Author Archive for suzannah – Page 5

Connecting to Connective tissue

connective tissue This morning’s classes (5 stages and Nia) were both focused on connective tissue.  In essence, it is everything.  At the foundation it is the biggest tissue in the body.  It is in, around, and through everything in me.  It is bones, ligaments, blood, water, skin, muscles, air, everything.  It is actually – in a macro sense – the energy between all of us. 

In the dance of Nia class, I sensed my tissue as a seamless connection of all parts that move.  The music, the dancers, the choreography, the body I am in, my thoughts and the space of the studio (within the space of the universe). Read More→

Prep-Halloween Nia Jam

Costume or Comfort; You Decide

I am not putting together a play list for the halloween jam.  I’ve asked the other teachers to bring their own music and use the theme. Much of the time teachers come and teach a regular song selection.  That is fine with me. 

Based on my last Jam repertoire, I’ve decided that I will lead a few songs from the routine that we created at Kripalu last month on a Nia choreography weekend with Casey Bernstein.  I’ll be playing around with the idea of funny walks, scarey faces and a lot of hand gestures. 

Really, any routine could be transformed into a Halloween routine if you make the focus Halloween. Here’s how: Read More→

We R-11

I had 11 delightful dancers in my class this morning. 11 makes a room look VERY nice.  In the first minute, I wished that I’d had my camera and video camera out and running so I could throw an image up on the web.  In the second few minutes, I wished that I’d had listened to the awareness of the need to photograph and video tape my classes a long time ago.  In the last few seconds of writing this blog-post, I realize that that’s what I need to do pronto. So, this is the language of Awareness, Insight, and Clarity.  It came from a sensation in my Physical Body and moved into my Mental Body. Read More→

Spirit Realm…I need a Pearl for…

I’m falling into Blue Principle #3: Awareness, Insight, and Clarity.  I haven’t any Insight or Clarity on what I will do with this concept, but I am really aware that the moment of truth is less than 24 hours away.  I’ve been doing really well incorporating the principles in the last few months – but every once in a while, I realize that the principles are for ME to embody rather than my students.  In other words, I am the one learning the thinking, and technique (say, the awareness and the insight) and I am supposed to deliver the work (Clarity) after I have processed and gotten something out of it.

In reading the Blue Belt manual about P2 Awareness, Insight, and Clarity ~ Pearls and The Realms, I am finding that a possible focus for class this week can be: Read More→

Power of Two ~ Communication Girl’s Night Out

Girl’s Night Out is a good routine for my Hot Yoga Nia class because they know it so well.  They already know the music and the moves as well as the original focus of the routine.  This is a good start for dealing with communication.  I invited them to call on their receiving powers more than usual.  I warned against already knowing what the routine had to say.  Hearing before the communication has been transmitted is a good way to stop the growth of a relationship.  I asked students to put on dog ears to hear more the sounds, words, instruments, phrases, etc… with no per-conceived notions.   Then to layer on their transmission with care and craft.  I invited them to use symbology and watch what their dance was saying. Transmit what they really wanted to say.  I suggested that if they already knew what they wanted to say (dance) their message wouldn’t be 100% in the present.  For me, it would be like preparing every single pearl that I wanted to say before class and then being hell-bent to say them all irrespective of whether the right moment came up to deliver it.  Being prepared with some ideas and a theme and an outline is one thing, but listening in the moment for the teachable situation is completely different.  Knowing the choreography is another situation that might be an, “I already heard that” situation.  I think this power of two – communication thing is what makes tight but loose possible.  In fact I think it makes loose necessary and makes tight reliable. Tight gives me the confidence to listen in the moment and then transmit the most current and applicable pearls. Read More→