Relaxed, Alert, + Waiting For Sound In Nia,

With Debbie Rosas.

When asked about my favorite Nia practice, my answer is always the RAW listening technique. On and off almost any movement space, I initiate this practice by directing my brain toward clear intentions: Body, relax; Mind, alert; Emotions, neutral; Spirit, wait.

These cues for Relaxed, Alert, and Waiting help me attune to the interplay of sound and silence, which are two primordial energies that balance our auditory experience. I’ve come to learn that silence is just as potent as sound. It is the golden space from which all sound emerges and where rhythm gathers its energy and begins to take form. Spending quality time in silence has actually taught me to listen more deeply and purely. You can do this, too.

The Genius Of Your Listening Anatomy

As a lover of the body and a self-proclaimed “anatomy geek,” I am fascinated by the genius design of the ear. Listening begins with the physical ears. Without my conscious effort, our body translates sound into sensations I can use to create an intricate sensory dance.

The fleshy pinnae capture sound waves and guide them into our ear canal, where the spiraling labyrinth of the inner ear houses tiny bones, crystals, and hair cells structured to respond to sensations of sound moving through our body. Sound is magically mapped within the tonotopic map of our brain. This is where key and pitch frequencies are organized as musical scales. High pitched tones resonate in one area, while rhythmic beats register in another.

There’s More To Listening Than Just Two Ears

I’ve trained myself to listen beyond the physical and to listen to sound by tuning into my “chakra ears” and giving me an additional seven “ears” to sense sound spiraling into seven points along the front of my spine. This uniquely offers me physical and energetic listening.

It is a layered and profound way to experience sound as the strongest pull of resonance. By combining physical and energetic listening, my auditory perception is expanded, and each rhythmic beat, tone, and pitch is transformed into vibration that travels to my brain and outwardly through my entire body. This way of listening enhances my relationship with my movement and with my family, my Earth; even the subtle resonance of Chakra Bowls.

Rhythm Resonance Aligns Us With Life itself

Rhythm is a bridge between the audible and inaudible, as well as the seen and unseen. It is more than beat patterns. It is a force that initiates the movement of our mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual body life force; connected to memories of our mother’s heartbeat.

Rhythm has become my practice of presence, inviting me to listen to life with every cell, to sense sound reverberating from the outside-in through my tissues, organs, muscles, joints, and bones, and from the inside-out through my brain and whole body.
Balancing Sound and Silence To honor rhythm, I have learned to honor silence. Silence is where sound gathers energy, where rhythm prepares its next move. This balance of sound and silence mirrors the ebb and flow of life, reminding me that true presence requires both action and stillness.

Awakening the Sensory Genius

What I love most about Whole Body, Physical and Chakra Ear listening is how it brings me back to all the many voices of the body, which is sensation science. It also brings me back to my sensory origins, as a way to connect to life force energy as I make choices and decisions. 

Rhythm can be your guide, melody your companion, and harmony your aspiration. Through sound resonance, anyone may awaken to the genius design of the body and its connection to the vibrational energy of the Universe. From the first beat in the womb to the rhythms that guide us to move; we are reminded that rhythm is not just something we hear; it is something we sense, live, and embody. By listening deeply, we engage with the symphony of life.

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