Exercises to Do in Bed: The Nia Way

Recently I was in the hospital for a kidney infection (and learned a new word – pyelonephritis = kidney infection). It was not pleasant but I’m grateful for the excellent care I received.

Keep Moving

While I was being pumped full of fluids and antibiotics I knew I had to keep moving. How did I know that?  I was listening to my body.

My body was asking me to use movement to help my kidneys do their normal job of flushing and filtering while at the same time getting rid of this infection. Me and my body are a team. It does so much for me, feel-good movement is the least I can do for it.

Luckily, Nia gives me many somatic (body based) tools to support that and I want to share them with you!

Feeling Sick, Nauseous and Tired

Now you might be wondering how, when hospitalized, was I even thinking of moving? After all, being in the hospital means you’re sick and should take it easy, right?

I’m not talking “working out” here – I’m talking about moving to feel better – essentially what Nia is all about.  You’re right in that there were times when my body wasn’t able to to move – I was too exhausted or in too much pain. But I could still use the self-healing visualization techniques I’ve learned through Nia to “move” energy through my body. And I was able to tend to my anxiety, pain and fear using techniques I’ve learned and practiced along my Nia journey.

I also used principles of The Alexander Technique (which is one of the movement forms in Nia) to help elongate and widen my abdominal cavity to allow my kidneys more physical space to do their healing work.

Dancing with my IV Pole

When I felt I could tolerate a few minutes of movement in bed, I would do a 13 joint warm up or a 5 stages of healing practice gently in bed. By listening to my body I worked my way up to standing beside my bed to do some of Nia’s foot techniques and hand techniques. And before I knew it I was standing with my IV pole buddy at the end of the hallway doing short movement sequences.  It wasn’t all or nothing my body wanted. It needed me to partner with it to give it the movement it desired when it needed it.

Listen, Tune In

If your body is asking you for movement, in whatever situation you’re in, it already knows what it needs. Don’t let your mind take over and tell you what to do. Start by moving your joints and letting your body guide you. As I tell my students, it doesn’t at ALL matter what the movement looks like. If it feels good, you’re doing it right!

Get information about Nia classes for *all* levels here.