Month: July 2017

Empty hallway to Laughter Studio

“Rock your emptiness”… hmmm…

When I read these words written by Danielle LaPorte, they resonated with me, Adelle, the introvert who craves space. That is how Danielle answered the question posed to her about emptiness when she said, “You’re full of space, which means you can walk around feeling like anything is possible.”

That is how I feel about flexibility, the sensation that moves energy out, and gives me space… space in my body, my emotions, my mind and my essence, my spirit. I know it is THE sensation that brings healing to me, Adelle, the introvert. Being an extraverted-introvert means I have to be OUT, I have to be ON, and I HAVE to allow myself time to rejuvenate, let go, be silent and rock my emptiness.

Space is waiting for YOU!

What if we made friends with the peace that is always waiting for us? What if we waved our arms around our chest, our torso, our heart space, and said, “This is spaciousness, this is powerful… this is the space I need!”

Let’s do it!  See you in class this week!

With love from my spacious heart, FULL of possibility…  Adelle

My classes this week:

Nia: Tuesday 7:30am, Wednesday 9:15am, Friday 9:15am, Sunday 4:00pm

Nia FreeDance: Thursday 9:15am… all at The Synergy Studio!

Yoga: Thursday 12:00pm, Sunday 8:45am

*Read more from Danielle LaPorte*                                                                               “Can you speak about emptiness?” a young woman asked at my talk. As those words came out, she circled her hands in front of her stomach, as if she was rubbing a hollow belly.

“Is it numbness or emptiness that you’re feeling?” I asked. A key distinction. Numbness is the result of being overloaded—too much pain, too much information, too much medication. Emptiness is very different.

Her response was poetic. She wasn’t stressed, or heavy about it, she was truly curious about her experience, “I feel this emptiness when I walk through the world, like the wind is blowing right through me.” Ohhh. I know that gusting.

“Well, I could be wrong, and this may sound perverse, but I’m excited for you. Because this…” and I waved my hands around my torso, “THIS is spaciousness. And it’s a powerful thing.”

“Sunyata” is a Sanskrit term for emptiness. It speaks to the concept of not having a “self”, the voidness of being. You could say it’s one of the aims of enlightenment itself, a supremely big deal. But most of us are terrified of going there.

Much of our personal and global (same thing) problems are a result of trying to stuff our emptiness—with food, power, noise, gadgets. We cram our lives with people—virtual, in-person, strangers on screens, so we don’t have to be alone. We’re raised to fill the void. Like little robots. Fill void, fill void.

But what if we rocked our emptiness? Felt the perimeter of ourselves. Relished the silence. Made friends with the peace that’s always waiting for us. What if we got off on the discomfort of our emptiness and let it be creative tension?

Maybe we’re just one mental reframe away from turning our universal emptiness into personal power.

“Because, you’re not empty. You’re full of space,” I said to the girl who was feeling the elements of life moving through her core. “Which means that you can walk around feeling like anything is possible.”

“Ohhh. I like that,” she said. “Empty, but full of possibility.”

SO full. Danielle LaPorte

Water is a precious commodity. In San Antonio, this time of year proves challenging due to our heat. With heat comes water restrictions, and we are now in Stage 1.

Water is also a great teacher. Madisyn Taylor, of Daily Om, wrote a beautiful post about water showing us how to move through the world… with grace, ease, determination and humility.

As I’m reflecting on the week ahead, teaching Nia, Nia FreeDance and Yoga, I also see a wonderful metaphoric teacher in water, a metaphor for the 5 sensations that keep our body healthy. Daily feeding our body with Flexibility, Agility, Mobility, Strength and Stability, we can move through the world with grace, ease, determination and humility.

Madisyn writes, “The journey of water as it flows upon the earth can be a mirror of our own paths through life. Water begins its residence on earth as it falls from the sky or melts from ice and streams down a mountain into a tributary or stream. *Agility* In the same way, we come into the world and begin our lives on earth. Like a river that flows within the confines of its banks, we are born with certain defining characteristics that govern our identity. We are born in a specific time and place, within a specific family, and with certain gifts and challenges. Within these parameters, we move through life, encountering many twists, turns, and obstacles along the way just as a river flows. *Mobility*

When a river breaks at a waterfall, it gains energy and moves on. As we encounter our own waterfalls, we may fall hard but we always keep moving on. Water can inspire us to not become rigid with fear or cling to what’s familiar. *Flexibility* Water is brave and does not waste time clinging to its past, but flows onward without looking back. *Strength* At the same time, when there is a hole to be filled, water does not run away from it in fear of the dark; instead, water humbly and bravely fills the empty space. In the same way, we can face the dark moments of our life rather than run away from them.*Stability*

Eventually, a river will empty into the sea. Water does not hold back from joining with a larger body, nor does it fear a loss of identity or control. It gracefully and humbly tumbles into the vastness by contributing its energy and merging without resistance. Each time we move beyond our individual egos to become part of something bigger, we can try our best to follow the lead of the river. *Sacred Athlete, Living with Purpose, Potential, Possibilities*

Join me this week, as we focus on the 5 Sensations that keep our body healthy, while also appreciating the great teacher that is present in every sip that we take.

Loving you!

Adelle

My classes this week:

Nia: Tuesday 6:45am, Wednesday 9:15am, Friday 9:15am, Sunday 4:00pm

Nia FreeDance: Thursday 9:15am

Yoga: Thursday 12:00pm, Sunday 8:45am

Happy Tuesday Friends!

Did you know your head weighs between 8 and 10 lbs?  Imagine holding a 10 pound weight in one hand… for a LONG time. That is the weight that bears down on our spine whenever we are upright!

Our head is important in our daily activities and plays a vital role in our alignment and health. In Nia, we integrate our head in all our movements, keeping our spine healthy, flexible, and strong.

Through Head and Eye Movements (HEM), we organically move our head by using our eyes to follow our hands, or an imaginary butterfly through the room.  This allows us to learn and sense the design and function of our head and help us move with mindfulness and pleasure.

One of Nia’s 9 movement forms is the Alexander Technique, with the catch phase “Movement From the Top”.  The Alexander Technique teaches us to be in relationship with our beautiful head, and to connect with electromagnetic energy from above as we initiate our movements to keep the energy upward.  It is a gravitational force that lifts us up!

We can do this by imaging a feather is connected to the base of our neck, lengthening upwards toward the sky. Imagine that the feather is so tall you can tickle the belly of the clouds. This image draws attention upward, gently lengthening our neck and all seven cervical vertebrae.

We have 8 bones in our head, or cranium. EveryBody release your jaw, the only bone in the cranium that moves, and say ‘AHHHHH” and then SMILE!! Guess what? You have 14 facial bones that just moved!

Dem Bones… Da Noggin’! Bring em to class and let’s dance!

Love, Adelle

Tuesday 7:30am, Wednesday 9:15am,  Thursday 9:15am for *Nia FreeDance, and Friday 9:15am

A few pics from our FABulous weekend teaching in Dallas!

If you are an anatomy geek like me, check this out… Da Noggin’!

Bones of the head: There are 29 bones in the human head. They consist of 8 cranial bones, 14 facial bones, the hyoid bone, and 6 auditory (ear) bones.

• The 8 cranial bones are the frontal, 2 parietal, occipital, 2 temporal, sphenoid, and ethmoid bones.
• The 14 facial bones are the 2 maxilla, mandible, 2 zygoma, 2 lacrimal, 2 nasal, 2 turbinate, vomer and 2 palate bones.
• The hyoid bone is horseshoe-shaped bone at the base of the tongue.
• The 6 auditory ossicles (little bones) are the malleus, incus and stapes in each ear.

Good morning friends!

This week, we are going to CELL-ebrate our Bones! Bones are the 206 structural parts of our body that create form and freedom, so we can dance through our day.

If we move from the bones, vertical/horizontal/rotational, then we are moving all of our muscles, joints, ligaments, tendons and connective tissue… YUMMY!

The new Nia routine that I choreographed, CELL-ebrate, was released internationally on Friday. I just returned from a FUN long weekend in CaliforNia, premiering CELL-ebrate on Saturday morning, at the beautiful studio of my dear friend Kate Nash, Cosmotion. It was a true celebration of life itself, with the wonderful CaliforNia community coming together to sing, sound, and dance.

I have attached the YouTube promotional video from Nia HQ about CELL-ebrate, as well as a few Cali-Nia pics. FUNtastic to be in our amazing worldwide commUNITY!

Join me for Nia FreeDance, Nia, and Yoga, as we CELL-ebrate our Bones!

LOVE! Adelle

Thursday: Nia FreeDance 9:15, Yoga 12:00… Friday: Nia 9:15… Saturday: Nia 9:30 Sunday: Yoga 8:45, Nia 4:00pm, all at The Synergy Studio!

FUN weekend ahead, as Joanie and I team-teach the new routine Sacred on Saturday at 9:30 and Sunday at 4:00. We will celebrate our bones in the dance!

CELL-ebrate video, Click here!