Bodyfulness — Seattle Nia with Dina

It is hard to imagine a Nia-Underground without Shelley & Micah! Today is their last day in Seattle, then on to Portland for a month (or so) and then onto Micah’s 2-year Post-Doc in Tennessee. May the dance floor rise to meet them…

Monday is Imbolc! The first of February belongs to Brigid, the Celtic goddess who ushers the first glimpse of Spring.

Have you noticed the first popping of the Cherry Blossoms? The Blue Bells poking there green heads out of the pregnant soil? Signs of the coming light are everywhere.

Warmth will return soon! In the meantime, and forever, DANCE!

The Lunar New Year, which begins today, ushers in the Year of the Ox. Those born under the Ox sign are dependable, calm, modest and stable. But the ox (or buffalo, cow or bull) takes on added significance in a year of global financial hardship, explains Nine-Min Cheng, community outreach director of Houston’s Chinese Community Center. “We need the Year of the Ox. We want a bull market,” says Cheng.

President Obama, who has pledged to begin rehabilitating the economy, was born in an ox year. Those born in this year achieve through hard work and routine.
-thanks to chron.com for the above image and info.

Whalley and I are psyched that we got this exclusive picture with Barack. We told him all about Nia and think he’ll come to class at some point. With Aretha as his pick for singer at the Inauguration, we think he would really vibe with our musical taste.

Yes we did!

Happy MLK Day Dear Ones,

Our inspiration for class today was the man, himself. His words echoed and evoked tears as our muscle memories stretched to release collecive pain. God bless Martin Luther King, Jr. and all he represents, alive and well today!

Song Title Artist
Corners of My Mind Nikka Costa
Nomah’s Land Metisse
Do Something Macy Gray
Colors will.i.am
We All Want the Same Thing Kevin Michael
A Dream Common featuring Will.I.Am
Waitin Choklate
Jungle Boogie Kool and the Gang
Bus Ride will.i.am
Thank You Choklate
Fed Up Stephen Marley
Hope Fat Freddy’s Drop

Nia defines “The Base” as the feet and the legs.

Focusing on The Base promotes grounded, functional, and safe movement.

Song Title Artist
Thats the way love goes Janet Jackson
Do Something Macy Gray
Love will be your shelter Nikka Costa
We All Want the Same Thing Kevin Michael
Paper Doll P.M. Dawn
Where I Belong Sia
Tambourine Eve
Rock With You Brandy, Heavy D & The Boyz & Quincy Jones
Anything Van Hunt
Love and Happiness Marc Broussard
Kara Kum Banco de Gaia

For those of you who have never tried Nia 2Xs in a day…this Friday 9am and 6:30pm is your big chance!

Consider it a dare…!

Song Title Artist Album
To Drive the Cold Winter Away Jessica Radcliffe, Lisa Ekström & Martin Simpson Beautiful Darkness, Celebrating the Winter Solstice
I’ll Be Seeing You (1944 Single) Billie Holiday The Complete Commodore Recordings
Flickering With Blossoms (Chinese Version) Dingding Sa Alive
Desert Rose Sting Brand New Day
Ain’t Nobody Chaka Khan Epiphany – The Best of Chaka Khan, Vol. 1
Sunset Nitin Sawhney Prophesy
Dust In the Wind Kansas Point of Know Return
The Shortest Day (Poem Written by Susan Cooper) Alexander’s Feast, John Langstaff, The Christmas Revels & The Revels Chorus The Christmas Revels – In Celebration of the Winter Solstice
Walking On Sunshine Katrina & The Waves Anthology
Hella Good Gwen Stefani No Doubt
Return of the Mack Mark Morrison Return of the Mack
Freedom Train Lenny Kravitz Let Love Rule
This Little Light of Mine James Horner & Sweet Honey In the Rock Freedom Song (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Winter Song Sara Bareilles & Ingrid Michaelson The Hotel Café Presents Winter Songs

Why are you into Nia?

I love the way my body feels after Nia. I feel loose and calm and flexible. I didn’t anticipate the effect of the community. I made a deal with myself when I started Nia that I wouldn’t look at anybody and I wouldn’t look in the mirror when I was dancing, and I wasn’t going to get to know anybody so no one could ruin this exercise for me. I was afraid if I met somebody and it was weird and we didn’t get along, I wouldn’t come anymore. But that didn’t last for very long, cause I’m very outgoing.

What would people be surprised to hear about you?

People don’t often believe me when I say I don’t like to dance…unstructured dance, anyway. So freedance can be a very frightening moment for me. During freedance, I’m trying really hard. I have a seventh grade, junior-high moment with freedance. But I think it’s good for me and stretches me in a way I might not be comfortable with. I know it’s all inside my own head.

What do you do for a living?

I just quit my job placing nannies for 6 years. I was a nanny myself for 10 years. I have no idea what the next thing is that I’m going to be doing in my life. I have nothing pulling me any particular way.

What do you do in your free time?

I have a small addiction to Sudoku. I spend a lot of time playing it on my computer. And I play with my cat, Antigone Hecubus Prange.

Is there a story behind that name?

There is. I’m a huge Kids in the Hall fan, and I loved Hecubus the Evil Manservant. Our cat has this beautiful, black, sleek coat, and there’s this character from Greek mythology, Antigone, who was thrown up into the cosmos for pride about her beautiful hair. Our cat is a prideful, manxy cat.

So you’re married to a Doctor of Philosophy in Physics.

Yes, but I am not calling him Dr. Micah.

And you might be getting your white belt sometime soon…why is that?

One is that we might be moving to Tennessee soon and I can’t imagine a life without Nia now. So if I want to have Nia around me, I might have to teach it. Also, I dance Nia everyday and there’s some mysticism around the white belt that I want to learn more about. And lots of good things come out of Portland. I’m convinced this is something I need to do.

Where are you from originally?

Salmon, Idaho. Town of 3,000 and it’s not close to anything. Three hours south of Missoula, MT. Micah and I both are from there. I’ve known him since I was 17 and he was 16. We started dating when we were 20.

You do a lot for Nia Underground…what all have you done to support this program?

I’ve done check-in for Barb and I do sub check-in sometimes. I do the towels sometimes and I clean the bathrooms [as a Nia trade].

How long have you been doing Nia?

My first Nia class was Dina’s first Friday night Nia. It was a freedance class. I said to my friend who came with me, “I could do that again.”

It’s shocking to me that it’s been a year. I do all these things differently now. I ride my bike everywhere and I feel so much more present in my body. I can bend down and get things way under a chair where before I would have used my foot.

When did you start noticing the change in your body from Nia?

When my bras started feeling too big, which was the best day for me. It was probably about three months before I was sure it wasn’t just all in my head. I can put all my shirts in the dryer now without worrying they’ll shrink. At this point, I’ve lost about 40 lbs.

It was my new year’s resolution that I was going to make all these lifestyle changes, but you know how you never keep things like that. Now I eat a pretty low-fat diet and track more of my food types and quantities. We eat a lot more fresh foods and I discovered I like fresh vegetables.

And you got Micah into Nia, right?

Micah came because he dislocated his shoulder and I was dancing around saying, “I can’t believe how great I feel.” So he started coming and he bought an 8-punch card after his new student card ran out. Then he just got addicted like me. Our friends think we’ve joined a cult.