Susan Palmer's Exquisite Now

Stuff gets done here

recent posts

  • Be here now

    Free Nia dance break available on You Tube

    Day 18 of 52 Nia dance challenge

    Today teacher Dael Parsons invited us to feel each step in the routine Rise as though it were brand new.

    She also said something about pleasure, can’t quite remember the exact phrase, but this helped me be aware that my shoulders were tight and sore, perhaps from too much time spent at the computer this week. So I turned my attention to where things were achy, and there were a lot of little achy spots. So I limited movement to the “not achy” zone. It’s surprising how well this works. Reminds me of the classic doctor joke:

    • Patient: Doc, it hurts when I do that.
    • Doc: Don’t do that.

    Home now, and I am pain-free and moving about and happy to step into the rest of the day. The link in the caption here goes to an eight-minute free routine available on You Tube. I like how it shows a seated dancer. I have done parts of Nia sitting when I needed to.

  • 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.