An exercise class for your Body, Mind, and Spirit . . . .

A REALLY FUN way to get fit.

Nia cardio-dance workouts combine 52 simple moves, with dance, martial arts, and healing arts, to get you fit – in body, mind, emotions, and spirit.  

Based on the intelligent design of the body, each workout brings mindfulness to your dance movement experience, leaving you energised, mentally clear, and emotionally balanced.  Nia gives us powerful tools for self-discovery and helps us to move with grace and fluidity.  

Nia combines movements, concepts, and philosophies from both Eastern and Western traditions.  From the Healing Arts (Yoga, Alexander Technique, and the work of Moshe Feldenkrais)  we embody sensation, the backdrop of Nia;  the Martial Arts (Tae Kwon Do, Aikido, and Tai Chi) give us power, strength, and focus, and the Dance Arts (Jazz, Duncan, and Modern) add style, grace, and fluidity.  Combine all this with great music choices, and we have a powerful tool for self-discovery, healing and keeping fit from the inside out . . .

Nia is practiced barefoot, is non-impact, and adaptable to individual needs and abilities.

Dr. Christiane Northrup describes Nia: “I love Nia! It’s a total mind, body, spirit celebration.”

Dr. Bernie Siegel says, “Nia is both therapeutic and enjoyable. The movements feel natural and open up insights and feelings that will make you feel like you are discovering yourself in a new way.”

Dr. Lissa Rankin explains, “My colleagues in the healing professions recommend Nia to their clients with body image issues (such as eating disorders), not just because the movement can be tailored to the sickest body or the buffest one, but because Nia celebrates the body, just as it is, in all its richness, and can be part of the therapeutic equation.”

“Dance is not separate from life, not separate from the body. Dancing is not something we do; it is something we are.”

Some comments from Nia students . . .

“Nia is good for my soul”   – Heather

“I’m just loving the flexibility in my body after a class”   – Ruth

“The more I danced Nia, the more I noticed that little aches and pains disappeared. I lost weight and toned up. Mostly it was fun. I enjoyed the playfulness, the exploration, and the invitation to find my own expression.”

“In my first Nia class, I was struck by the high quality of the language used by the teachers.  As a fitness professional, I know that we experience our body the way we imagine it.  If we are given mechanical instructions, as is typical in a gym setting, we see and experience our body as a machine – (and a malfunctioning one, because it is the nature of machines to either be perfect or malfunctioning).  This is not the reality of being in a body – it is only a metaphor – a hard, cold one.  By contrast, in the highest quality dance and yoga teachings I have known, language is used consciously, in a suggestive way, to encourage the hearer to become an appreciative witness to the experience of being in the body. From this place, movement is initiated by consciously chosen images and metaphors – which allow discovery of new paths of moving, or inhabiting the body. This is the life-affirming language of Nia.”   – Roger Yoga Teacher Wellington

“My body comes alive and is filled with energy and joy. I feel such a great physical release. My spirit soars with the rhythms of the different musical cultures of the world.”

“Nia is so much more than an opportunity to sweat and get our heart rates up.  It’s a chance to remind ourselves just how much we love our bodies and lives.”

“...I have been doing Nia classes for the last year; I would absolutely recommend them because there is a low risk to injury combined with pure enjoyment, whilst getting a good cardio workout and great self guided stretching/relaxation at the end. Nia, to my mind and experience, deals with all necessary factors to fitness, but is very ‘doable’ for any age (truly) or level of fitness, as you very much mould the class to your own level and needs…”   Jo-Anne Gibbs, Massey Student Health Services Physiotherapist.

“I’ve been doing Nia for about 9 years now and still enjoy every class. Even if I’m feeling tired to start with, by the end of the class, I always feel refreshed and energised. It’s a fun form of exercise and one I can see myself doing until I’m old and grey!”– Cathy

“I always tell people I go to my Nia Dance Class. That is how I view Nia. It is not my gym class or my keep fit class , it is not my workout class. It is “dance” with a focus on the Joy of Movement. One can be playful, sassy, rhythmic, energetic. Or one can be none of these.  One can be fluid, solid, strong, graceful. Or one may choose not to be. Nia embodies fun through movement, agility, flexibility, balance. Through Nia, one regains that sense of “moving in the moment “ which  one has as a child. All this with the added benefits of gym, workouts, and keeping fit.    – Chrissy

If you remember anything about Nia, remember this: that the soul of Nia is the Joy of Movement.  It is the physical celebration of the body.