healing:  I might notice that when I move one way pain increases, when I move another way, I don't feel pain at all.  If continue to pay attention and move with awareness throughout the class, I can workout (build greater strength, mobility, flexibility, agility, and stability) and heal my body at the same time.  The article, see link above, has a great perspective and interesting information.  Check it out! 

Why Dance?

Recently, a physical therapist/Nia instructor in Ashland, Rachael Resch, posted an article from Dr. Oz - 5 Ways to Keep Your Brain Sharp on her facebook page, and I re-posted it to mine because it included 'taking a dance class'. A conversation that followed inspired me to write about one of the amazing (and possibly little-known) benefits of dance. Most of us are familiar with the fitness benefits of dance such as: physical conditioning, improving range of motion and balance, the use of music and rhythm energize our work-outs, and the fun factor of dancing with others. I would like to look at how dance helps to keep the brain sharp.

Numerous studies have confirmed that exercise stimulates the brain. And it does not take a Ph.D. to observe that when we are in an energy slump, such as mid-afternoon fatigue, a brisk walk can make the whole world look brighter, providing us with a new burst of creative energy. Sports that involve quick reactions and problem-solving stimulate the brain and nervous system differently than walking. Most sports are unilateral - we swing a bat, a tennis racket, or a golf club using our dominate side. Even some martial arts promote unilateral movement, we can only kick with one leg at a time. The natural walk involves swinging the left arm and right leg simultaneously. Infants learn to creep and crawl using a similar cross-body movement - a cross-crawl. In applied kinesiology, we learn that we can balance and energize our bodies (and nervous systems) by practicing the cross-crawl, or the cross-body movement of the natural walk.

All physical activity burns calories, and if we go on a long hike or bike ride we will eventually feel tired. And, conversely, if we are experiencing fatigue (which tends to be mental), a walk (especially in a beautiful natural setting) can be just the thing to get those mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional juices flowing again.

So, if we can renew and energize the body and mind by walking, why dance? Besides giving us opportunities to practice the cross-body movement of the natural walk, dance also gives us the opportunity to move across the mid-line of the body (example, the right foot reaches across the body to the left side). In teaching the Nia technique for a number of years, I have observed that some individuals have a hesitation when it comes to doing a cross-body step. I can almost see the thought bubbles over their heads: "Not a normal function!" "This does not compute!" The hesitation each time a person starts a cross body movement says to me that new neural pathways need to grow in order for this movement to become natural. (This is true for any movement that feels unnatural.) I always reassure students that if they stick with it, that hesitation will resolve. Practice, repetition of the new movement creates more communication between the left and right hemispheres of the brain (new neural pathways form across the corpus callosum). Our brains grow to accommodate new skills!

Unfortunately, we experience an uncomfortable lag time before a new skill becomes an natural part of our movement vocabulary. Sometimes people begin to label themselves, "I'm clumsy," "I have no rhythm," or label the activity, "this is hard", or to preserve the ego, "the teacher is an idiot!" Telling ourselves stories about the experience of discomfort around learning something new adds a layer of emotional baggage to what is essentially the nervous system working out a new way of perceiving, communicating, and directing movement. When people believe the stories they tell themselves, they tend to give up before the new connections are fully functional.

Experiencing some emotional or mental discomfort means that you are pushing your edge. You are growing! Yay! Growth happens, not only in physical skill and conditioning, your brain creates new connections, your confidence improves, and your experience of who you are as a mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual being expands. So, keep on dancing! And if you are not dancing, check out my classes!

healing power of dance..

This is a lovely example of the healing power of dance. Gently and lovingly, breaking away from old, dysfunctional movement patterns and creating new neurophysiological connections and abilities. The article contains a video. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/25/arts/dance/25palsy.html?_r=3&em