Exploring the Impact of Artful Engagement with Older Adults
From March – December 2011, as an artist educator of the Living Through the Arts program (The Royal Conservatory), I was fortunate to be part of this amazing study examining the impact of arts programming on the health and well-being of older adults. Below is a video sharing that experience. Exploring the Impact of Artful…
Read MoreEvery Little Cell in My Body is Happy
Right now I am in Costa Rica, at Ama Tierra, a beautiful retreat centre an hour out of San Jose. I’m here with my dear friend Trixie Montanile of The Flying Yogi. We’re co-facilitating a Suspension Yoga and Nia retreat in this beautiful oasis. So is it any wonder that this sweetest song called “Every…
Read MoreLife as art: Scavenger Hunting Artists
The other day I went on a scavenger hunt with my 7 year old nephew. Together we explored viewing our surroundings with an artistic eye. In Nia, one of our 13 White Belt Principles teaches about the practice of viewing “Life as Art”. Put simply, this concept reminds us that art is everywhere that we…
Read MoreYou might enjoy Nia if you are…
Last summer, the lovely Jamie Ridler (of Jamie Ridler Studios) facilitated a focus group to help me better understand my Nia students, their needs and their experiences. I learned a lot! I’m understanding more and more about who can benefit from Nia and why that might be the case. It turns out that Nia enthusiasts…
Read MoreOn gratitude and sweet, sweet vaginas
(this post is SO not going where you might think it is from the title…) It is often that I say, “thank you, whomever is responsible, for the fact that I am living in this day and age“. When I think about my dad, living with (and succumbing to) mental health struggles back in the…
Read MoreYou Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet!
On December 31, 2010, I cozied up in my hotel room in Tempe, Arizona, and wrote a year end blog post. In it, I summarized all that I felt proud of accomplishing in 2010. It was a good exercise that both motivated and inspired me to continue moving forward with my business. On December 27,…
Read MoreWhat people are saying about the NEW Advanced Nia class
I started something brand new this past fall. New and freaking scary. Something I’d never done before, something that doesn’t exist, to my knowledge, anywhere else. I created an Advanced Nia class. I had no template to follow, and had to dig deep to execute this. But I did it! While we still follow Nia’s…
Read MoreI think I can, I think I can, I think I can
Tomorrow, I’m leading my group of self proclaimed “Nia Supah Starz” at the Joy of Dance’s end of term showcase! Although I did a performance last year with the most delicious Eloise Goodwin, I have never led a group through this experience. It has been THRILLING to say the least! My confidence, both in choreographing…
Read MoreFeeling Sick
“I’m sick.” What does that even mean? Before 2003, calling in “sick” meant my respiratory or GI system was out of whack. Either I was sneezing uncontrollably, feeling dizzy or nauseous, or unbearably stuffed up. That’s what being “sick” meant back then. Since then, things have changed considerably. What causes illness? We can all…
Read MoreFour Agreements: How they fit into my life
When I began my first level of Nia training in 2006 (the white belt), I learned about an ancient philosophy and means of communicating, based on toltec wisdom, that has been so helpful for me ever since. Don Miguel Ruiz is one of many folks who revived and shared this amazing lifestyle practice through his…
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