Second Friday - Slip Into RAW

A new class for 2012 and more to come. Stay tuned :)

Second Fridays at the Civetta Dance Space start this Friday:
The focus of these monthly evening classes is self-care and developing skills as a sensation scientist (body awareness, movement variation and deepening your skills as a Nia dancer). Classes are a blend of movement meditation, free dance and classic Nia choreography.

The theme for the first second Friday coming up this week - January 13, 2012 is slipping to a state of RAW: Relaxed, Alert and Waiting. Relaxation, ease and a new tool to manage stress await you.

In Nia, RAW is a body-centered meditation practice. RAW invites us to slip into internal stillness, to listen deeply and to cease inner dialogue so that we can be fully present in our bodies. In RAW, we are not distracted by thoughts, desires, likes or dislikes; we surrender into a place of internal silence in all four realms -- physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

“The big difference between RAW and other approaches to meditation is that RAW teaches us to get into and stay in our bodies. It is consistent with Nia’s body-centered philosophy. We don’t trip out or travel out of our bodies but instead seek to go deeper and deeper into our bodies. RAW doesn’t even require us to set aside time for meditation, because when RAW is mastered, the meditative state becomes accessible in each moment.” 
 - From the Nia Technique book 

This Friday night we will explore RAW as a moving meditation. We will do some seated meditation so feel free to bring a cushion to sit on or a shawl for comfort. Also come prepared to dance. The class will be gentle, will include free dance and some choreography.

Come explore an hour of relaxation and ease via movement meditation…the Nia way.

Friday, January 13, 2012
7:30pm - 8:30pm
Civetta Dance Space in Greenwood
124 N 103rd Street Seattle, WA 98133
Cost: $13 drop-in or class card or $8 for High School and College Students

Special New Year's Day Classes

Please join me for two special classes on New Year's Day, January 1, 2012.

New Year's Day Nia Routine 

Sunday, January 1, 2012 
Time: 10:30am – 11:30am  
Where: Delilah’s Belly Dance Studio in Fremont 4128 Fremont Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103 
Cost: $13 drop-in or class card


Join me for a special Nia routine that combines songs from a number of different routines I've taught the past year. The routine will include songs requested by students and a number that I've selected to symbolically release 2011 and welcome 2012. 

Stepping Into 2012 with a Nia Movement Meditation  
Sunday, January 1, 2012 
Time: 11:45am – 12:30pm (45 min class) 
Where: Delilah’s Belly Dance Studio in Fremont 4128 Fremont Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103 
Cost: By donation  


Join me after my 10:30am Nia class for a special meditation class. As a new year approaches, we celebrate endings and new beginnings. There is no better way to kick off 2012 than with an intentional movement meditation that brings centering and nourishment to your body, heart, mind and spirit. 


We will spend some time in seated meditation so please feel free to bring whatever would bring you most comfort such as a blanket, pillow or cushion. Come dressed to move and know that the movements will be gentle. 


The focus of this 45-minute movement meditation class is cultivating peace in the four realms of body, mind, heart and spirit so that you can dance into 2012 feeling refreshed, whole, connected, centered and conscious.


Please RSVP: jennifer@everybodyloveyourbody.com

First Class of 2011: Creating Self

Laurie Bass, Nia 5 Stages and Nia Black Belt 

Join me for a very special combined Nia 5 Stages and Gentle/Restorative Nia class tonight. In celebration of our entry into 2011, the focus of tonight’s class is on “Creating Self.”

The New Year is typically a time when most people set goals or resolutions in order to create change in their lives. Our class tonight will focus on the conscious process of creating change in our bodies and lives through movement.

The creative process, or to be creative, involves an exchange of energy, always using energy to create something. We’ll focus on the process of creating changes and shifts within our bodies through the conscious and intentional energizing of our movements to create a pleasurable and healing environment in our bodies.

The Nia 5 Stages provides an environment for creating change through movement—both in each stage and in the movement between stages—and to witness the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual changes that occur. These 5 Stages remind us that we create ourselves each day with our thoughts, choices, and movements. We are going to focus on using the Nia 5 Stages to create change. We will specifically focus on the sensation of “you creating yourself.”

Following our Nia 5 Stages practice, we will experience a Gentle/Restorative Nia routine with the same focus.

I read recently in Anatomy and Physiology for Psychotherapists “everything that leaves physical traces in our bodies, that alters or adds to our shape in however small detail, can be said to embody a memory.” My desire for myself in 2011 is to create body memories that are joyful, loving, healing, expansive, and pleasurable. What are your desires for 2011?

I was inspired by the following article by Dr. Christiane Northrup titled "Flourishing in the New Year: Imagine your future and change your cells." It is a worthy read.

Join me tonight from 5pm – 6pm at the Civetta Dance Space in Greenwood for my first class of 2011.

Movement Meditation

The focus of tonight’s combined Nia 5 Stages and Gentle Nia class is movement meditation through the Voice of the 5 Stages.

The Nia 5 Stages are based on the five stages of human development: Embryonic, Creeping, Crawling, Standing and Walking. Practiced with awareness, these stages have the power to facilitate optimal alignment, improved function and comfort in the body. Whether practiced at length or for as little as five minutes a day, this system provides a tool for reclaiming and sustaining mobility, flexibility, strength, agility and stability.

Tonight, for the first half of class, we will experience the gentle and nurturing movement meditation of embryonic, creeping, crawling, standing and walking. I will guide you through each of the movements with my voice. For the second half of class we will experience a gentle routine to music while maintaining the focus of movement meditation.

Class tonight is from 5pm – 6pm at the Civetta Dance Space in Greenwood.

**Class is canceled next Sunday, December 26, 2010.

For my complete schedule: http://everybodyloveyourbody.blogspot.com/p/class-schedule.html