My Nia Story
Robin L Bach
In 2000, after 20 years of teaching and managing in the fitness industry, I found myself sitting at a meeting with other fitness coordinators from the YMCA branches in St. Louis. The topic was “cutting edge fitness classes”, and before us was a video showing the so-called “future” of aerobics. This video showed a mind-body, non-impact aerobic class where people wiggled, writhed (later I found out that the term was undulation) danced, punched and kicked their way into an elevated heart rate. I could barely contain my laughter thinking, “ St. Louis is NOT ready for this far-out stuff*.
As I watched and listened to the video, I noticed that the participants in the class were smiling…laughing…oh my, they were having a blast... "There is no way these people are getting a good workout," I thought, "they are not in pain!”. My superiors encouraged me to participate in an upcoming master class, despite my heavily worded objections to this thing called Nia.**
Helen Terry, a Black Belt (oh, like this thing is an eastern discipline or something!) Nia trainer from Houston came to St. Louis to conduct the 3-hour workshop. I liked it; yes it was different, but it kicked my butt while I was having fun. Helen was amazingly grounded with no ”woo-woo” out there attitude like I imagined her to have. She gently led us into a relationship with the sensation of our bodies, the imagination of our minds, the feeling of our emotions and the uniqueness of our spirits - she led us into awareness.
Toward the end of the routine called ”Miracle”, I had a moment, you know one of those minutes called an epiphany. I saw myself as a baby, 6-months old, nestled into my own dancing arms. The thought came, “I am my own mother”. With that thought came a flood of memories of when, at 6 months of age, I was put into the hospital for pneumonia just one week after my adoptive parents adopted me. Just as quickly as a dream, the memory surfaced, unfolded its details, and left.
Powerfully moved by the experience, yet skeptical that the memory was accurate or truthful, I phoned my mom after the workshop and told her what happened. Through an outburst of tears, she verified the story adding details of how the hospital would not let them visit in the name of sterilized conditions. No wonder this little baby thought she was being abandoned again. My veil of undiscovered and unexplained resentment melted away with her tears; this was my ‘Miracle’.
From this experience I have learned how the body can hold on to unprocessed emotions. I have also learned that by moving in new ways, these emotions can be released--when we are ready. Can a fitness class really do all this? You’ll have to find out for yourself. All I know is that through the power of movement and the principles of Nia, I have learned how to go inside and take care of myself.--how to be my own mother.
I am now a Black Belt in the Nia Technique and in the past several years of teaching Nia in the St. Louis area, I have had many more ‘moments’ -- but to hear those, you’ll have to come to one of my classes.
* Far-out stuff; Ironically enough, Debbie Rosas, one of the Founders of the Nia Technique is originally from St. Louis.
** Nia was originally an acronym for Non-Impact Aerobics. This term brought the connotation that Nia was a fluff class. (Nothing is further from the truth. People from all different fitness levels can work out in the same class due to Nia principle #7- The Three Planes of Movement and Levels of Teaching.) Debbie and Carlos Rosas changed the acronym to Neuromuscular Integrative Action, a scientific way of saying mind-body work. Later they discovered that in Swahili, the word nia means “with purpose”. How accurate.
Holistic personal training also available .
Visit Robin's website for further information. Call for appointment (314)566-5855 Email Robin |
