What are the Nia 5 STAGES?
The Power of 5 Simple Moves
Ever wonder about the body’s original blueprint for movement? Marvel that encoded in your DNA is a natural sequence that maximizes your power and potential moving from the ground up? Consider that curiosity, desire and play were the internal motivation for conditioning your body to be upright in the world?
The Nia 5 Stages is an integrative movement practice based on five developmental moves: embryonic, creeping, crawling, standing and walking. Retracing the stages in an adult body is a pathway to reclaiming the body’s natural strength, flexibility, mobility and neural plasticity. With regular practice, these moves contribute to spinal health, re-patterning and restructuring the whole body, enhancing physical and energetic balance. What began as a personal self-healing practice for Nia co-founder Debbie Rosas, is now a mindful, meditative class experience and somatic program open to the world.
The power of this practice lies in its simplicity. The power of this practice lies in moving with awareness in each stage, allowing the muscles, joints and connective tissue to undo the body’s habits. The power of this practice lies in waiting for a sense of internal readiness before moving forward to the next stage. The power of this practice lies in waiting in the architecture, or shape, of each stage to allow the alignment to shift the flow of energy. The power of this practice lies with internal choice and adaptability – to move in place or forward, big or small, slowly or dynamically, with power or ease.
Spending as little as one minute in each stage, in a simple 5-minute daily ritual will deliver that “feeling better” sensation that we call self-healing in Nia. Like a vitamin, it is one nutrient that will naturally realign your ‘now body’ with the potential healing of ‘the body’s way’ resulting feeling better in body, mind, emotions and spirit. No gym or personal trainer is required. Attending a 5 Stage class is transformational, educational and an opportunity to be simply guided with poetic, meditative language. Watching a video can show the potential. Know that your internal blueprint, personal motivation and sense of exploration is all that is required.
Watch Laurie in the practice:
