Month: July 2012

Six Degrees of Separation

On July 21, 2012

How many degrees of separation are you from the rest of the world? Amazingly… very little.

I heard the flight was full. My boarding number was B18, so I knew I needed to find the ‘right’ seat quickly when I walked onto the flight. Five rows in, there was a mother and daughter sitting together with the aisle open. I placed my bag in the overhead bin, got ready with my computer, and slithered in, smiling at my neighbors.

“Are you going to Baltimore?” the mother asked me. “No, staying on the plane all the way to Albany.” After a few minutes I inquired, “Do you live in San Antonio?” “Yes! You?”

The conversation went from San Antonio, to The Pearl, to The Synergy Studio, to Nia. “Oh! There was someone from Synergy who came to my school to talk about eating disorders and Nia, and she was sooo much fun!” exclaimed the pretty young woman.

It was our own Jenn Martin, studio manager, Nia teacher, and precious colleague who went to speak at her school! One degree of separation… at most two… Jenn is like my younger sister.

In my numerous travels over the past few years, I am continually amazed and delighted at the conversations I have on the plane, waiting in line at Starbucks, talking to the waitress at the restaurant, or taking the light rail. I never hesitate to talk about Nia, movement, the studio, San Antonio, and it never fails that the degree of separation is almost non-existent.

In the Year of the Sacred Athlete at The Synergy Studio, we are reminded that we are all healers, touching lives everyday with our knowledge, grace and love. In the smallest of ways, a life can change in a nano-second… a smile can mean the world to the toothless man on the street corner, the older woman who can’t reach the top shelf in the grocery, the young man at the register who is very nervous on his first-ever day of work. Yes, we are all healers, angels to someone in every moment.

Spread your wings dear friends… toot your horn… recognize your beauty and grace… and share your light. Make every moment count in this blessed life. Live into your greatness. Follow your North Star. You are an angel with wide, bright wings, master of your destiny, and healer to all. The moment is now… no holding back… shine your light!

Have a wonderful week. Be sure to keep dancing! Dance with Jenn, Sarita, and Angie, who will be covering my classes while I’m at Kripalu with Toni Bergins, assisting her in a Journey Dance teacher training. We have 45 enrolled in the training… 45 eager souls ready to explore, create, and transform. I then travel to Denver with some of my fellow Nia trainers to assist Debbie and Kevin in a Nia 52 Moves training… 30 plus more sacred athletes ready to evolve in their practice.

And the young girl on the plane with her mother? She has my card in her purse, ready to learn about the Nia 5 Stages to help her scoliosis, and excited to bring her mother to a Nia class! Yes… virtually no separation exists between us all.

We are so lucky to be living in this time… 2012… the year of transforming energy, filled with love. Spread your wings and fly today!

With deep love, for it is all love… Adelle

Balance on the Blanco!

By Adelle Brownlee Brewer

On July 14, 2012

In Uncategorized

The beautiful Blanco River in the hill country of Texas! Its moving! Rain!

Gorgeous cypress trees… when I stand next to them, I feel like a Hobbit

Bella and Bear… two of my babies… brother and sister pie-bald dachshunds!

What does it mean to you when you hear the word ‘Balance?’

We have been exploring the practice of asking our body what it needs… in the physical, mental, emotional and spirit realms… and listening to the voices that are asking for healing. Healing can be as simple as rolling around on the floor in the morning, rearranging our bones after a long evening of stillness and rest. Healing can go deeper, exploring ways to bring more stimulation to our mind, or more depth and passion to our emotional body. Even deeper, the exploration can take us to the unknown, asking our spirit what he/she needs to heal and follow our purpose, our north star, as we navigate through life.
For me, healing means bringing Balance to my realms in every way… exploring the mystery daily while staying present and open to the possibilities.
Balance begins with the sacred vessel I call my human body. In my body are all the possibilities and transformations waiting to happen. Every cell in the body is renewed and replaced every 7 years! Amazing potential to find harmony and peace moment to moment, in body, mind, emotions, and spirit. Balance in play/work, movement/stillness, sound/silence, yin/yang, extrinsic/intrinsic, high/low, out/in, stimulation/relaxation, form/freedom.

As I write this morning, I’m balancing my body and spirit’s need to be in wide open spaces, out in the country by the water, smelling the richness of the moment, seeing the beauty of nature in her glory, hearing the sounds of silence, feeling the cool air on my skin, tasting the moist fog on my tongue, sensing my connection to all.

Keep those questions coming. Explore the mystery of life, as we evolve and heal moment to moment. Explore what Balance means to you in class with me this week… Explore on the dance floor!
Loving the mystery… Adelle

ps. We have a last minute fun trunk show coming on Wednesday to the studio! Blue Jeans Bar Mobile, a company that travels the US helping people find great looking jeans with the best fit for their body. They will also have bathing suits and some other items, so stop by and try on a pair with the blue jean experts! Wednesday, July 18th, from 10:00-6:00 at The Synergy Studio!
A jpg is attached to this email about the BJB!

My classes this week: Journey Dance on Sunday 10:00am… Nia on Tuesday 6:45am, Wednesday 9:15am; Friday 5:30pm

Adelle Brownlee Brewer
Owner, The Synergy Studio, San Antonio, TexasNia Black Belt Teacher; White Belt Trainer
Nia Training Faculty
Journey Dance Guide; Professional Fiber Artist
www.thesynergystudio.com
www.nianow.com/adelle
www.journeydance.com

Connection

By Adelle Brownlee Brewer

On July 13, 2012

In Uncategorized

This is a piece written by Madisyn Taylor… beautifully written, expressing in words my thoughts and feelings…. we are all connected. A glorious web of sacred beings…

Earth is home to a web of living things that are connected to each other through a kaleidoscope of relationships.

Picking a leaf off the ground and contemplating it as an object in and of itself is very inspiring. Its shape and color, the way it feels in your hand, its delicate veins and the stem that once held it fast to the branch of a tree—all of these qualities reveal a leaf to be a miniature work of natural art. As we contemplate this small object more deeply and consider where it came from and what purpose it has served, we find that the leaf is one small but essential part of a system that harnesses the energy of the sun, plumbs the depths of the earth, and in the process brings into being the oxygen many living things rely on to live.

A leaf transforms the elements of its environment—sunlight, carbon dioxide, rain—into nourishment for its tree. This beautiful, nearly weightless, ephemeral piece of nature is a vital conduit to the branch that is a conduit to the trunk that is a conduit to the roots of the tree. The roots, in turn, draw nourishment from the earth to feed the trunk, the branches, and the leaves. The living beings that inhale the oxygen that comes from this process exhale the carbon dioxide that feeds the leaves through which the tree is fed. It is difficult to know where one cycle ends and another one begins.

One of the many gifts that nature offers us is a clear demonstration of the interdependence between all living things. The person who exhales the carbon dioxide, the clouds that produce the rain, the sun that gives light, the leaf that transforms all these things into sustenance for a tree—not one of these could survive without being part of this cycle.

Each living being is dependent upon other living things for its survival. When we look at the world, we see that this is not a place where different beings survive independently of one another. Earth is home to a web of living things that are connected to each other through a spinning kaleidoscope of relationships. We need each other to survive and thrive.

Healing the Soul

By Adelle Brownlee Brewer

On July 8, 2012

In Uncategorized

“Movement is good for the soul…”
Do you ever ask your soul, your spirit, what it needs? A lot of talk today centers around the ‘Mind, Body, and Spirit,’ and practices that engage in the healing of the ‘holistic’ self.
What does that mean to you?
For me, it means asking the different realms how they are doing, what do they need in this moment, and also recognizing what brings healing, happiness, joy and life to each one. Engaging in stimulating conversation, reading books, challenging and going beyond the known is fulfilling to my mind. Dancing, working out, rolling around on the earth brings my body into a place of equilibrium and calm. Spending time with nature, and in gratitude for my life is what brings my soul the peace it loves.
From Nia Principle #5, we play with the triad Awareness, Stimulation, Self-healing and also the triad Dancing Through Life, Living Meditation, Life as Art. We play with them in relationship to our body, yet our physical body has it all… our Mind… our Body… and our Spirit. Giving time, asking what is needed, and recognizing with gratitude the gift of life is healing to every part of us.
Bring your questions to the dance floor in Nia and Journey Dance this week… ask your mind what it needs… your body… your soul. Let’s dance it and rejoice in the unknown, the questions, the healing.
I spent two days in the hill country this past week with nature, healing my soul. Check out the pictures below and go pick peaches! Talk about lifting the spirit!

Blessings, Adelle

My classes this week… Sunday (today!) Journey Dance 10:00am, and Nia 4:00pm… Tuesday 6:45am… Wednesday 9:15am… Fun Friday 5:30pm. Tricia Messinger will be joining us on Wednesday after class to answer questions about Protandim. Many of you all have asked and she can speak eloquently about the science behind it… I know I love it, feel great, and believe in the reduction of oxidative stress.
AND… This was in my inbox today… I loved it and wanted to share…’The older the soul, Adelle, the softer the glance, the quicker the smile and the sooner to say “I love you.” They also skip and wink more than normal, and hold hands with those they walk beside.’

Picking Peaches! A Texas adventure…

By Adelle Brownlee Brewer

On July 5, 2012

In Uncategorized


		My 5-fingers are good for peach pickin’ too… love feeling the earth as I walked the rows


Harper, Texas, lined with American flags on the highway… a beautiful drive!

Rows and rows and rows in the early morning light

I LOVE peaches!

Hiding in the shadows of the trees

This way!

A beautiful sunny day in Fredricksburg, Texas!

My spoils for the day… homegrown tomatoes, cantalope, hand-picked peaches, and fresh honey… well, yum!

They sell a lot of veggies

Nothing more beautiful than a peach saying ‘pick me!’


From Hwy 87… follow the signs to Marburger

     When I was raising my four beautiful children, we took many road trips to Fredricksburg, Texas to pick peaches in the early morning hours. I would pile them in the car (many times with friends or cousins) and away we would go… they would sleep, and I would drive the hour to Marburger Orchard.
     After returning to San Antonio, they would set up a peach stand in our neighborhood and sell peaches and coca-cola, making their own spending money for our upcoming cross-country car vacations and summer adventures.
     Now with four wonderful adults, and two beautiful daughter-in-laws, life is different… and I still love my peach picking! After a glorious 4th of July evening that started in Comfort, Texas with lots of people, I drove to a friend’s ranch close to Harper and spent a restorative quiet evening in the Texas Hill Country… night sounds, full moon, cool breeze, crisp smells, thunderstorm! … you can take the city out of the girl, but not the country… I love to be outside. This morning found me heading through Harper to Fredricksburg, and Marburger’s… ahhhhh! Peaches!!!!
Treat yourself to a road trip… a de-light for the senses

Fascinating Fascia!

By Adelle Brownlee Brewer

On July 2, 2012

In Uncategorized

Dancing Friends!
I am fascinated by our fascia, our connective tissue in the body. Visualizing the body as a network of flowing connection and sensation has brought greater appreciation for this gift, and heightened awareness of the importance of the daily dance of movement. The daily dance keeps my body in a continued state of transformation. The Freedom that grows from the Form.

Fascia is pervasive. It is everywhere in our body. Fascia lines our organs. It lines and infuses with our muscles. It helps attach our muscles to our bones. It lines our bones too. It forms pathways for our delicate nerves, arteries, and veins to run through – tunnels to transport the fluids that sustain us. Fascia is a 3 dimensional web connecting every structure in our entire body – from head to toe – without interruption. It is a continuous unit, flowing from one form to the next, changing shape and tone depending on the structure it surrounds… on how we move!

Fascia is designed to protect us, to keep our internal structures properly positioned, to allow the different parts of our body to slide and glide around each other as we move, and allow our body to maintain it’s shape. If we took away everything except our fascia, we would still maintain our shape!

Our body and its fascia matrix is a metaphor for life and community… we are all connected… through the air we breathe, the thoughts we think, the love we feel… I decided to attend a meditation group this weekend, and I went by myself, not expecting to know anybody. After I sat down, a woman in front of me turned around and said, “I know you!” After a short discussion, we discovered that she came to the studio years ago… and as we spoke the person in front of her turned around and exclaimed, “Adelle! I’m your banker!” hahhaha… I had never met the person who gave me the loans for the studio. And THEN, someone got up from across the aisle, came over and grabbed my hand, looked me in the eyes and thanked me for the studio, and told me how instrumental it has been in the healing of her friend who has battled breast cancer. All of this happened in less than a minute… synchronic connections… life as fascia… connective tissue.

We keep our friendships, connections, and community strong with conversation, and dance. We keep our fascia healthy, strong, and fluid through movement. Sharing stories, adventures, tears and happiness keeps our spirit free and connection to others open and honest. Like friendships, when our fascia is sedentary, it becomes sticky, fuzzy, knitted together, like scar tissue, and our shape takes on a different form. A form with less freedom that desires to break loose and fly.

Nia is full, systemic, body movement, helping our fascia mold, shape, re-shape, change and be in a state of constant transformation.”Through Movement We Find Health”… Let’s celebrate the freedom of our fascia this week… Moving our Form into Freedom.
I will be teaching my Wednesday class on July 4th at 9:15, and I am going to begin all my classes this week rolling around on the earth, so get ready to don those knee pads! Its a week of dance, of moving our fascia, of celebrating our connection… Form into Freedom. See you on the dance floor!

Loving the transformation, Adelle

My classes this week… Nia~~~Tuesday 6:45am, Wednesday 9:15am, Fun Friday 5:30pm, Sunday 4:00pm
Journey Dance ~~~ Sunday 10:00am