Soma Faith Foundation FUNdamental

In this week’s Sunday Soma Faith class, our focus will be “Foundation FUNdamentals”.

Drawing from the wisdom of Nia Technique, we will cover all the 27 BASE moves, which are organized into 4 sections: Foot Techniques, Stances, Steps and Kicks.

As we dance to 12 Christian music songs, you will go on a journey through simple choreography that will cover all the base moves, the FUNdamental Foundation moves of Nia.

Grounded in thes foundational moves, our focus for class is the foundation of God’s word

“I am the Way, the Truth and the Life” and

“humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s might hand”

The invitation is to take this class, and life, one step at a time. Keep returning to your base (Body: Feet, Life: God) to build and move from this firm foundation.

The intent (desired outcome and expectation) of the class is to feel grounded, assured in the presence of God, humble and inspired, to rejoice in what God is doing in our lives.

May 22 - "Jesus Calling", by Sarah Young

When things don’t go as you would like, accept the situation immediately. If you indulge in feelings of regret, they can easily spill over the line into resentment. Remember that I am sovereign over your circumstances, and humble yourself under My mighty hand. Rejoice in what I am doing in your life, even though it is beyond your understanding.

“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. In Me you have everything you need, both for this life and for the life yet to come. Don’t let the impact of the world shatter your thinking or draw you away from focusing on Me. The ultimate challenge is to keep fixing your eyes on Me, no matter what is going on around you. When I am central in your thinking, you are able to view circumstances from My perspective.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.”

— 1 Peter 5:6

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”

”

— John 14:6

Soma Faith Class Preparation Notes

FYI to help me, as the teacher, relax my thinking mind and be able to keep focusing on God and grounding, I often write notes/patterns/pictures on my white board. This week I’ve listed all the 27 BASE Nia moves on the left hand 3rd. Then organized these moves into 12 songs to bring a balanced movement experience.

“welcome to my board, welcome to my brain”

— Helen Terry

Soma Faith Class

from $5.00

Welcome to Soma Faith 5pm Sunday “Pop Ups” at Soma Ranch. These special Sunday events don’t happen every week. Please email helen@somaranch.com if you’d like to be including in the Soma Faith News List.

SOMA FAITH

Online (Via Zoom), In Person (at Soma Ranch), or via 24HR recording, come Praise, Dance, Worship, Workout, Pray, Connect, Move and Sweat with us!

We're in for a GLORIOUS TIME singing, praising and dancing to Christian music.

All Faiths and Fitness Levels Welcome.

Helen Terry creates all inspiring Christian workout/worship experiences. They combine her passion for Christ, with her love for movement and fitness and Nia.

Helen brings more than 35 years experience with holistic fitness and wellness.

Receive zoom link for class and 24 HR replay by clicking “PURCHASE”

Classes are on a sliding scale, choose your price $5 - $100.

• Pay for a class

• Pay for the month

• Pay as you go

• Make a one time payment

The choice is yours.

We never want finances to get in the way of your opportunity to connect, move and be moved through our Soma Faith program. We appreciate your support and how you give.

We never want religion to get in the way of your opportunity. All beliefs and faiths are welcome. Helen will pray at the beginning and end of the experience, and the name Jesus will be mentioned. All are welcome.

50% of all funds collected go towards our Soma Charity: St Jude.

Payment Option:

Select Payment Option $5$10$15$20$30$50$100$500

$5 $10 $15 $20 $30 $50 $100 $500

PURCHASE

Celebrate Natural Time New Year

Over the last 14 years we’ve celebrated the Natural Time New Year in many ways through the “Blue Electric Storm” Retreat.

• massive events at the Houston Grand Opera with 13 Nia Black belts team teaching a Nia Jam

• a weekend of events at NiaMoves (where Joe fed 52 participants for the weekend)

• weekend retreats at Soma Ranch with swimming, dancing, meditating, walking the labyrinth, laughing, eating and enjoying each other's company.

This year we are “going simple”. We’re inviting Soma friends to come out to Lake Conroe where we can paddle board, boat, Kayak, maybe even water ski or surf!

In the afternoon Helen is offering 2 fabulous events at Soma Ranch and we’d love you to join us.

sale

Natural Time Saturday PlayShop + Monday Class

from $15.00

Happy Natural Time New Year!! Experiential Natural Time Playshop (with a little dance at the end!) and/or DOOT (Day Out Of Time) Dance.

The Saturday PLAYSHOP is available ONLINE LIVE via zoom and via a 3 day REPLAY.

The Monday DOOT Dance is HYBRID, attend In Person at Soma Ranch OR ONLINE/24Hr REPLAY

Natural Time Playshop

Saturday, July 22, 12:00 - 2:00 pm (Central Time) $40 ($30 early bird when you sign up by THURSDAY)

Enjoy an ONLINE LIVE and/or 3 Day Replay Playshop with Helen Terry.

Let's connect and celebrate Natural Time and all the joys of living an alive, fully vibrant life!

Natural Time is a great opportunity to simplify, relieve stress, encourage creativity and flow into your day.

Learn about the 13 moon natural time calendar and how to follow the Natural Time Calendar

• read/follow the calendar

• apply the calendar in your life

• decode your galactic signature

• create a 260 day, daily meditation

Natural Time Class

Monday, July 24, 10:00 - 11:00am $15

Dance to celebrate time, with a fun filled playlist and community inspired choreography. The movement experience will include

• honoring the 4 directions

• celebrating uniqueness

• recognizing connections

• jubilating unity

• choosing, sustaining and increasing joy individually and collectively

More information available and buy a calendar at www.13moon.com

Choose:

Select Choose Natural Time Playshop $30/40Natural Time Class $15Natural Time Combo $40/50

Natural Time Playshop $30/40 Natural Time Class $15 Natural Time Combo $40/50

Buy Now

Nia Birthday Bliss

This week has been an unexpected delightful joy celebrating my 56th Birthday. on 11th February. I was able to teach a Nia Class ONLINE at 8am with 25+ clients from around the world (who feel more like family) who have been on our 30 30 30 Nia Class challenge. My Mum and Dad joined us, everyone wore hats, singing Happy birthday sounded like howling wolves and I laughed so much my abs hurt the next morning when I woke up! I then taught in person at the Thursday 10am Nia class at Soma Ranch with the “regular local ladies”. How great through the whole of last year we’ve been able to hold classes twice a week and the only person who got COVID19 was me!

I'm having a blast, preparing the playlist for tomorrow mornings "Birthday" 10am ONLINE Nia class playlist. Each year I put together a special "BDay" playlist drawing from favorite songs from days gone by, integrated with some of my favorite tunes from the past year. This year I'm playing with something I get a giggle out of when I can find the clicks... Working the titles of the songs to tell a "story", this is what I've got so far....

Songs strung:

Beloved! Breathe, closest thing to heaven, come as you are, could you be loved, groove is in the Heart, another one bites the dust, Uptown Funk, I will always love you, one love, American honey, rebel heart, summer memories, home.

Songs strung into story!

(Dear) Beloved!

(Please) breath. (Sense connection with) the closest thing to heaven, (when) you come as you are (to dance). Could you be loved? (of course!), groove is in the (center of your) Heart! (and) another one bites the dust.

Uptown Funk (y friend), I will always love you, (you are part of my) one love (Nia Tribe), (as sweet as) American honey. (With my) Rebel heart (I'm bathing in) summer memories (as I'm doing my best to STAY WARM at) home.

Here's the full playlist:

So far we’ve raised more than $1000 on my Birthday Fundraiser for St Jude. There’s still time to contribute! here’s the link: www.somaranch.com/jude

Nia Time ~ a most romantic, sexy, personal movement experience

“Time” is one of the the most sexy & personal Nia experiences I’ve ever created. The lyrics are very moving, romantic and surprisingly relevant to today. This Nia experience “Time” was created 24 years ago when my daughter, Liliana, was a baby.

The Story

I can picture Liliana in my little 2 seater Honda Del Sol car, in the passenger seat, in her car seat, looking up at me! She was less than a year old.. I used to click my fingers to stop Liliana from crying. It was one of my funniest, handy little tricks, used to distract my daughter. I could craftily shift her from tears to fascination with the simple click of my fingers!

One time, driving to class, with the Lionel Richie “Time” CD playing. A few clicks stopped my screaming crying child. Liliana began to play with her fingers, mushing them together to see if she could click them like her Mommy… And there, in the moment, Liliana clicked her fingers for the first time. I remember hearing the noise, looking down, seeing her beaming face, her eyes sparkling with joy, feeling joy as she communicated so clearly “look! yes! I did it! I clicked my fingers for the first time!”

I may have forgotten (or missed) my daughters first steps, first food, first many, and yet THIS is a most remarkable & memorable moment in time, something I feel I’ll remember forever.

On arriving at the Houston YMCA, Joe and I did our usual “Tuesday night relay takeover” where he’d get off work, wait in the Y parking lot to pick up Liliana as I dashed into teach class.

I put on the CD (yes 24 years ago we played CDs for class!) and began improvising “teaching on the fly” ~ teaching and creating the moves to music as I went along. In the first song I began in a closed stance (toes together and a little space between the heals) and began clicking my fingers from side to side. The movement was an instant match to the music, something in Nia we call the “accidental click”. My moment in the car with Liliana flashed before my eyes, I felt light and a warm glow through out my body let me know YES! this is the beginning of something fabulous.

The Music movement clicks

Whenever possible I create Nia experiences to follow the order of the tracks on the CD. Great to honor the artist and the order they choice for their collection of songs. The “Time” Nia Class playlist is an exception. Songs click better slightly shuffled. The addition of Light a Candle is the perfect ending to the experience.

Every song from the CD is utilized with the exception of “I hear your voice”. This song comes highly recommended for when you want a good cry over someone you miss. Other than that it simply feels too depressing for our heart warming, love story, Nia class experience!

Each song is both unique and very meaningful. They provide music movement clicks that guide me to a personal story. For example “To The Rhythm” includes “I don’t understand what’s going on in the world around me” this song was written 25 years ago, and yet it’s ridiculously relevant for today as it mentions “Recreating the same failures, Violence, Abuse, Murder, Injustice…….” “seems we are making the same mistakes over and over again and I don’t know why!” we go on and on!!

The classic song Lady (which out of the whole album you most likely will know) can be received as a beautiful love story, I imagine the words to be my body sharing a poem about it’s relationship with me…. A funny play with words and yet so true.

“we belong together”

Yes! it’s true! I’ve been in relationships with my body since before I was even born. And my body has spent more time with me than any other person on the planet!! My Body has been with me through all my times - the good, bad and ugly!! and

“you have made me such a fool”

I laugh at this line in the context of it being my body talking to me. For example, that time I was so nervous I had to keep running to the bathroom. And how about when I ate too much, drank too much, and I threw up, passed out or fell over - yes! made my body such a fool!!…

Stepping Out

Inspired by Embodiment Teacher Mark Walsh’s “Self Care Pose” YouTube clip (below), I introduced the pose into the final “Stepping Out” Cycle of the Nia class to the music of “light a candle”. Gently inviting participants to caress their body, to be held, to stay a little longer when they maybe feel they want to bolt was a magical self care moment. The lyrics in the song inspired me to guide them on a mediation while they shifted and then sustained the hug on the other side of their body.

“with your head bowed, softly hold you self in your arms, breath, be gentle and surrender into peace. Feel the warmth of your body and connect with your heart. Imagine lighting a candle. This candle is being lit for peace. Sense your desire for world peace and let the movement towards peace begin at home, here in your heart. Acknowledge true peace begins at home, here in your heart. Light a candle for your own personal peace, for self love, self care and self acceptance. Sense the radiance from your heart, imagine the ripples extending from your center. From your personal act of love on the quest for peace, feel love extending like tentacles from your heart center. Recognize anything in this moment that feels better. Notice anything in your body, on your mind, in your heart, anything unique, that feels better. Feeling better is a sign of self healing, in that when we heal we feel better. As you prepare to step out from class feel free to leave behind anything that no longer serves you well on the dance floor. Choose something special to take with you from this experience. And step into your greatness today, this is your time. All we know we have is now, make it a great day”

I encourage you to take a fun safe risk, download the CD, FreeDance to it, if you’re a Nia teacher, entertain teaching class with some simple Nia moves (at least when teaching your teddy bears!) Here’s the playlist:

Why choose this playlist and class today?

1. Valentines Day has gone and there is no need to isolate focusing on love for only one day a year! -I wanted todays class to be a reminder of how we can have a love affair every day, starting with our selves and practicing Body Love and Self Love.

2. I want to cherish my special relationship with Joe my husband every day. Dancing with line like “you’re my everything”, “you’re the closest thing to Heaven” help me feel my heart connection with my husband and my daughter.

3. it’s sexy - oh my! Lionel Richie is up there with Barry White and Keith Urban for me with regards sexy. What a great way to begin our week.

Fabulous Soma BES 2018 retreat.

This year we celebrated 25 years of marriage and 25 years of teaching Nia. Yes Helen and Joe married so Helen could take the Nia white belt training, the beginning of a wonderful journey!  A super week to enjoy friends in a most relaxed atmosphere at and around Soma Ranch...

Enjoying baby donkey Conrad during our retreat was like icing on the cake

We were blessed with water as smooth as glass on Lake Conroe. Boating, tubing and Paddleboarding were so much fun. Especially with folks jumping on for the first time!

Swimming, dancing, meditating, walking the labyrinth, laughing, eating and enjoying each other's company was most delightful during our retreat...

Our final class, our delicious nap/meditation and seeing relaxed faces as guests departed, all added up to a retreat I'll cherish for a long time. Soma Ranch has blossomed into a wonderful Haven for relaxation, fun and friendships....

The Joys of Budapest & Finland, Part 1 ~ Intro

In June I traveled to Europe for a lovely string of events:

Budapest	Nia 5 stages
Helsinki	Ageless Grace seminar & Nia MasterClasses
Kuopio	5 sessions at the Kuopio Dance Festival
Budapest	5 days of specialized coaching
Budapest	oodles of fun classes
Budapest	First Ever Ageless Grace Class

Did you know Hungary and Finland are cousins when it comes to language? Not understanding either language, I was amused to hear conversations and enjoy the similarities in sound and rhythm!

Big thank you to Kinga (Budapest, Hungary) and Eija (Helsinki/Kuopio, Finland). How wonderful to manifest magic with you! ~ watching the joy, connection and healing appear as communities get together to dance and share their expressive brilliance! Something I adore about this practice we call Nia, and the livelihood I’ve created around it, is how, around the globe, I now have fantastic friendships with brilliant passionate women, leaders in their own right, bringing people together to make a difference. All through dancing to music!

Fun Party ~ Celebrating Nia Brown Belt graduates

Join us Thursday, April 30th for a fun filled party at Soma Ranch. Pot luck “bring a dish if you wish”. Enjoy friends, great music, swim, dance, play, bonFire, S’mores, hot tub, sauna, volleyball, fish, horses, donkeys. with all this and more you are truly destined to have a great time :-) Please RSVP

My Path to Nia Brown Belt

Curious Blessings

Back in 2011, almost to the day, I stepped into my final training practicum at Nia HQ to become a Brown and Black Belt Nia trainer. Minutes later I received a call from my family, my course changed dramatically and I was taken on a fabulous Healing Energy Ride….

The year before The Terry Family had declared Mummy would travel less and stay home more, spend less and earn more, to focus on the development of our newly acquired Ranch, then Carlos Aya Rosas, co-founder of Nia, announced his retirement and the Terry family flipped a 180! I felt called to attend all trainings with Carlos until he left, this required extensive traveling, increased spending and reduced earnings. Joe and Liliana graciously supported the decision, seeing it as a wise investment and something important for me both personally and professionally.

Then here I was, in Portland, finally stepping into my final practicum with one other training trainer to become the first Brown & Black Belt Nia trainers in the world (beyond the founders) and I receive a call from Joe, my husband. (I can hear Liliana screaming in the background) “Hi Buddy, Liliana’s injured her knee at the tennis tournament, we’re on our way to the emergency room, everything’s going to be OK, stay on your course, we’ve been working together as a team towards this week for 2 years, you’re almost there, we know how important this training is, you don’t need to come home….” I had minutes to make a decision… I chose to return to Houston and grabbed the next flight back. (I think it was the same plane I had landed on!)

We discovered Liliana had ruptured her ACL, this was devastating news to my teenager with aspiring dreams of going to College on a tennis scholarship and playing at Wimbledon.

We’ve been through a curious 4 years, personally I’ve questioned a lot about myself, my ability to teach, to train, thoughts about Nia, my relationship with Nia, etc. It’s been quite dark and depressing at times. I find it curious how the knee joint represents standing up for ourselves, “making a stand”, Louise Hay shares “Knee problems represent stuboborn ego and pride. Inability to bend. Fear. Inflexibility. Won’t give in.” The healing affirmation is “Forgiveness. Understanding Compassion. I bend and flow with ease and all is well”. Both Liliana and I have “grown up” through the process of her knee healing.

The good news is today I’m so super happy with my choices. Although my family could have coped well with me staying in Portland, my actions of coming home spoke volumes, it confirmed, other than God, my family is the most important thing to me. No matter how passionate I am about my Nia practice and all the wonderful possibilities, God and family come first. My soul searching inward time, my long term stall on developing as a brown belt trainer has been humbling and healing. I’m a much more patient, open, understanding, relaxed teacher and, more important, a more compassionate human being for the experience.

I’m left with gratitude for Nia Technique, Carlos Aya Rosas and Debbie Rosas who have provided me with an opportunity to create an amazing full time livelihood for over 2 decades, supporting my family financially, for making great life long friends, sustaining a fabulous business partnership with Kristie Bryant for over a decade, co-owning NiaMoves, a world class Nia Studio full of vibrant community with fantastic teachers, and also co-owning Soma Ranch, an amazing retreat center. I’ve been able to spend more time at home, be more present to enjoy my precious daughter’s transition from highschool transition into college.

When we look at Energy (the focus of the Nia Brown Belt) Everything is matter, in some ways we can say everything matters, and these days I sit back and smile, in awareness of all that REALLY matters in life. I’ve been able to let go of a lot more of stuff which simply doesn’t matter, at least it’s not worth worrying or getting bothered about.

I invite you to ponder what matters to you? what can you let go of TODAY that really doesn’t matter in the big picture? what would you DIVE IN to if you knew you couldn’t fail? are you scared about something? play with asking what’s the worse thing that could happen? and recognize how 80% of what we worry about never happens! let your worry bucket be light and your prayer bucket full :-)

PlayList for WHY routine

i LOVE this new and improved routine.
Each song has something to do with WHY (or Y!). I giggle as I remember back to when our daughter, Liliana, was about 2 and her response to everything seemed to be “WHY” ~ we called her “Liliana Why” for about a year! This is the “Nia Routine Why”… don’t ask me why!

Track	Length	Artist	Album
Don’t Know Why	3:06	Norah Jones	Come Away With Me
Things You Don’t Have To Do	5:23	Peter Malick	Nia Humanity
Why Can’t We Live Together?	6:39	Steve Winwood	About Time
Shadows	4:19	Enigma	Love Sensuality Devotion
Check Yes Juliet	3:40	We the Kings	Check Yes Juliet
Y.M.C.A.	3:45	Village People	Disco Gold
Yo Vivire (I Will Survive)	4:24	Celia Cruz	Buddha-Bar IV
Why (Ext. Mix)	7:11	DJ Sammy	Why
To The Rhythm	5:14	Lionel Richie	Time
Why	4:54	Annie Lennox	Diva
Why Should I Worry	3:56	Karen Peck & New River	No Worries
You’ve Got A Friend	6:03	Various	Tapestry Revisited

Team Awesome is coming to town

I’ve invited a “gaggle” of awesome Nia Brown Belt Teachers to join me for a week at Soma Ranch. It’s to help me prepare for my first upcoming Nia Brown Belt (April 25 - May 1) and celebrate my 50th Birthday.

Most of these super special folks from around the WORLD have hosted me for events, I’ve often stayed in their homes. Now I get to share the ranch with them, and share them with you. It’s a very special week/opportunity. I hope you can come enjoy some classes.

There’s currently a fun promotion with Nia called “WhatIfNia” - for me.. it’s… What if you could choose exactly what you wanted for your 50th birthday, what would it be: I’d invite incredible like-minded friends to come join me for a week of depth, connection and fun.

Cool thing is I asked, they’re coming, we’re doing it.

Price:

$15	per class in advance	register below
$20	per class on the day	pay at the door
$100	for all 10 classes

Schedule

Day	Date	Time	Class	Teacher	Color	Register
Sun	2/8	11:00am	Rising	Helen	Red
Sun	2/8	5:15pm	Physical	Team	Red
Mon	2/9	11:00am	Passion	Helen	Orange
Mon	2/9	5:15pm	Mental	Team	Orange
Tue	2/10	11:00am	Emotional	Helen	Green
Tue	2/10	8:00pm	Pink Floyd	Helen	Green
Wed	2/11	11:00am	Praise!	Helen	Blue
Thurs	2/12	11:00am	Spirit	Team	Purple
Thurs	2/12	5:15pm	Creating Sacred	Helen	Purple
Fri	2/13	11:00am	Celebration!	Team	White

Playlist for January JAM at NiaMoves

fabulous JAM at NiaMoves,
here’s the play list
Focus of 5H (Heal, Hara, Heart, Head, Hands) worked super well.

Bem Devagar ~ Heather 4:51 Bungalove
Quero Saber (fest. Orieta Pines) ~ Liz 6:29 Rodney Hunter
Corazon Espinado ~ Liz 4:36 Santana Feat. Maná
Bailando ~ Kristie 5:00 Chuck Love
Saturday Song ~ Kristie 5:41 Bungalove
Give It All ~ Heather 3:57 Suryan
Purple Haze ~ Peggy 5:22 The Cure
Amma ~ Anita 6:26 James Asher And Sivamani
Hercules ~ Anita 4:19 NIA
If I Were Brave ~ Helen 5:04 Jana Stanfield
How Beautiful ~ Helen 4:45 Jana Stanfield

SUPER Moon: Enjoy Nia Pink Floyd Followed by Moonlight Swim!

Enjoy a Nia Class to Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon with laser lights, synchronized with The Wizard of Oz on the big screen, followed by the option of a Moonlight swim at Soma Ranch!

Dark Side of the Moon Nia Class 8:30 - 9:30pm
Hot Tub and/or Moonlight Swim 9:30 - 10:30pm
$15 when pay by midnight Friday
$20 on the day/door

On July 12, 2014, we have the first full moon after the June 21 solstice. What an AWESOME time to enjoy to Soma Ranch with the Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon Nia Experience 8:30 - 9:30am. Entertain staying for Moonlight Hot Tub and/or Swim

Here’s more information about the moon…. Around this time of year, in North America, buck deer start growing antlers, thunder storms rage and farmers struggle to pile up hay in their barns. Thus, according to folklore, we call this full moon the Buck Moon, Thunder Moon or Hay Moon. The July 2014 full moon is also the first of three full-moon supermoons in 2014. Previously, we had two supermoons in January - on January 1 and 30 - but they were new-moon supermoons. The full moons on July 12, August 10 and September 9 all enjoy the supermoon designation because the centers of these full moons and the center of Earth are less than 361,863 kilometers (224,851 miles) apart. The closest supermoon of the year comes with the August 10 full moon, with a moon that’s only 356,896 kilometers (221,765 miles) from Earth.

Nia Fiesta Play List

Cinco de Mayo inspired this play list. Super fun class. I selected songs from previous routines that give a Fun Fiesta Feeling then added a few more from B-Tribe. I’ve been dreaming of including Fiesta Fatal in a Nia class for years. Great way to slip in a couple of songs from Bailando.

The “mudra”/signature for the routine is Creepy Crawlers rising arms with hips (Jazz), Calm slow touch down (Tai Chi), Figure 8 (Aikido).

Focus: Fiesta Fun with Happy Hips, Hara, Heart, Head & Hands.
Intent: We will feel fabulously energized

• relaxed spine and joints
• enhanced expressiveness
• lifted spirits

Love, Tears, Heartaches…	5:33	B-Tribe	Fiesta Fatal
Marrakesh Night Market	6:30	Loreena McKennitt	The Mask & The Mirror
Amore (Sexo)	3:52	Santana Feat. Macy Gray	Shaman
Shadowman	6:36	Afro Celt	Vol 3, Further In Time
Lo Siento	4:45	B-Tribe	Fiesta Fatal
Samba Natural	3:48	Bungalove	Bailando
Jogando Capoeira	6:20	Beatfanatic	Clarity
I Just Wanna Be Happy	3:54	Gloria Estefan	gloria!
Habanera Redux (Carmen)	4:52	East Village Opera Co	EVOC
¡Fiesta Fatal!	6:00	B-Tribe	Fiesta Fatal
Forgiving	7:58	Parijat	Bailando

Special Daily 11am Nia Classes at Soma Ranch

Folks are coming from around the country to attend the Nia Blue Belt. This 2nd level training focuses on Communication, Relationships and Intimacy. Each day we offer a public class at 11am and YOU are invited! These special classes are perfect if you’re new to Nia.

The weather is super for experiencing Soma Ranch in its glory.

Entertain staying on for lunch at noon!

Classes

Time	Day	Date	Focus	Routine
11am	Sunday	March 16	The Joy of Being in Relationship	Infinity
11am	Monday	March 17	Pearls and the Realms	Afro Celt
11am	Tuesday	March 18	Guiding Systemic Movement	Sexi
11am	Wednesday	March 19	Expressing Feelings and Emotions	Rise
11am	Thursday	March 20	Music, Movement, Magic	Taking Requests

Prices

11am	Class	$15
Noon	Lunch	$15
Class Lunch	Combo	$20

List of Nia Routines

I’m so WHOPPING excited about a “new skill to me” I discovered on my own website! Some one asked for my Whitney Houston Play list. I knew I’d listed lots of play lists and information about Adapted Nia Routines on my blog and have wanted to create some easy way for folks to find them rather than flipping through the many blog entries. This evening I discovered the way! my search button on the front page. DAH! Simply entered “routine” and 30 references popped up. I think this link takes you there directly - enjoy /display/Search?moduleId=12236317&searchQuery=routine

Nia Time ~ a most romantic, sexy, personal experience.

“Time” is the most sexy & personal routine I’ve ever created. The lyrics are very moving and romantic.

I created this routine when Liliana was young enough to be in a car seat that faced the back of the car, which means it’s about 17 years old! I used to click my fingers to stop Liliana from crying. It was one of my funniest, handy little trick to distract her from tears to fascination. One time, driving to class, I was listening to the Lionel Richie CD (my “routine work in progress” at the time), Liliana was playing (as usual) with her fingers, mushing them together to see if she could click them like her Mommy… and there, in that moment, Liliana clicked her fingers for the first time. I remember hearing the noise, looking down to see Liliana’s beaming face, her eyes sparkling with joy, communicating “look! yes! I did it! I clicked my fingers for the first time” it was a most remarkable moment in time that I think I’ll remember forever. I did the usual “relay takeover” with Joe in the parking lot of the YMCA and dashed into class.

I put on the CD and begun “teaching on the fly” ~ teaching class and creating the routine as I went along. In the first song I began in a closed stance and began clicking my fingers from side to side, the movement was an instant match to the music and the moment, something in Nia we call the “accidental click”.

I use every song from the CD with the exception of “I hear your voice” which I refuse to include in the mix. It’s a moving, heart felt song that I depressing ~ a good one to play when I want a good cry!

I find each of these songs very meaningful, there’s a click that connects with a personal story in every track. Maybe later I’ll fill in the gaps. For now I’m off to celebrate 20 years of marriage to Joe - it’s my wedding anniversary. I look forward to many more clicks…

Whenever I can I prefer to create routines to follow the order of the tracks on the CD. This routine is an exception, the songs click better slightly shuffled, Michael Buble is the perfect ending to the experience. I encourage to to take a fun safe risk, download the CD, freedance to it, entertain teaching class with some simple Nia moves (at least with your teddy bears!) Here’s the order:

Lionel Richie: CD Time

Closest Thing To Heaven 4:01 That’s The Way I Feel 3:07 Zoomin’ 4:23 Touch 5:08 Forever 6:13 Time 6:12 To The Rhythm 5:14Stay 4:10 Someday 4:23 Everytime 4:16 Lady 4:28

Feeling Good 3:57 Michael Bublé It’s Time

Why this routine today?

simple:
1. it’s the most personal - every song has a hidden story behind it about my relationship with Joe, lines like “you’re my everything”, “you’re the closest thing to Heaven”

2. it’s got history - I can think back on most “stages” of my marriage with Joe, (the good, the bad and the ugly) teaching this routine and the feelings I had. I have a sense of accomplishment playing the music and dancing to it today.

3. it’s sexy - oh my! Lionel Richie is up there with Barry White for me with regards sexy - and fortunately I still regard Joe as being top of my list when it comes to sexy :-)

Now off to enjoy our day, swim swim brum brum :-)

2 for 1: Sade "Lovers Rock" to Nia Routine AO

Fondly called “Flounce” this routine begins and ends with the same song. A fun way to deliver the promise. Notice how you feel in the song at the beginning of the routine, then notice how you feel at the end with the same song. In Nia we define Self Healing as any thing that feels better. If you notice anything feels better, recognize this as self healing and give body gratitude.

Focus: At the beginning of class I introduce the concept flow and bounce, how the body thrives on the dynamic ease. We physically get a sense of shifting our connective tissue by softly moving arms in the circle. We Step In with a question. Choose to step in with what will serve you best for class: flow or bounce.

Cycle 3 Warm Up: In the first song we play with rhythm and flow through the 13 joints, starting with one side, then the other, the whole body. The next few songs follow the choreography to AO, sometimes tight sometimes loose. In Slave Song, the peak of Cycle 4* Get Moving*, I play with the concept of bouncing a ball like playing basketball and acting as if we have high level skills :-). The songs progressively move into flounce (a combinations of flowing and bouncing). Lovers Rock is my favorite song, rich words, music and something magical comes through from flow, bounce and flow. My favorite song for choreography is Immigrant: simple bounce, flow and flounce moves that work forwards, back, lateral and diagonal travel in directions.

At the end of class we often Step Out with a 2 question quiz:

1. what do you choose to step out with to serve you in your day best, flow or bounce?
2. what do you choose to step out with to serve you well if you can choose flow, bounce OR flounce.

Sade Lovers Rock

By Your Side	4:35
Flow	4:34
King Of Sorrow	4:53
Somebody Already Broke My Heart	5:01
All About Our Love	2:41
Slave Song	4:14
The Sweetest Gift	2:19
Every Word	4:04
Immigrant	3:49
Lovers Rock	4:15
It’s Only Love That Gets You Through	3:54
By Your Side	4:35

Congratulations Nia Brown Belts

We’ve completed our first Nia Brown Belt training at Soma Ranch.

Congratulations Nia Brown Belts. Thank you for visiting Soma Ranch. We delight in how our facility lends itself uniquely well to the work of energy and transformation. We appreciate all the wonderful things you brought to the experience.

How to enjoy time and avoid jet lag.

I’m back from a fabulous training in Japan.
My day began with glorious sunshine in Japan and ends with the same, home, in Houston.

After a 28 hour day, I’m ready for sleep in anticipation of some great dancing at NiaMoves at 8am in the morning.

Here’s somethings I do to be able to enjoy time and avoid jet lag

1. Remove watch and don’t look at time while flying
2. Drink lots of water before, during, after flight
3. Get outside ASAP after the flight, preferably for a run/walk
4. Avoid alcohol
5. Avoid wheat
6. Avoid sugar
7. Avoid caffeine
8. Take own food on plane when possible
9. Stay awake until it’s the destination’s time for sleep
10. Do Nia 5 stages as soon as possible upon arrival
11. Minimize working on computer upon arrival