Be human together

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13:20, aikido, alexander technique, ankle, asia, awareness, balance, be human together, body, chakra system, community, dance, dancing, digits, duncan dance, elbow, emotions, equal, feldenkrais, find balance, fitness, focus, fotofu, grace, harmonious, harmony, heath, hip, hong kong, human, humanity, imagine, intent, john lennon, joints, knee, martial arts, mind, mind-body, modern dance, neck, nia, Nia class experience, nia technique, niahongkong, one, oneness, power, purpose, reality, shoulder, snow, snowflake, spine, spirit, spirit dance, strength, systemic movement, taekwondo, tai chi, the body's way, union, united, Unity, wellbeing, wholeness, wrist, yang. movement, yin, yoga

Image by David Fenner ~ http://www.fotofu.co.uk

Imagine ~ You may say that I am a dreamer but I am not the only ONE, I hope someday you’ll join us and the world will be as ONE ~ by John Lennon

Focus: Unity

Intent: To find harmony & balance

This week in class I taught for the very first time a Nia routine by Carlos Aya Rosas called “HUMANITY”, within this word lies the word UNITY. So inspired by this I wanted to focus on what does UNITY mean to me and sense that in my body as I move and then guide my students to sense what that means within their bodies?

Unity is defined as ~ the state of being one, oneness. A whole or totality as combining all it’s part into one. Oneness of mind and purpose. The quality of being united into one.

When starting my Nia class I like to form a circle, for me this symbolizes a sense of the group coming together, whole, as one as a community….again within this word there is UNITY.  A circle of healing, being amongst friends as a way to join our strengths, somewhere I can feel free and united to everybody and allow the Nia class experience to unfold….

A visual of “Unity” for me would be the beauty a single snow flake, when it it united and comes together with other snowflakes it forms this magic white carpet that alone can not be achieved…..truly magical. Remember when you saw the snow for the first time?

So when I first thought of focusing on the word Unity, and translating this into the work I do with Nia… “Systemic Movement” came straight away in to my mind….This was a new word to me when I first started Nia. Systemic Movement means moving as a whole unit. Being aware of all parts of the body, the code of 13:20. This code represents the 13 main joints in the body & the 20 digits (fingers & toes). Moving all parts together to create balance.

So to map the 13 joints I would start from the left side of my body to the right side:

1 left ankle

2 left knee

3 left hip

4 left wrist

5 left elbow

6 left shoulder

7 the neck & spine (the central point and also a connection to our Chakra System ~ another system of wholeness!!)

8 right shoulder

9 right elbow

10 right wrist

11. right hip

12 right knee

13 right ankle

So as I was dancing I sensed my relationship with my 13 joints and paid attention to balancing out my movements on the right, left sides of my body, front & back and up & down. Consciously aware of my movement tendencies and if I used some of my joints more than others, if I was one sided! So sensing that the 13 joints really are the bodies gateway to give movement and the 20 digits help me to give measure. Connecting with the space around me and being in relationship with finding the right amount of movement for my body. I noticed how big, how small, how wide my movements were and adjusted according to my body’s way, what my body needed from moment to moment.

For me another wonderful symbol that represents “Unity” is of course YIN and YANG. These two opposites merging together to become united & to find balance. Again if I visualize the yin/yang symbol then the two parts form a whole circle perfectly. The masculine & the feminine energies, the power & the grace, the outward & inward…..

So in closing I would like to share the following:

We are all equal in the fact that we are different, we are all the same in the fact that we will never be the same. We are all united by the reality that all colours and all cultures are distinct and individual. We are all harmonious in the reality that we are all held to this earth by the same gravity, we share the same air that keeps us alive ~ by C. Joybell. C

Unity is power, in union there is strength.

I look forward to hearing your comments on what ‘UNITY” means for you and I invite you this week to “BE HUMAN TOGETHER” (by Archbishop Desmond Tutu – Nobel Peace Prize Winner)

Love & light Tracey x

http://www.niahongkong.com

 

What is your imprint on the Earth?

Tags

ankle, connect, dance, dance through life, earth, earth hour, feet, global unity, hands that touch the earth, health, hips, imprint, knee, martial arts, movement, nia, nia moves, Reflexology, sense, well-being

Image by David Fenner ~ http://www.fotofu.co.uk

Those trees are our lungs. Those rivers and waters are our circulation ~ Deepak Chopra ♥

Focus: “Feet”

Intent: What is your imprint on the Earth?

On 31st March it was Earth Hour….a day dedicated to unite people around the world to help protect our planet! It is the largest environmental event in history organized by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Over 5,200 cities in 135 countries switched off their lights at 8.30pm for Earth Hour in 2011: http://www.earthhour.org/page/about

Earth Hour for 2013 will be 30th March.

So in honor of Earth Hour this week I decided to focus on “our feet” in class. In Nia we call our feet the ‘hands that touch the earth’. A perfect reminder to us always to stay connected, to feel rooted and grounded by the earth. Our feet can tell us a lot about the whole health of our Body.

Thank you Wikipedia:

Reflexology, or zone therapy, is an alternative medicine involving the physical act of applying pressure to the feet, hands, or ears with specific thumb, finger, and hand techniques without the use of oil or lotion. It is based on what reflexologists claim to be a system of zones and reflex areas that they say reflect an image of the body on the feet and hands, with the premise that such work effects a physical change to the body. A 2009 systematic reviewof randomized controlled trials concludes that “The best evidence available to date does not demonstrate convincingly that reflexology is an effective treatment for any medical condition

So I invited you to use your feet as if they were your hands! Always picking up the feet to plant them, being aware of the direction of your feet so that you are in relationship with your ankles, knees and hips. Being conscious of the alignment of your bones from the base up. So never twisting or sliding the feet…play with moving your feet parallel, inward and outward sensing from the inside of your hip sockets.

I love the combination of the Nia Moves ~ each foot technique stimulating the feet in different ways….the heel lead, whole foot, ball of the foot and then the strength needed in the ankle joint to combine all of these 3 moves to master the releve….

We also play with the foot techniques ~ Rock around the clock, duck walk, swish walk and stepping back on the ball of the foot.

How heavy is your impact, your imprint on the earth? By consciously moving your feet in gentler ways and being mindful of relaxing your feet and sensing the connection to the energy source ~ THE EARTH ~ what difference will that make to your base, your foundation?

Treading carefully…how do you leave your mark on the earth?

DID YOU KNOW?

One foot have 26 bones, 33 joints, more than 100 muscles, tendons and ligaments and 7000 nerve endings! Pretty amazing!!

So I invite you to TREAT your feet carefully this week, they are responsible for walking us in which ever direction we choose, keep us walking as an upright human. So put your foot down this week with compassion for our wonderful “Mother Earth”. One of the reason’s Nia is a barefoot technique is so that we can really sense our feet…our foundation. We move everyday on man made surfaces….how about we take off our shoes outside of class and let our feet enjoy the cool grass, the sand between our toes, the soil…..

So as we continue to ‘dance through life’ going beyond the hour of our Nia class and the Earth Hour….towards  a sustainable future…What is the one thing you can do this week for our planet?

I look forward to hearing your ‘one thing’ or many things that you have done for Earth Hour. Great things can be achieved when everyBODY comes together for a common cause…Global Unity….unity within and unity without

Love & light Tracey

www.niahongkong.com