Month: September 2012

I’m sitting in the airport reflecting that it has been over 35 years since I taught my first dance class, and 14 years of those teaching Nia. I continue to be fascinated and awed when introducing Nia to a new community. The beginner’s eyes, mind, heart and spirit that are open to change, discovery, mystery and transformation. I am humbled at the healing power of this work, and how much our body has to teach us.
Our body is filled with ancient wisdom waiting to be revealed.

Returning to Oklahoma City, the city of my birth, introducing Nia to a new community with fellow trainers Joanie Brooks and Shannon Mairs, and getting to dance with my beautiful daughter Louisa, has been humbling and gratifying. We focused our weekend on the sensations in our body that keep us healthy and vital. It was fantastic fun… and we will focus on them this week in my classes…

FAMSS… an acronym we use in Nia to describe the five sensations of functional fitness and how they move energetically in the body.
Using your hands, open them as wide as they can go with web spaces… moving energy out…sensing Flexibility.
Now open and close them, catching flies, or dreams… energy that starts and stops..  Agility in action.

Tickling the space around you with creepy crawler fingers… constant energy flow… Mobility at work.

Draw your hands into a tight fist… energy moving in, packing to the bone…Strength.

Now open your hands into stillness and sense the energy supporting you all around… the sensation of Stability.

Our body is an amazing sacred vessel that houses so many things… mind, emotions, spirit. We keep our body healthy with awareness of the five sensations that bring balance, harmony and grace to our daily dance of life.

After 14 years of teaching Nia, I continue to wake up every day, loving my life and the people I meet daily… loving my body for being there as my best friend and companion… and deeply grateful for the gifts and talents that have blessed me.

A quick story before I part (and get on the plane from OKC bound for SA)… Kari Starkey, who is the only Nia teacher in the state of Oklahoma and a brand new White Belt, came to our classes this weekend. On Saturday, she talked to me with tears in her eyes, telling the story of watching me as a dancer at our small private high school. Her junior high eyes and heart were filled with possibility and desire to be one of the ‘big girl’ dancers.  

A memory flooded back to me when I was a senior, and my mentor and precious dance teacher died in a tragic car accident. I gave her eulogy for the school, and then took over the modern dance program for the last 4 months because we didn’t have a teacher. I was a young 18 year old at the time… determined to keep the dance alive.

The dance program went away after I left for college and didn’t return to my school for 10 years. Kari arrived for her freshmen year and her dream of being one of the ‘big girl’ dancers never happened… until she found Nia last year.

Life so often comes full circle, and everything happens for a reason. 

We are all beings of light, making a difference in someone’s life moment to moment… many times in ways that we don’t realize. Simple gestures like a smile, a hug, looking and seeing another as they speak… every gesture, word, and deed creates a ripple of energy that affects the world. 

Shine forth… know you are appreciated… rest in the presence of Joy… surrounded by the energy of love… YOU are an inspiration!

Join me in the dance of sensation and have a glorious week… Adelle

If you are still with me, enjoy the poignant words below from Madisyn Taylor and Henry Van Dyke

Spreading Your Light… How You Affect Others Daily 

We have the potential to affect others through all of our actions during our day whether we are aware of it or not.

As the pace and fullness of modern life serve to isolate us from one another, the contact we do share becomes vastly more significant. We unconsciously absorb each other’s energy, adopting the temperament of those with whom we share close quarters, and find ourselves changed after the briefest encounters. Everything we do or say has the potential to affect not only the individuals we live, work, and play with but also those we’ve just met. Though we may never know the impact we have had or the scope of our influence, accepting and understanding that our attitudes and choices will affect others can help us remember to conduct ourselves with grace at all times. When we seek always to be friendly, helpful, and responsive, we effortlessly create an atmosphere around ourselves that is both uplifting and inspiring.

Most people rarely give thought to the effect they have had or will have on others. When we take a few moments to contemplate how our individual modes of being affect the people we spend time with each day, we come one step closer to seeing ourselves through the eyes of others. By asking ourselves whether those we encounter walk away feeling appreciated, respected, and liked, we can heighten our awareness of the effect we ultimately have. Something as simple as a smile given freely can temporarily brighten a person’s entire world. Our value-driven conduct may inspire others to consider whether their own lives are reflective of their values. A word of advice can help others see life in an entirely new fashion. And small gestures of kindness can even prove to those embittered by the world that goodness still exists. By simply being ourselves, we influence other’s lives in both subtle and life-altering ways.

To ensure that the effect we have is positive, we must strive to stay true to ourselves while realizing that it is the demeanor we project and not the quality of our wondrous inner landscapes that people see. Thus, as we interact with others, how we behave can be as important as who we are. If we project our passion for life, our warmth, and our tolerance in our facial features, voice, and choice of words, every person who enters our circle of influence will leave our presence feeling at peace with themselves and with us. You never know whose life you are affecting, big or small. Try to remember this as you go out into the world each day… Madisyn Taylor

Use what talents you possess; The woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best… Henry Van Dyke

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

Flying Friends,
Welcome to a beautiful week in San Antonio!

After spending last week in a Transformational Breathwork training, my body feels open, light, and ready to fly. I’m inspired to focus this week on our wings! Now is the moment… to dance, sing, and express yourself.  Join me in class as we focus on Principle #9: The Upper Extremities of the Body…Creative Arm and Hand Expressions.
Arms that are messengers of our heart, giving voice to the silent world inside… holding, embracing, touching, loving, supporting, protecting, healing, and expressing who we are.
Hands that contain numerous proprioceptors, or sensory receptors, telling us where we are in space, guiding our movement and directing energy through touch that heals ourselves as well as others. Using ‘touch awareness,’ we use our hands to flood our body with pleasurable sensations.
Fingers that consciously direct energy, creativity and intent.  Our nurturing thumb, desire pointer, power middle, commitment ring and boundary pinky, all extensions of our life force energy, our breath, our spirit.
Is that yummy or what?

Join me in the dance… A shout out to our wonderful friend and teacher Angie! She will be dancing with you Friday as I spread my wings and fly to the city of my birth to spread the Joy of Nia… If you know anyone in Oklahoma City, pass the word about the classes this coming weekend!Spread your wings, break out of your crysalis, and fly free!
And DANCE!

LoveLoveLove, Adelle
ps. Flyer about Oklahoma City classes with Joanie, Shannon, and me this weekend is below. Pass it on if you know someone in Oklahoma!

Focus on the solution – Love

All sounds, from a whisper to a classical symphony, arise out of silence and disappear into silence. Silence is always there beneath sound and is the space where sound can exist. We tend to think of silence as the absence of sound, but silence has its own weight and quality. When you listen to silence, you can perceive its intense depth and power. Taking the time to experience silence calms the mind and rejuvenates the body. Silence is the void where we can hear the many sounds that we often ignore – the voice of our intuition telling us the truth, the sound of the breeze blowing, the soft whisper of our breath, and the noises we make just because we are alive.
This week’s dance… ChakraDancer... the culmination of focusing on heart opening, eyes opening, breath opening… a beautiful routine in silence.  I will not be speaking, so you can experience the resonance of the music, your breath, and your magic. I will be queuing with my breath, as the music takes us on a journey through the energy centers of the body… each song dedicated to a Chakra.

ChakraDancer is a beautiful, grounding routine and I hope you will join me this week… sound would not exist without silence.  It is vast and potent.

Loving the silence, Adelle
My Nia classes this week: Tuesday 6:45am, Wednesday 9:15am, Fun Friday 5:30pm