The Spirit of Nia

I'm cross-posting this to both blogs because I wasn't really sure where it fit.  On the one hand it's about movement, dance, and wellness; on the other it's about a really intense spiritual experience...so forgive me if you receive it twice. 

The term "peak experience" was popularized by Abraham Maslow, he of the famous Hierarchy of Needs.  If you look it up on Wikipedia you find that a peak experience "tends to be uplifting and ego-transcending; it releases creative energies; it affirms the meaning and value of existence; it gives a sense of purpose to the individual; it gives a feeling of integration; it leaves a permanent mark on the individual, evidently changing them for the better."

I didn't sign up for the Spirit of Nia event last night looking for anything that lofty.  I've been doing Nia for over a year now, and I love it, and of course when the opportunity arose to dance with its founders, I jumped at the chance.  I was a little leery of the idea of being in the studio with 45 other people (a normal Nia class tops out at around 23 where I dance), but I decided that this year is all about surpassing my limitations, and dancing for 90 minutes elbow to elbow with 45 crazy  Nia types (yes, I include myself in that) would be a perfect way to do that.

Nia, for those not in the know, is a form of dance workout that combines elements of martial arts, modern and jazz dance, other movement modalities, and a splash of yoga here and there.  It was created by Debbie Rosas and Carlos Rosas 25 years ago as a non-impact form of cardiovascular conditioning.  Their goal was to create a form of exercise that was based on pleasure, not pain; eventually Nia evolved into more than just exercise, it became a philosophy of fully inhabiting the moment and loving your body.  It's completely adaptable to any level of fitness and any shape or size body--at any given class you'll see every age, every fitness level, and every size. 

There's no "feel the burn" or "no pain no gain" in Nia; the only real way to do it wrong is by not enjoying yourself. 

The Spirit of Nia tour was basically a celebration of Nia's 25th anniversary, and a chance for students like myself to dance with the founders and hear more about their experiences creating the work and traveling among the community.  The event was a half-hour talk and a 90 minute session split between Debbie and Carlos, both of whom are flat-out incredible teachers with an energy and enthusiasm that draws everyone in the room into their web and spins out something greater than the sum of its dancers.  The routine they brought was made up of portions of others, combined pretty seamlessly (I'm sure they've had plenty of practice, as Austin was the last of a 15 city tour), so most of the music I was already familiar with as well as many of the moves.  Carlos in particular likes to ramp things up intensity-wise, and both brought some choreography I'd not seen yet in a class, which was challenging but a lot of fun for a dance geek like me.

It's difficult to describe the experience beyond that, however.  I can't just go through the evening song by song and talk about the wild tribal energy that caught us all up, or the way Debbie and Carlos managed that energy with such deft hands that it looked effortless.  I can't really relate with any sort of precision how dozens of dancers waving their arms and whooping and hollering created something that could only really be described as a Nia-gasm.

I can't really write about any of it without sounding kind of fluffy and, well, high as a kite, because that's exactly how I felt afterward.  I certainly can't write about the teddy bears without giggling myself.  (Adorable souvenir, not creepy prop.)

What I can say is that Maslow was absolutely right, and that in all my years practicing Wicca I never once had a ritual do to me what the Spirit of Nia event did last night.  Switches in my head and body clicked that had never clicked before.  I worked my body harder than I ever have in my life, and I sweated more than I ever have, and every drop of sweat was its own baptism.

I never, ever wanted it to end. And while the choreography was challenging, not once did I trip up, because I was so far into it that I dissolved into nothing but motion, music, and joy.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who felt that way, although there were plenty of people who just thought it was a good time (or possibly had an awful time; the cool thing about Nia is that everyone has a different experience, and ten people doing the same routine will come away with something different). 

I doubt that there were a lot of people who got behind the wheel of their cars and started weeping, however.  I was crying and laughing the whole way home while drumming on my steering wheel to P!nk's most recent CD.  I've always been interested in one day teaching Nia, but last night I kept thinking, "This is what I want to do for the rest of my life."

Then I went home and cleaned the cat box, because that's how peak experiences work:  after the ecstasy, the kitty litter.

I named my teddy bear Maslow, by the way.

I dance at NiaSpace, the studio here in Austin, owned by Nia black belt and all-around awesome teacher Donna Starnes.

Here's a video introduction to Nia for those who have never heard of it or want to see what it's like:

Nia Promotional Video 2005 from Nia Technique on Vimeo.

Comments

[Nettle]

how nice to hear you sound so happy!

I used to be part of women's circle that had evolved out of a dance class, so we were all used to moving together and would sometimes do group dance ritual - we evolved this system where we would put on a Gabriel Roth cd or similar and do our whole ritual as a dance - part choreographed, part improvised - and it was simply ecstatic. I circle with Druids these days and we tend to be more quiet and contemplative in ritual. (Mostly.)Fire circles offer the same kind of experience for me (sometimes) but that only happens a few times a year in my life.

I think dance doesn't get nearly the attention it should in paganism - we have plenty of people who love to dance, but not enough work done to help them incorporate it into ritual or to show them the possibilities. It sounds like you could do some really fantastic work in that area.

[Brittany]

The few pagan events I have attended have had the kind of dance where individuals improvise, and I think choreography is too often ignored and misunderstood. In my experience, it is much easier to reach a high with choreography because you start with togetherness, with the same style, the same wavelength, and you are able to build together. It seems that with dances of individual improvisation, the dancers are less experienced in finding each other, responding to each other, building on each other. So they are dancing alone, together. We have so many ways of dancing available to us and have no baseline of community, traditional dance in common, we can be so far apart energetically.

On the other hand, with a style like contra dance, you have all the steps in common, and you work together as one mechanism, weaving in and out. That is the baseline from which you approach new partners. Yet each moment is created new because you or your partner may add flourishes, speed, lingering, claps, stomps, shouts, varied styles, or improvised moves that fit seamlessly into the larger dance web. Every new moment is a challenge because while your body performs the basic steps without effort, your mind must be tuned into signals from new faces and hands. You constantly adapt, learn, grow, while clinging to a common thread. You are in flow. It feels effortless, like the dance is happening TO you. Diane, you use the word "dissolve," and I think it is quite right. A different kind of consciousness emerges in flow. And when your energy is building and growing, and complemented on all sides by the same kind of energy that simply flows through you, it's hard to describe it as anything other than flying through joy.

I like dancing. And I am happy for you.

[Vickie]

I enjoy your writings very much...keep it up please. Would love a ne book too.

[Sarah]

I've bought myself a Nia DVD now, you've inspired me to try it.

[Mothmaiden]

When I met you at FOG a while back, you told me about Nia dance and ecstatic dance. I was able to go to Niaspace a few times before having to move to Salt Lake City, where I thought I would never find anything that would fulfill my need to dance and move like that did. I have (thankfully) found a couple of groups here that get together and dance on a regular basis. I know the feeling that you described. I believe I have felt it while dancing. I wanted to say that it's wonderful to hear that you had such an amazing experience and thank you so much for introducing me to it!

[Dana]

Wow. I'm so insanely jealous! I have the DVD to dance with and somehow I just know that I'm missing a huge element of the experience of Nia without being able to go to a class. The closest one is 100 miles from me. I hope to go someday just for one session ... just to be in the same room with other dancers.

Thank you for sharing your experience ... I love reading what you share.

Cheers!

[chelsea]

dianne! your posts are so often a lifesaver.

having been down 22 years of the body-hatred path, i've disliked/been pained by/been embarrassed at regular gyms and aerobics classes. this post inspired me to try nia, and i haven't gone a day without it since!

i just wanted to say thank you - you may think you're just blogging about random bits and facts in your life, but you honestly inspire and change other people's.

again, thank you!