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 
