How we treat our bodies on a daily basis influences how we feel, especially as we get older. Since much of our daily movement is unconscious, bad habits and postural misalignment can develop easily. It may be as a result of your profession, of too much sitting or sitting incorrectly, or of performing repetitive exercise that does not combine muscle balance with stretching and strengthening. The shape of your body often reflects what you do, or do not do. Pilates heightens your body awareness during your daily activities and develops the mind-body connection so that each movement becomes a conscious act controlled by the mind.
Exercise that’s done strictly for its own physical sake, divorced from the emotions and human spirit, isn’t satisfying, isn’t fun, and eventually fails. To feel good enough to last a lifetime, an exercise regimen must satisfy the heart and soul.
Nia simultaneously addresses the body, mind, emotions, and spirit and puts them on the same page. Nia uses physical activity to integrate one’s neurology (including the mind, emotions, and spirit), with one’s outer body, or musculature. To achieve this whole-being integration, you must address the whole person, using a comprehensive, holistic exercise approach. Nia accomplishes this by combining several classic movement forms from the healing arts, the martial arts, and dance arts.
