The 8-10 Pound Body Weight

The focus of tonight’s class is the head.

The intent of emphasizing and sensing movement from the head is to experience a release of tension in the upper back and neck, improve posture, to stimulate breathing and create the proper energy flow for more free and creative use of the upper body.

When we speak of head movement, we include the movement of the eyes, ears, mouth, nose, brain, teeth, as well as thinking and imagination. The most natural way to move your head and avoid tension is to use your eyes.

With 8 cranial bones, 14 facial bones and our brain, our heads weight anywhere between 8-10 pounds. That’s a lot of weight! We think hear, taste, smell, kiss and see from the head. It is a very busy place.

As infants, the world around and the knowledge that one gains from the world around, is guided by the senses - not guided by an intelligence of “I’m looking to see something.” It’s about curiosity and moving in natural time, which happens from the eyes looking around and the head moving. That's what we are going to recreate the sensation of tonight.

For more, check out this educational handout on the head from Nianow.com.

Join me tonight to experience the grace and power of initiating movement of our bodies from our head. Class is from 6:30pm – 7:30pm at Fresh Fitness and Dance in Wallingford.

*Excerpts from Nianow.com material.

Movement of the Head and Neck

The focus of tonight’s Combined Nia 5 Stages and Gentle Nia class is on movement of the head and neck.

Everything we do, such as looking, listening, eating, smelling and taking affects what happens in the head and neck. Even our sleep position affects our head and neck.

Tonight we are going to work with the movement of the head and neck to help release tension, stimulate breathing and strengthen the muscles along the core of the body: pelvis, chest and head.

As infant's, the world around and the knowledge that one gains from the world around, is guided by the senses - not guided by an intelligence of “I’m looking to see something.” It’s about curiosity and moving in natural time, which happens from the eyes looking around and the head moving. That's what we are going to recreate the sensation of tonight.

Movement the head and neck also affects the alignment of the rest of the spine. One of the ways we integrate movement of the head in Nia is to use our eyes. We can follow the movement of our hands with our eyes to keep the neck relaxed and encourage movement of the head in a way that is more efficient than commanding the head to move up and down. We can also focus on our sense of sight, looking at specific things or simply out into life, to encourage movement of the head.

Our intent is to feel more relaxed and aligned. If we move something above (our head), and we move something below (our tail), the stuff in the middle gets to relax and find a new kind of alignment. The head moving up and out of the torso will create some flexibility in the thoracic spine. That additional space below is going to create freedom above, versus having the head packed down and being pulled down by gravity. Often the discomfort one feels in the shoulder girdle and between the shoulder blades is the head being packed down without enough extension up and out. The lengthening up, the extension up, helps to create what the body wants, which is space between the shoulders and ears.

Join me tonight for a conscious movement journey of the head and neck. Class is from 5pm-6pm at the Civetta Dance Space in Greenwood.