Sharing Our Experience, By Debbie Rosas.

Nia Teachers are natural leaders in their eagerness to share their passion for The Nia Technique in a class filled with enthusiastic Nia Students. Moreover, they all benefit from the mastery and wisdom that Nia Faculty provide for excellence in Nia Education. Since 2020, the online Share program, Nia, Art of Experience has been providing just that. Nia Faculty share what they have studied and learned about how Nia Teachers may create authentic and innovative expressions of themselves, both on and off movement spaces around the world.

When the distribution of new Nia lesson plans become available each year, I’m reminded that anyone in education must learn about the balance between teaching and entertaining for motivation and inspiration. The idea of learning, teaching, and performing can sometimes feel overwhelming, especially when I think about putting myself at the center of attention in a learning environment while remembering Nia choreography, which for me, is something that doesn’t always come as easily as it might for other Nia Faculty and Teachers.

Nia Faculty know and share with Nia Teachers about the effort required to reach a place where they can relax and engage with their audience. One key lesson is to navigate from simplicity toward complexity, while they successfully blend teaching and entertaining. By breaking down the choreography into manageable parts, you can master fewer moves while measuring your readiness as loose-but-tight. This approach allows you to stay out of your head and connected to your body, entertaining both yourself and your students for pleasure and joy.

We can listen to the music as we move our own bodies and we can maintain our centered whole being connection that inspires our students to express themselves more freely and as we gain confidence, we can add more details to the choreography. Here’s one of my Teach + Share processes, which I implement with Nia Students over five classes as I gradually introduce a new lesson from the point of simplicity toward complexity. This method provides a relaxed starting point and a structured path to support both teaching and entertaining.

1. Embryonic: I introduce 2-3 base movements to the music while incorporating core and upper extremity movements. This keeps our classes free of stress and more enjoyable. I maintain the suggested focus, using it to strengthen base moves, while connecting with my students and helping them bring the movements to life through their personal self-expression. I also choose a pearl for each song, which enhances both the sound and emotional experience.

2. Creeping: I build on the foundation of the base movements by adding more variations and tightening the core movements, while reflecting on energy dynamics. I stay focused and enhance the core while continuing to connect with my students, helping them improve their movement skills. I begin to introduce more pearls and the language of the five sensations to enhance awareness of the conditioning benefits for different areas of the body.

3. Crawling: In this stage, I refine my instructions for upper extremity movements, while remaining intent on the established focus. Depending on how many upper extremity movements I have, I might choose one or two to teach, knowing that I can add more over time. I use pearls, sound, and Nia 52 Moves language to emphasize technique for supporting upper extremity movements from the center, core, and spine, which ensures that movements are grounded and supported.

4. Standing: Here, I further develop the foundation of the base, core, and upper extremity movements by adding more of the details from the lesson and refining any necessary patterns. I continue to focus on personalization and to employ simple Nia 52 Moves language related to craft and technique, especially drawing upon cues from my Nia, Art of Sensation guidebook series. My goal is to enhance my own overall knowledge and pleasure.

5. Walking: At this stage, I feel confident in my own “I have it”moment, where all the loose-but-tight measurements come together for me. I can teach the choreography, base, core, and upper extremity movements while expressing my intent, sustaining my focus, and integrating pearls with sound to meet the needs of my students in the moment.

6. Preparation: When I revisit a Nia lesson, I prepare by listening to the music for five minutes by reviewing the lesson for Nia Teachers at Nia On Demand, without any sound, which allows my body to recall the movements. As I step onto any movement space, no matter where I am around the globe, I let go of any judgment and I remind myself, “It’s all about the joy of moving to the music and teaching for pleasure and joy!” All Nia Teachers learn, move, and energize lessons in their own way and at their own pace. That is important to remember.

Everyone can learn more about studying The Nia Technique and about becoming a member of the Nia Teacher community here: https://nianow.com

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