February 3, 2005, Vol. III Issue 3
Debbie and Carlos Rosas, creators of Nia are on the road this month, for their nationwide book tour. If you hear some cool music and see joyful bodies moving in a mall or bookstore, you’ve probably happened on a Nia Demo. If you’ve never been exposed to Nia, this is a good opportunity to check it out. If you are a fan, get the book and share it with your friends.
I’m excited about seeing red tomorrow, Feb. 4, this year’s official American Heart Association National “Wear Red for Women Day.” Last year I wrote about the sea of red I noticed among those of us standing in line at the Post Office. This year I’ve been reading about buildings being lit up with red spotlights!
Many of our speakers are out on the road this month presenting at “Go Red for Women” luncheons and other heart health events. Due to publicity and events generated around the theme, awareness about women and heart disease is rising and will ultimately save lives. It could be you, your sister, your mother, your daughter, so why not do a simple thing like wear red to raise awareness?
Yours truly,
Barbara
Dancing NIA: Working Out Becomes Working In
Every health-related article I read about, including the new national dietary guidelines, exhorts the importance of regular exercise in getting healthy and staying healthy. I’ve been lucky enough to find something I love to do (besides my daily dog walks and summertime hikes), and that is dancing Nia (“nee-uh”). I started about 10 years ago when I lived in Michigan, and now I dance 4 to 5 times a week, here in Portland, Oregon, with the creators of Nia, Debbie and Carlos Rosas, at Body Moves studio.
I wrote a little about my personal Nia journey, in our June 3, 2004, issue, “It’s Like Chocolate, You Have to Taste It.”
For me it’s far more than personal, as a lot of my speaker network has been formulated and nourished by Nia teachers. Dr. Deborah Kern, Winalee Zeeb and Britt Bensen Steele are known for having their audiences up and moving, and enjoying themselves before they even realize they are “exercising!” Our speakers bring it to conferences where students go home inspired to find out about training and bringing Nia back to their communities.
Nia has opened the world of fitness to new participants by being offered as a fitness and wellness program in fitness & workout clubs, university physical education & theater departments, dance & martial art schools, spas, hospitals, prisons, and drug/alcohol & cardiac rehabilitation centers.
A few interesting numbers: 75% of participants stay, 25% have never taken an exercise class, 85% from classes at detention, rehabilitation, and therapeutic centers have never exercised and 70% of students increase exercise frequency with Nia.
Started with 2 teachers and 30 students in 1983, there are now over 1500 active teachers, 30,000 students, 3700 Intensive graduates (Intensives are teacher training and also for personal growth) in 28 countries.
Nia is based on the belief that the joy of movement is the secret of fitness. Nia brings a relatively new concept to fitness, commonly known as the Pleasure Principle: If it feels good keep doing it, if it hurts, stop!
The freeing, dance-like moves allow people to experience the pleasureof being in their bodies. At the same time, the precision moves drawn from the martial arts promote muscle definition without the use of weights. In addition to becoming physically fit without pain, many of its’ advocates have experienced self-healing.
What’s unique about Nia in the world of fitness is that it created a new paradigm in the industry, the mind-body holistic approach. It allows people to slow down, be in their bodies, and feel their feelings, all while getting a great workout. In fact, the result is a total-body, total-life makeover: more than “working out,” Nia is “working in.”
Over twenty years in the making, it continues to surprise, delight and transform those of us who are attracted to it or unwittingly fall under its spell. I still hold that Nia is best experienced, yet I’m delighted that there is now a book that I can refer to when the question, “What is Nia?” is posed. Now you can read all about it, including its formation and stories of personal transformation from around the world in THE NIA TECHNIQUE: The High-Powered Energizing Workout That Gives You a New Body and a New Life by Debbie Rosas and Carlos Rosas (Broadway Books).
About the Authors:
Debbie Rosas & Carlos Rosas met in 1981, and together they created Nia, the first fusion fitness technique. They have appeared on numerous television and radio programs, as well as in more than 600 newspapers and magazines, including Harper’s Bazaar, Self, Shape, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the New York Times.
For more information about Nia, or to find information about teacher training and/or a class in your area, visit the website.
More Menopause News: Clinical Issues or Staying Se*xy?
I realized after writing about Rebecca Hulem, RN, RNP, “The Menopause Expert,” in our last issue, that there were a couple of more specific programs of hers that I wanted to share with our readers. What I’m hearing from our meeting planners is that there’s too emphasis on clinical information about menopause, and not enough time spent addressing the lifestyle issues. And I think Rebecca offers some answers in a talk that addresses questions like, “What happened to my se*x drive? Should I take hormones? Why am I gaining weight?” These are the questions that over 50 million women in the United States are asking now that they are in some phase of menopause. Women are being told that age 50 is the new 30 and this is the prime of their life. So why aren’t women feeling the power of this new prime? Because all of the physical changes that are happening to their bodies (brought on by the menopause transition) are leaving them feeling sexless, powerless, and discouraged.
As a program organizer, you can be a heroine by bringing “The Se*xy Woman’s Guide to Menopause” seminar to your location and watching the transformation begin. Rebecca’s fun, informative and interactive seminar will give each woman the knowledge and support she needs to regain her power, learn healthy new choices to manage her menopause symptoms and most of all create a life that she loves.
Rebecca has also recognized another need in the healthcare industry and that is the need to educate nurses who are both mid-life women and working with mid-life women, about menopause. She has created a day- long seminar for nurses, called “Feelin’ Hot? Hormones, Moods and other Maladies of Women in Midlife.”
The average age of a nurse today is 47 years old. The target market for perimenopause/menopause is 40 to 55 years old. Even if a nurse’s specialty is not women’s health, let’s say she is a hospital nurse, the symptoms that occur do and can affect her own productivity, patient care and relationships at work. By understanding the symptoms and behaviors and what to do about it, productivity at work, working relationships and the care of patients will improve. Most nurses who attend the CEU program and are not working in women’s health are attending for themselves. Mental health practitioners who are working with women can benefit from this information as well.
The full day program provides 6.5 CEU’s.
For dates and fees for booking Rebecca, please contact me at 503-699-5031.
Practice, Practice, Practice
You know the old joke about what it takes to get to Carnegie Hall: Practice, practice, practice. . . Every musician, myself included, knows what that means.
Last weekend, Jana Stanfield, had that dream come true, when she opened for her friend Mike Rayburn, who was billed as the world’s funniest guitar virtuoso.
Fellow speaker supporter friends in the audience were Holly Stiel, Deb Gauldin, and Megon McDonough, along with Debi Smith, Jana’s Director of Marketing, and many other friends and family members.
It’s truly a joy to work with someone who works so hard and deserves every ounce of success. Those of you who have worked with Jana, know her message always comes from her heart, whether she is appreciating nurses or helping women take a brave step toward their dream.
Until next time, be good to yourself for your well being and those you love. And don’t forget to practice what you love. It just might take you places beyond your wildest dreams!
Yours truly,
Barbara
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ABOUT OUR SERVICES
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My vision for The Speak Well Being Group is to be a connector for speakers I know, love and believe in, with the audiences who will be inspired, motivated, and transformed by their perspectives, knowledge, empathy, compassion, information and, most importantly, capacity to enjoy the process, laughing at themselves and with you along the way.
You’ll find many of our speakers on our website.
https://www.speakwellbeing.com
Or please call anytime and let us assist you: 503-699-5031
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