The Art of Listening

For the last few months my mantra has been "Listen". Practicing the art of listening in nature is magical. Birds, trees, bugs, neighbours, my own breath...there's so much to listen to! And then of course there is listening to others, my partner, students, friends, my little dog Roxy, my body, my intuition...

Listening is simplex. Its simple in the way that there is only one instruction, one focus...listen. Its complex because there seems to be many many distractions that can get in the way of really listening. My body sometimes wants to fidget and my mind tracks other stories of past or future possibilities.

To help in my practice of listening, I have been using Nia's RAW state of being as a way to drop into a deeper relationship with listening.

TRY IT!

Relaxed refers to the body, either standing or sitting, with an upright spine. Your chakra centers are aligned and open. Relaxed is marked by an absence of tension in your body.

Alert refers to the mind and means that while your body is relaxed, your mind is not sleepy. Instead, your mind is alert--not preoccupied with thoughts or opinions, but simply curious about the different sounds and spaces of silence that come and go.

Waiting refers to the attitude of your spirit. You are waiting in wonderment, open and curious to whatever arises in the music, rather than passing judgments such as "this isn't good," or "I can't dance to this." Waiting is a spiritual attitude of complete acceptance and open-mindedness. It keeps you centered and focused on allowing sounds to come, instead of seeking, thinking and judging.

(From Nia Newsletter)

Listening is key to any human relationship, and it is certainly a key to deepening into your relationship with music and the dance.

Here's a link to listen to Nia music online...for FREE! Use this link to continue dancing through the summer, and to practice the Art of Listening.

I also use the music of Andre Nobels quite often in class. His music is an instant "Heart Lock-in" and his smooth voice is so fun to ride with movement.

Enjoy!

Exercise: RAW

Sometime today or tonight, put on any piece of music and practice RAW. Sit upright, relax your body, keep your mind alert...and now wait. Wait for the magic to begin. You will be amazed at how you feel after you listen wholly, giving your complete attention to your music-muse.

Smell the Moment

With the smell of Spring in the air, its a perfect natural incentive to put some attention on how you breathe. In Nia, we use the body's way to show us how to breathe. That is, we look at the design and function of the breathing systems to guide us in breathing for optimal health and well being. For example, the body uses the nose to inhale and exhale. The nose's function is to smell. If you choose to "smell the moment" as the way of inhaling you may notice that the inhale naturally lengthens and deepens. The body also uses the voice box in relation to exhaling. The voice box's function is to make sound. Try smelling the moment and then exhaling with a sound, "ahhhhhhhhhhh". You may notice that the exhale naturally lengthens, allowing for a deeper and more easeful inhalation that follows.

This week we used a breathing technique from Somato (body) Respiratory (breathing) Integration. SRI educates you to your body's rhythms and inner wisdom through focused attention, gentle breath, movement and touch. Through reconnecting your breath, touch, focused movement and attention, you are able to experience the body more fully and instantly shift your state of consciousness to one that supports trust for the body-mind and your life experience. There are 12 stages of Healing in this practice. Below, Faye Fentiman, certified SRI Wellness Practitioner demonstrates stage 1.

The Mother of all Creation

This week we celebrated Earth Day and we focused on Creativity in dance. Nature is an endless source of creative movement inspiration. I had a bit of time before Thursday's Nia class in Nanaimo so I took a moment to share a 7 directions embodied prayer to honour and celebrate Mother Earth. It was amazing to connect with the beauty all around me, even in the middle of downtown, with all its noise and construction! The energy I felt from saying "YES!" to creative spontaneity and expressing gratitude was soooooooooooo good. This pleasurable feeling continued into the dance class and for the rest of the day. My friend and Creative "In -to-it" Sharmaine Goldman calls this "creative aliveness". I just love this term because it speaks of creativity as a sensation.
Dance is a wonderful way to tap into your creative aliveness. In class we allowed the sounds of the music, the energy of emotions, and the dancers all around us to stimulate creative movement.
For fun (because PLAY is another great way to stimulate creativity) and to connect with yourself and Nature, go outside and try these movement explorations.


Nature Inspired Healing Movement Meditation

Centering

Movements of the Week:

Body-centering exercises from the Nia Technique

Ex#1 Step-in Triangle Focus - This is an excellent movement meditation to begin any practice with. The intention is to practice the art of becoming body-centered. Consciously tune into what movement forms you will integrate (eg. Aikido) and what you will focus your mind and intention on during your dance. (eg. centering)


Ex#2 Slow-Clock Step- Imagine stepping into the center of a clock or compass. Then practice moving from the center, and returning to center with simple and precise foot work. Pay special attention to how the foot is placed in each of the directions. Once your feet know where to step, allow this simple movement meditation to become a dance!



This week we focused on "Centering" in our dance. We used the martial art form of Aikido to energize our movments. O Sensei, the father of Aikido would say to his students, "The only difference between you and me is that I return to center faster than you."
Center is a source of energy, creativity, and balance. Center is the place where you have access to both power and grace.

Although the main center of the body is the hara, located about one inch below the belly button and in the center between your belly and back, you can focus on many centers throughout the body. In our dance we found the center in our breath, our feet, the palms of our hands, and in our hearts.

Today, I am practicing a form of Self-Centering. I created a sacred space in the garden just for me. My intention was to connect with my center. My focus was my heart. First I cleared the space, raking away dead leaves and branches. Then I began to "altar" the flowers, playing with each of them and delighting in the song that seemed to be "singing me". Prrrimmmrossssesss...
The flowers danced into a heart shape, and in the center I placed stones in the 5 directions. Each of them representing aspects I am finding my own center in. As I practice the "slo-clock" movement meditation, I imagine blending into the space in each direction, and embodying the energy of the sacred stones I placed there.

Hummingbird came to dance in the sunshine with me, reminding me of the JOY I feel when I'm at peace in my center. Ahhhhhh....I am so grateful for the gifts of spring.

Choosing consciously to connect to and move from your own center is an excellent way to create the sensation of dynamic ease. This is what we'll focus on next week!

With JOY,
Missy

Balance

The Body Demands Balance

Movements of the week! These are 2 movement tools from the Nia technique to support balance. (the lighting could use a bit of "balance" in these videos...but I trust they are still useful :)

Balance Finger- Also known as the power finger in Nia. Imagine the middle fingers having very strong magnets connecting to the earth.

Cat Stance- Pay special attention to the supporting leg: whole foot on earth, knee soft and springloaded. Have fun! MEOOOOOOW!

"The body demands balance." This is one of the five basic principles of the Nia Technique. Let’s check this out. The body’s design reflects this innate balance. We have 2 arms, legs, eyes, ears, lungs, kidneys, ovaries, testicles, brain hemispheres…all creating balance between right and left sides. Balance also appears between the major organs with the heart on the left and the liver on the right, and between the upper and lower body.

The body receives oxygen by inhaling and releases carbon dioxide on the exhale maintaining equilibrium. If we take in too much oxygen we can hyperventilate. Where else do you notice the body’s design supporting balance?

In my movement practice, I aspire to create equal balance between right and left and top and bottom, and with yin (feminine) and yang (masculine) movement energies.

This morning I was reminded to give equal attention to creating balance in my life when I pulled the BALANCE card.

As an angel I know I must take time to coordinate my life. If too many things weigh me down then I am unable to fly. In seeking balance I find my centre – centred, balanced, I may soar. ~ Virtue Cards

Being blessed with an abundance of creative inspirations, a loving husband, an amazing community, a beautiful island, and more..., I have no shortage of opportunities to over extend myself or take on "too much" . Sorting the "shoulds" from the "want to's" and the "have to's" and the "could do's" sometimes seems overwhelming. This is where a personal "centering" practice becomes so important.

One simple and effective practice I use is a heart centering tool from HeartMath.
My mother in law, Faye Fentiman, taught me this years ago and it continues to bring balance to my life.

Try it!

HeartMath "Neutral Tool"

Heart focus-bring your attention to your heart, I place my hand over my heart and feel the beating.

Heart Breathing- begin breathing in and out of your heart.

By adding the third step below, you are practicing the "Quick Coherence Technique"

Heart Feeling-add a heart band feeling...care, appreciation, compassion...Faye always suggests thinking about a loved pet (I think of my cute little dog, Roxy!)

Next week in class we will continue to explore Balance by focusing on CENTER.
What centering practice do you use to support balance in your life?

Dance Anywhere

What if the whole world paused to dance?

That's the question Beth Fein asked, and inspired a world wide movement project called "dance anyhwere". I heard about it on face book from a dance friend I met in Tucson. I met her through a Nia teacher I randomly connected with on the Nia website. Yes, the internet has an amazing potential to connect.

Yet, while the internet serves as a fantastic tool for creating opportunities for connection, there is no substitute for coming together in the physical. Connecting, feet to earth, and hand to hand.

That's what we did on Friday, March 26, 2010. A few emails just a few days before, and a passionate enthusiasm to share the JOY of dance with community was all it took to allow for the magic of co-creativity to unfold.


Andre brought his guitar and mic, Sharmaine brought some sidewalk chalk, and Charlotte rounded up the peeps who were curiously milling around the Village plaza. Together we "altared" the boardwalk infront of Artworks, playfully creating the space for our dance to unfold. At 12 noon, we circled up and the eagles flying high above us, joined in our dance.

Eagle medicine is the gift we give ourselves to remind us of the freedom of the skies. Eagle asks you to give yourself permission to legalize freedom and to follow the joy your heart desires!

~Jamie Sams and David Carson, Medicine Cards

The concept for dance anywhere® is about the transformation of familiar and ordinary locations and blurs the line that separates art and dance from our daily lives.

Together we awakened the magic of the moment using dance, music, playful intention, and togetherness. That is our intention for Move Freely, Live Deeply - transformational movement and music.

Quantum gratitude to all who danced, and to the eagle medicine.

Embodied Prayer

I am Sacred. My body is sacred. My dance is sacred.

The definition of sacred : devoted to or dedicated exclusively to a single use, person, or purpose.

It's not about any specific religious belief or practice.

My body is just for me, it is my person, therefore it is sacred.

This is the basis of Nia's new Principle #11 Creating a Sacred Livelihood. Creating a Sacred Livelihood is about living into your purpose and into the unique way you exist in the world.

This concept has been very inspiring to me. It has come at a time when I am remembering why I dance, and why I love to share dance in community. It is my unique way of connecting to Self, Other, Community and the Divine.

At the end of the last Move Freely, Live Deeply workshop, Andre and I shared an embodied prayer with the group. The intention was to use our unique and sacred vessel of the body to "bring more life to" our journey of living into our brilliance. We started at the back of the studio, and together like a river moving with purpose, we danced towards the altar.

This week Andre and I were inspired to video the dance and share it with you. Clear some space, light a candle, or just take a few breaths. Ask yourself, "What is it that I am moving towards in order to live into my own unique brilliance?" and dance it! Try on the movements I suggest, and make them your own.

Listen to the message that pours into your heart. Open your wings and fly freely with passion and purpose. Honour the medicine that has brought you to this moment, and step with grace into the ever present NOW.