Image copyright Daniel Quat, Anne Staveley, Jeff Stewart
The Real You! – Nia and Emotional Health
I remember walking into my first Nia class in 1995. I had no idea what to expect. Within minutes I was throwing my hands up into the air yelling “Yes!” and pounding my fists down toward the earth shouting ʻNo!” Out of the blue, I started laughing and crying and I was having the time of my life! At that moment, I realized how disconnected I had been not only from my body, but from my emotions. When given the chance to dance and experience what I was actually feeling, I realized that there was so much more inside of me than I had realized. I wanted more of this. I wanted more of this feeling of being alive! I signed up for a whole semester of Nia classes right then and there, and have never looked back.
At a time when there are so many body-mind-spirit techniques appearing, The Nia Technique is four-fold, including body-mind-spirit AND emotions. This makes a person ʻHeart Smart” in two ways: cardiovascularly and emotionally.
Fitness begins with the body, but that is only the beginning.
According to Wikipedia, the definition of emotional intelligence is “The self-perceived ability to identify, access and control the emotions of oneself.” Unfortunately, most of us are taught from an early age to be “cool, calm and collected.” Having a large emotional range can be frowned-upon. Thus, many people become disconnected form their emotions, especially strong emotions such as anger, fear sadness and joy. But disconnecting from these emotions essentially means disconnecting from life and disconnecting from others! Since we cannot eliminate these emotions from our lives, we must learn to understand them, and learn to intelligently communicate our feelings and emotions to those around us.
Nia has been the greatest tool in my life to help me do this. An example is the Nia practice of FreeDance. There are two stages of FreeDance that directly connect us to the emotions: One is called “Feelings and Emotions” and the other is called “The Creative Source.” “Feelings and Emotions” asks us to “Pretend, Fake it, Act as If”. Itʼs about “bad acting!” Itʼs a lot of fun to exaggerate and play with a variety of emotions. Through play, we often brush up against an emotion that is real for us. That’s when we begin to access “The Creative Source” otherwise known as “The Real You.” This gives us the opportunity to experience our real feelings and emotions in our dance. It allows us to move through them in a safe, comfortable way. As a practice, this makes us emotionally intelligent, as we gain the skill to identify, access and control our emotions. An additional benefit is that by accessing and ʻacting outʼ these emotions, whether by pretending or for real, our core muscles are engaged, thereby building our core strength! Much more interesting than doing one hundred sit-ups!
Stanley Keleman, author of “Emotional Anatomy” relates our physical posture and physical expression to the emotions we have experienced in life. A collapsed posture may be a sign of defeat, or a rigid posture a sign of fear. As a Rolfer of Structural Integration, I know this to be true. I work with aligning the muscles and soft tissues of the body in order to gain more comfort and ease. As I work on the soft tissues, emotions often come to the surface. Accessing these emotions in relationship to the body is often the beginning of the path toward healing. There are many ways to heal and access emotions in order to lead a more satisfying life. As we ʻDance Through Lifeʼ we also dance our life. When we allow this dance to flow though us, we become fit in body, mind – spirit and emotion.
Kelle’s Tips for Emotional Health:
- Play! Humor and laughter are natural remedies to life’s difficulties. They help us keep things in perspective when emotions are high.
- At any time during the day ask yourself, “What kind of relationship do I have with my emotions now?”
- Pay attention to physical sensations that may accompany strong emotions, such as stomach aches or chest pains. Getting to know the voices of your body will help you understand your emotions.
- Allow time for yourself to ʻre-fuel.ʼ Emotions can become overwhelming when we are stressed, overworked or tired.
- Know that there are no ʻbadʼ emotions. It’s important to feel both subtle and powerful emotions in order to be emotionally healthy.
Kelle Rae Oien, Nia Black Belt, Nia Teacher Trainer, 5-Stages Teacher and Rolfer of Structural Integration and Rolfing Movement
