Nia and me

All gain, no pain
Another important benefit for me is that for the first time in many decades of dance and other fitness classes, I experience none of the aches and pains I had come to accept as part of a pursuit that I love. Traditional training often causes physical suffering; many professionals end up with chronic, crippling injuries. Nia espouses the pleasure principle -- do it if it feels good, stop if it doesn't -- and that seems to make sense to my body.

I attribute the good fit between Nia and me to two factors. The first is that it brings me back to the elation I have often felt over the years when dancing socially or in the depth of choreographed routines to favourite music. The second is that Martha, my teacher, creates the same whimsical, nonjudgmental atmosphere as did one of my earliest dance instructors, whom I remember as Madame Sonia. Unlike some of the others who inspired acute fear in young students, Madame Sonia took a group of gangling preadolescents, taught us the foundations and then constantly conveyed her happiness with us. We loved doing our best for her.

Searching for a class that fits
After that I continued to try almost every form of dance class available: jazz, modern, ballet, Latin, tap, tango and ballroom. I have done yoga, tai chi, kung fu, Pilates (in which I really missed the music) and countless aerobic classes (in which I really disliked the music). For about a decade the only dancing I did was with my young children and husband to Saturday night oldies. Eventually I fell into a type of physical lassitude until I found out that Nia -- with its promise of an expressive, energizing workout -- was available near my home. And so I walked into Martha's class.

Perhaps I was looking for that fusion of forms that Nia provides. It turns out that I'm not alone. Many Canadian cities and towns, particularly in Ontario and British Columbia, hum with Nia activity. In Toronto alone, there are dozens of qualified teachers, with numbers similar to San Francisco, near where it all started back in the early 1980s. There are about 45 classes around B.C., and there are also teachers in Yellowknife and parts of Alberta. Classes are located in church halls, university classrooms, exercise rooms of spas and once even on a military base. To find a location near you, visit www.niac.ca.

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