Archive for Wellness – Page 2

Stiff Neck Relief

 

suzandstudent11Driving back from New Jersey, where I spent Passover, I noticed that my neck felt tight.  Two nights on a strange mattress, several hours of standing and socializing, and a long sit at a table, and you are bound to feel a bit of stress in your body. 

My friend and I drove back to DC in the early morning so I could be in the studio for my class at noon.  Driving for three and a half hours was rough on a stiff neck.  But then it was Nia class to the rescue!

 As soon as I started to move, the tension in my neck was relieved. 

I always tell people that there are days when the only time my body feels pain free is during and after Nia class.  When I go back to my regular life – sitting at the computer, driving in traffic, cooking, training, doing errands, it’s all wear and tear on the body.

In Nia class I am able to dance the form of the routines and create freedom in my body.  Dancing within a structure allows my creativity to flourish. Moving freely lubricates my joints and pumps my muscles with blood, warms my body and gets me to a place where my body can self-heal.  That’s why I feel good dancing.  I feel good when I lift weights too, but in Nia there is the music, energy and the flow of the moves.  It is restorative and transformative.

Dreamwalker – Healing

 

articles_clip_image006I had a pulled muscle in my left calf.  I was unsure if I could dance on it, but rather than skip the classwork, I decided to explore the healing possibilities that Nia offers.

We started class by rubbing our hands together and creating some heat from friction.  We placed our hands on the part of our body that we felt needed some extra healing.  From there, we used the moves of the routine DreamWalker to continue sending healing energy to our in need parts.

Having the focus of healing helped to determine the language I used to deliver the instructions for dancing the routine.  Every move I invited the students to do was directed to comfort, adjust, and heal their bodies.  The attention to healing through movement caused awareness.  I asked, how can you tweak this move so that it feels good in your body?  What does your body need right now to heal?. Do smaller moves make you feel better?  Is having both your feet on the floor a better sensation for you?  How can you adjust your moves to be more exact in technique so that your joints will be used in a way that allows the most ease?  Do you like, need, or want the sensation of dynamic energy – strength? Do your muscles yearn to be challenged by resistance? Read More→

Libraries

 

booksPart of overall wellness is social wellness and one way to boost it is to get out and walk.  Walk to the bank or the post office – that is, if you don’t do that on a regular basis.  

·       Get and give smiles. 

·       Have a little conversation with a new face. 

·       Make a new face into a friendly person in your neighborhood.

·       Take the time to be engaged with your community.  Seek out your neighbors.  Visit in the doggie park, even if you don’t have a dog.  Dog park people are like modern day smokers.  You see them all hanging out because they have something in common, but they are just regular people too.  Go and meet the dogs and the owners in your neighborhood.   Read More→