A Story of Love, Growth, and Transformation,

with Debbie Rosas.

I never set out to start a business. I never imagined I would create a movement that would touch the lives of thousands—let alone millions—across the world. In truth, I started where many do—with self-doubt, uncertainty, and a longing for change. It was in 1975, and like so many women, I wanted to lose weight. That was my goal. But when I started moving, something unexpected happened to me. It wasn’t just my body that was shifting—it was my emotions, my energy, my entire sense of self.

Movement—not exercise—became my way to feel, to express, to release, and to get fit. Movement unlocked a door I never knew existed, and on the other side of that door, I discovered a whole new way of being. I didn’t know it then, but I was beginning a lifelong love affair—not just with movement, but with transformation. I was also beginning something that would grow into a business. In those very early days, the only business I thought about was the business of my body and my life.

I had no business plan. I had no roadmap. I just followed what felt right and what I sensed as feeling good for me and for my body. Others saw the change in me—the way I moved and the way I carried myself—and they wanted to learn. I began sharing what I knew. I was teaching others to move, not just to exercise, and in 1976 my first business, The Body Squad, was born. What began as a small class of 12 students grew into a thriving fitness community with over 50 teachers leading more than 100 classes a week.

Then in 1982, I found myself at a crossroads. I wanted to honor my students and their journey. But something deeper was stirring—a questioning of the rigid performative nature of fitness and a yearning for something more holistic, healing, and connected to the essence of “being” rather than “doing.” That questioning led me to a martial arts dojo, where I was asked to remove my shoes. Then, everything changed. As my feet met the ground, I realized I had been disconnected—not just from the floor, but from my own body.

Worse, I had disconnected from sensation itself, all while teaching others to get fit. I never again put my shoes back on. I stopped jumping up and down and I started listening. That listening birthed something entirely new. Not a business. Not a brand. But a way of moving, a way of sensing, and a way of being. Nia was born as a bridge between form and freedom, structure and flow, as well as strength and softness—which was the perfect embodiment of the New Feminine Spirit emerging in the world.

Today, Nia exists in over 45 countries, carried forward by thousands of teachers and students who embody its message of joy, healing, and transformation. But this is more than a fitness practice; it is an invitation—an invitation to awaken, to feel, and to embody the wisdom of Us—a universal connection that unites all beings in the sacred dance of life. The evolution of Nia mirrors the evolution of consciousness itself. It calls forth a new way of being—one rooted in sensation, intuition, and connection with no expectation.

We are part of a greater whole—a living and breathing universe where movement is not just about the body, but about energy, resonance, and the flow of life itself. Awakening a New Feminine Spirit is not just about reclaiming our personal power, but about recognizing our shared responsibility in shaping a world rooted in cooperation, love, and presence. To be part of this evolution is to embrace feeling over force, intuition over imposed ideals, community over competition, and expansion over limitation.

As we awaken to this truth, we step into our full embodiment—not just as individuals, but as a collective. We learn to move in harmony, to listen deeply, to honor the wisdom of our bodies and the energy of the spaces we inhabit. We become co-creators of a world where healing is possible, where transformation is inevitable, and where movement is not separate from life but is life itself. Creating The Nia Technique has been the greatest gift of my life, but I won’t pretend it has been easy. Learning is a process.

Growth is painful. Leadership is humbling. I have spent years holding Nia—guiding it, nurturing it, and yes, at times, struggling with it. I have made mistakes. How could I not?When you lead from the heart… when you pioneer something new… when you evolve in something that touches so many lives… there will be missteps. There will be people who misunderstand your vision. There will be moments of doubt. Yet through it all, we have and will continue to dance forward together.

The path forward through these last 40+ years has included massive social, cultural, and technological shifts—from paper newsletters to digital platforms; from intimate local classes to a global online outreach; from the rise of holistic medicine to new scientific understandings of movement and health—through it all, we have adapted, evolved, and remained committed to the purpose of Nia. And now, once again, it is time for us to redefine, recommit, and reimagine what Nia brings to another new era.

To our growing Nia Student, Teacher and Faculty community, I want to say this: I see you. I honor you. I am listening to you. The world is shifting and so are we. I am currently working to refine our business practices, to create new ways of communicating, and to ensure that Nia remains a space for healing. I am committed to fostering a community rooted in kindness, respect, and open-hearted dialogue. So I invite our Nia community to listen to one another with a growing, evolving, and changing curiosity.

I invite our Nia community to hold even more and even larger spaces for both challenges and celebrations, as we embody the knowledge and wisdom of these many years together both as unique and individual, as well as, similar and collective parts of the greater whole on one journey. We can and we will continue to move forward in our shared commitment to evolution. This is not an ending— it is a beginning. Let us move forward—together. Let us awaken—together. Let us dance into the future—as one.

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