Susan Palmer's Exquisite Now

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recent posts

  • Inside out, outside in

    Day 17 of 52 Nia dance challenge

    Dance frees up buried inner feelings to come out. It allows the energy of the music and the other dancers to come in. Both things happened to me today while dancing “Connecting” with Kellie Chambers. She inspired us to think about the ways we connect as a community of dancers, and as we moved through the music, I found myself internalizing the warmth and the smiles of our group. Then midway through the hour-long routine, when we were dancing to “Salamat,” a medium-beat song with a Middle-eastern tone and rhythm, I found myself really drawn to a particular set of steps. I didn’t want to stop doing them and at just that moment Kellie freed us up to move however we wanted. So I repeated them over and over, and felt this kid that I once was rising up in my heart. That kid loved those particular steps. No idea why. Maybe it was something in the combination of the choreography and the song, written by Israeli musician Gil Ron Shama, noted peace activist in his country, who in the 1990s cofounded an Israeli-Palestinian world music band.

    I’m so glad to be writing this blog about my 52-day challenge. Without this commitment to write about it daily, I wouldn’t have taken the time to learn more about the song and the musician who wrote it. I wouldn’t have felt this surprise connection with a musician committed to peace. I feel enriched by that, and grateful that a routine called Connecting brought me to it.

  • My voice, my way

    Nia trainer Debbie-Lee van Ginkel leading an 8-minute dance break.

    Day 16 of 52 Nia dance challenge

    This practice calls for vocalizing, often when throwing a punch or a kick; it’s a guttural “Hah!” or “Hey!” an enthusiastic “Yes!” or “No!”

    I couldn’t do this — call out in a group — at first. It just seemed embarrassing. I chalk it up to school and church requirements that kids keep a lid on the noise. Necessary for order, of course, but some of us might have over-internalized the message. Eventually, with much encouragement, I got over it. Now I can hardly throw a punch without an accompanying “Hah!” Nia teaches that there’s power in the breath and the voice. And Nia is all about power.

    I found a great online video of an 8-minute Nia dance break lead by Debbie-Lee van Ginkel, who I’ve had the pleasure of dancing with. She’s a great teacher. This brief routine is a fine Nia sampler, demonstrating vocalizing, among other things, while dancing. I like that it shows people moving, not in lock step, following Debbie’s lead but in their own way. It’s one of three short routines I’ve done today. Giving myself permission to have a light dance day. But not a quiet one.

  • Happy feet

    Day 15 of 52 Nia dance challenge

    It’s hard to explain why taking off my shoes to dance is so liberating. Maybe it’s reconnecting with the kid in me. Maybe my feet just like not being enclosed.

    I wondered about research on the topic, and found most of it focused on runners and little of it definitive. I did come across a study that followed 20 female netball players who trained barefoot for eight weeks. They were assessed before and after the eight-week training period, as was a control group that trained with shoes on. Here’s what researchers said: It could be concluded that barefoot training had a positive effect on agility and ankle stability, which could possibly enhance netball performance and play a role in the prevention of ankle injuries. They noted statistically significant differences between shod and barefoot players in overall stability and performance agility, but the study was small and they weren’t particularly emphatic regarding results: could possibly? Not a lot of confidence there.

    The Very Well Fit website also published an article on the increasing interest in working out barefoot last year.

    I just know that dancing barefoot hasn’t hurt me and feels good. The only time we danced with shoes on was during the Covid shutdown when we danced outside on concrete in a park.

    Today I danced Energi with Dael Parsons. So fun to be inspired by her grace and power. I worried that dancing at 9 a.m. the day after dancing at 6 p.m. might be a bit much. My left knee got somewhat twingy, so I backed off on the leaping about. Otherwise, no problem.