Adelle Brownlee Brewer

Nia Friends,

This last weekend was magical, as 15 people from San Antonio, Austin, Houston, Pennsylvania, and Canada shared the Nia FreeDance Training experience with Joanie and me. It was an amazing and very fun two days.  Every training and class I teach fills me with new knowledge, awareness and gratitude for this transformational practice.

We use Form in Nia as a foundation for Freedom and we use Freedom as a container for Form.  Form guides us into spaces of Freedom and Freedom guides us into new spaces of Form.  Opposing dynamics bring thousands of possibilities from a creative point of view.

Form:  52 Moves, 13 Principles, 7 Cycles, 5 Sensations… etc
Freedom: FreeDance, Natural Time, 13 Joint Warm-up, Movement variety… etc.

Nia provides us with many metaphors that can help us reflect and grow in our lives!  I look forward to dancing with you this week!
With love of movement,
Adelle

Classes at The Synergy Studio:

Classic Nia: Tuesday 6:45 am, Wednesday 9:15 am, Fun Friday 5:30 pm

Thursday Nia FreeDance, 9:15 am

Dear Friends,

I’m PULSEing love your way today!  This past weekend we had a wonderful experience with Nia teachers and students dancing and learning the new Nia routine called PULSE.  It is a very fun routine that focuses on the energy sensations of the 9 movement forms of Nia.

Martial Arts:

• Tai Chi…Slow dance

• Tae Kwo…Dance of precision

• Aikido…Dance of harmonious, spherical motion

Dance Arts:

• Jazz…Dance of fun, showmanship and expression

• Modern Dance…Dance of shapes in space

• Duncan Dance…Dance of free-spirited, honest movement

Healing Arts:

• Work of Moshe Feldenkrais… Dance of conscious awareness of sensation

• Alexander Technique…Dance of movement from the top

• Yoga…Dance of conscience alignment of bones and joints

Each art is a new sensation and a new way to heal.

Join me Tuesday 6:45 am, Wednesday 9:15 am, and Friday 5:30 pm at The Synergy Studio as we PULSE love and dance these unique personalities and sensations!

And join both Joanie and me Thursday 9:15 am for a special Nia FreeDance class, in anticipation of our Nia FreeDance training this coming weekend!

The weekend is open to everybody… those who are belts, as well as those curious to go deeper into a Nia weekend experience. Read more here!

If you choose to teach, Nia FreeDance training will provide you with the knowledge and skills to successfully engage dancers in a blend of structured and unstructured movement. Founded on the eight-stages of FreeDance, and on the synergistic combination of music, movement, and magic, you will learn how to craft and guide a Nia FreeDance class.

Register for the weekend here!

AND…  Join us for public Nia FreeDance classes!!

Saturday, June 25 at 9:30 am

Sunday, June 26 at 10:30 am
(Please note the 4:00 pm Nia class is cancelled on this day)

Many English idioms mention the back, usually highlighting it as an area of vulnerability; one must “watch one’s back”, or one may end up “with one’s back up against the wall”; worse yet, someone may “stab one in the back”, but hopefully a friend “has got one’s back”. The back is also a symbol of strength and hard work, with those seeking physical labor looking for “strong backs”, and workers being implored to “put their back into it”.

How often do you put your attention, your focus, on your back?

By sensing the length, width and depth of our back, we bring awareness to how we stand, how we hold our shoulders, how we engage the muscles to dance us through our day. With awareness, we can move the 26 vertebrae separate yet connected, like a beautiful serpent. We can engage the muscles of the lower trapezius to draw our shoulders down, and make us taller. We can reach all directions with our arms, hands, and fingers to energize both the intrinsic and extrinsic muscles of the entire back of our body.

And guess what? Our back not only loves the attention, but it also gains strength, flexibility, mobility and stability!

Who has your back? YOU DO! Bring the affirmation, “I love my back,”… the energy will follow. 🙂

See you in class this week! Adelle

Nia: Tuesday, 6:45am, Wednesday 9:15am, Friday 5:30pm

Nia FreeDance: Thursday, 9:15am

Joanie and I have a GREAT Nia White Belt training coming up June 3-9th! Jump in now for the sale (until May 31st). Nia FreeDance training is coming June 25, 26! 🙂

Alert, Alert Friends!

Back to back GREAT Fridays are here. 

This Friday, at 5:30pm, I will be filming my new routine Breath, and sending it to Nia HQ for the initial review. I would love to have you there, and also get your feedback. I am in the loose stages of choreographing Breath, which focuses on the breath, bringing awareness to the 9 Movement Forms of Nia, and how the breath changes when we activate the different movements. It has GREAT music, with lots of fun infused throughout. Come play after the parade for this special Fiesta Friday class. The camera will be focused on me, but I need YOU! 🙂

It is also Earth Day, a day dedicated to recognizing life, protecting our beautiful Earth, and celebrating community. PERFECT. 

And NEXT Friday, April 29, we have the beginning of a VERY SPECIAL weekend at The Synergy Studio. Adam Barley, master teacher of the 5Rhythms, will be with us for an introductory weekend to this amazing movement modality that influenced Nia in its beginning stages. Adam is offering a FRIDAY NIGHT ONLY option! Friday, April 29, 5:00-7:30 pm.

Advance registration is $35 for Friday evening, and $45 at the door. During the 2 1/2 hours, you will experience a 5Rhythms class, do some fun diving into understanding more with experiential movement, and get to hear Adam talk about the 5Rhythms, that was founded by the late Gabriel Roth, author, musician, dancer, and inspirational teacher. 

Adam is traveling from the UK for our event, where he resides. You will love his accent, his honest, forthright speaking style, and his extraordinary ability to inspire others to dive deep into the experience of their body and the 5Rhythms.

Click here to sign up for Friday night, or the entire weekend! There is still room, and we would LOVE to have you join us. 

Have a Wonderful Wednesday!

Adelle

Hello Friends!

We are enJoying a wet and cool Fiesta week in San Antonio, a week of play and merriment that encompasses 10 days. I love living in this amazing city that celebrates life, family, friends, and fun.

Looking ahead, I WILL be teaching my Fun Friday Fiesta class at 5:30. The roads will open at 3:00, and so will parking spaces. Keep the parade merriment going and come dance with us!

In this week of playful fun, I invite you to notice when you let go and play… in silliness, merriment, and laughter. Join us in class, and bring your ‘Now I Am’ affirmation to play and set it in motion.

I will be playing with my new routine Breath this week, as I craft, tweak and have fun with YOU, preparing for the filming later this year. I welcome all feedback!

Now I Am… Letting Go! 🙂

Love, Adelle

Nia at The Synergy Studio: Tuesday 6:45am, Wednesday 9:15am, Friday 5:30pm

Nia FreeDance at The Synergy Studio: Thursday 9:15am

Nia at RIIM Fitness: Friday 8:30am

Breathing! Now I Am… Creating!

Welcome to another beautiful week in San Antonio, full of rain, clean air and amazing colors.

Speaking of amazing… we had an AMAZING experience this last weekend, with Breath and Movement™, at The Synergy Studio. Eight breathers, movers and shakers came together, along with my fellow trainer Faith Duncan, to experience their breath in a way that most had not before. We had a blast! I will be offering this weekend again in the Fall, so look for it. 🙂

Every time I facilitate a Transformational Breath® session for a private client, a monthly breathing group, a weekend, or a full week training, I am reminded of one of my passions… teaching about health, wellness, and movement, and how our life force energy, our breath, carries us through with grace and ease.

We worked with affirmations before every breath session, setting in motion positive energy for transformation. Now I Am___

The connection to Nia, and the affirmation Now I Am, is palpable. Nia and her philosophy of finding health through movement and breath is experienced in every class. I LOVE MY JOB! 🙂

Another dream is manifesting, as I am creating a Nia routine combining my love of breath with my love of movement. The switch has been turned on and my creative juices are flying. I am anticipating filming the routine at the end of my yearly trek to Portland, visiting with Ann and experiencing the Nia Black Belt and the magic of many dancers. Guess what? We have 4 (at least) traveling this year from our community to do their Black Belt! Yipppeeee!

I want YOU, my community, to take part in my dream. Join me this week, as I play with some katas for the new routine, Breath. This is an organic process, and I’m excited to include all of you in the creation, listening to suggestions and feedback. Now I Am… breathing and creating with YOU.

See you soon!

Love, Adelle

My classes this week:

Nia: Tuesday 6:45am, Wednesday 9:15am, Friday 5:30pm, Sunday 4:00pm

Nia FreeDance: Thursday 9:15am

Slow Flow Yoga: Sunday 8:45am

Happy Weekend my friends!

I’m very excited to have my dear friend, Fiona Winter, and her husband Patrick, visiting me from Wales. Fiona and I met during her Nia White Belt training and then we did our Blue, Brown, and Black Belt together. We also were together for various other trainings in Portland, and it has been 8 years since we have danced in the same room!

English phrases always make me laugh and Fiona keeps me in stitches. “Bob’s your Uncle, Fanny’s your Aunt.” Do you know what that means? hahahhah!

Come find out this week, as Fiona will be dancing with us tomorrow (Sunday) at 4:00. On Tuesday at 6:45am, and Wednesday at 9:15am, she will join me on the dance floor to team teach some wonderful ‘Carlos’ choreographed songs, in honor of the man who was our trainer for all of our belts. She will also be with us Thursday at 9:15, for my Nia FreeDance class. Get ready to have a blast with this special fireball of a lady!

AND… Fiona is going to teach a special Nia noon class on Tuesday, at 12:00! She will be doing her own choreographed routine called Grace. Grace is an elegantly crafted piece of movement medicine, designed to take you willingly into a state of grace and effortless, uplifting joyous movement. The routine uses the music of Siri Sadhana Kaur, whose inspirational, rich and passionate voice creates music medicine that speaks directly to the soul, and gets the cells humming. I will be dancing with you as a student, to experience Fiona’s magic for the first time. I’m so excited! I hope you will join us!

It is always a treat when Nia colleagues come through town and teach with us, and Fiona is an extra special treat, “the icing on the cake!”  🙂 We are pictured below in my garden. 🙂

See you tomorrow (twice!), Tuesday (twice!) and Wednesday with Fiona. I will also be teaching my Fun Friday class at 5:30pm. A week of de-light-FULL dance!

Love, Adelle

My classes this week:

Yoga Slow Flow: Easter Sunday, 8:45am

Nia: Easter Sunday 4:00pm, Tuesday 6:45am, Wednesday 9:15am, Friday 5:30pm

Nia FreeDance: Thursday, 9:15am

Happy Spring to everyBody!

Yesterday, I was standing in my bare feet, enjoying the green Earth, and the yummy sensation of soft grass touching me. When we stand barefoot in grass, we soak up negative ions through our feet, which are good for us, and discharge positive ions that we absorb throughout the day. Even though they have the word ‘positive’, they come from cell phones, computers, microwave ovens, as well as other sources, and are not good for us. Being barefoot is the key. Shoes block the energy exchange!

I love the springtime in San Antonio, and green is my favorite color. When you were a child, did you ever want to be a leprechaun? I sure did! March 17 is St. Patrick’s Day, and is linked to leprechauns, the mystical fairy creatures. Leprechauns are associated with being shoemakers and also connected with finding a hidden pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. If ever captured by a human, the Leprechaun has the magical power to grant three wishes in exchange for their release.                                                                                                

I think of wishes as hopes, dreams, goals, and intentions.                                        

Our feet are our ‘hands that touch the earth,’ and our feet, ankles, legs, and knees create the base of our body… a base that supports us from underneath and behind all day.  Let’s take off our shoes this week, and dance a jig, moving with the energy of a leprechaun, and dancing our intentions into manifestation. (maybe let one of your wishes be that San Antonio remain green this summer!)

See YOU soon fellow leprechaun!

Love, Adelle

My classes this week:                                                                                                          Nia: Tuesday 6:45am, Wednesday 9:15am, Friday 5:30pm, Sunday 4:00pm               Nia FreeDance: Thursday 9:15am                                                                                           Yoga Slow Flow: Sunday 8:45am

Read on for some great ‘wishing’ words from Madisyn Taylor of Daily Om!

“Your arms are the messengers of your heart.” ~Gabrielle Roth, founder 5Rhythms.

“When we sense our shoulder girdle, its like sensing a delicate pair of wings supporting us from behind.” ~Debbie Rosas, co-founder Nia.

Let’s focus on our wings: shoulder girdle, arms, and hands, as we say HELLO to our beautiful Springtime, recognizing the majesty of our body!

“Having a healthy shoulder girdle means your arms and hands are securely anchored yet can hang loosely, making it possible for you to move your arms and hands freely through space. Increasing your understanding of the shoulder girdle will give you more power and grace!” ~Debbie Rosas

Join me this week, as we spread our wings, sensing the lightness and flexibility that it brings to our body, gaining somatic knowledge that will fly us through our day!

Flying high with love,  Adelle                 

Nia: Tuesday 6:45am Wednesday 9:15am, Friday 5:30pm                       Nia FreeDance: Thursday 9:15am                                                                               All at The Synergy Studio!