Nia – Dance, Get Fit, Have Fun!


When is the last time you laughed during your workout?
When is the last time you made eye contact with someone at the gym?

Maybe it’s time to try something different.
Maybe you’re ready for Nia.

Nia is a unique fitness practice combining dance, martial arts & healing arts (yoga).

Nia is a magical and creative body-mind-spirit fitness practice that has been practiced for over 25 years.

Dancing is more than simply moving one’s feet or body. Dancing is all about finding sensualilty and pleasure. To be a dancer, one does not have to perfect a pattern of steps or find the perfect form.

Finding a groove and slipping into the beat is what dancing is all about. And this is exactly what those who practice Nia come for. Nia ( delivers when it comes to engaging the senses and finding joy through movement. With Nia, the movements invite the “inner dancer” to come out of the closet and onto the dance floor.

Nia is done barefoot to soul-grooving music and delivers cardiovascular and whole-body conditioning. While choreographic moves provide the form in Nia, it is self-guided and based on creating a loving relationship with the body. Creative, whole body expressive movement is encouraged, eliminating repetitive or jarring movements . It follows The Body’s Way – the innate intelligence of the body — and is adaptable and safe for any fitness level, from stiff beginners to highly fit athletes. AnyBody is welcome and will find a place with Nia.

There are no loud commands or steady, monotonous rhythms in Nia. Instead, being part of a Nia class allows the imagination to soar. Students are not just “working out” in a Nia class; instead participants are encouraged to beat an air drum, kick bubbles in the air, puncture space with elbow, or tug on an imaginary rope.

“Nia bring(s) my senses and my spirit into the world in a vibrant and beautiful way” says Chris Kay Fraser, a local Nia student.

Most importantly, Nia supports the Pleasure Principle: If it feels good, keep doing it; if it hurts, stop! So, it’s no wonder that Nia is attracting so much attention in dance and yoga studios, gyms, and community centres in over 37 countries around the world!

Nia offers the joy of movement.

Don’t you deserve that?


For more information about Nia in Canada, and to find a class in your area, please visit www.niac.ca

If you are interested in Nia in the USA or internationally, please visit www.nianow.com

You can also see Nia in action on YouTube

~ Jennifer Hicks, Brown Belt Nia Instructor, Toronto

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