this time from the inside Out

When I stumbled upon Nia as a student years ago, one of the first routines we danced was OPAL. I didn't know its name at the time,  but I knew that the music and movement was something that had been missing from my life for far too long.

We danced it a lot before eventually moving on to other choreography. Years passed and I was reminded of it again when I saw the music for purchase on the NiaSounds site. Happy to see it, I bought it and then forgot about it again.  By this time I was teaching Nia, and I was busy learning other new and wonderful routines, so I didn't think about it again for another long stretch. 

Finally about a month ago I listened to it again and became obsessed with  teaching it. I've learned and taught 7 routines since I started teaching Nia (under two years ago), but this was an altogether different experience.

What was different this time?
I was returning to the music and the movements with my original memory of the experience. But my body awareness, after these years of practice, had changed dramatically. Thanks to my training, I was now sensing my movements as coming from the inside out, making it a much heightened sensory experience. In short, I was now present to my body in a way I had never been when I first danced it.

Why is this important?
Dr. Mark Dunn describes it this way:

"Your body needs consistent awareness to maintain and repair itself. Your energy and spirit need to be present for longer periods of time for magic to happen and you need a skillset to do that." 

Thank you, Nia, for providing me with the skillset and the magic for optimizing  health and joy!