New Growth

It wasn't until the end of May that we noticed some new growth on our beloved Spruce, and our beautiful but slow growing Gingko Biloba finally sprouted leaves. Spring is late in Ottawa and I like to think, even if it's just for this year, that my slow and leisurely pace in moving forward is echoing nature. 


If this is true then the way I've been feeling over the last few days confirms this. The weather has been changeable but mainly springlike and at times, outright summery, and I have been feeling like I need to start moving again. Doing something. Growing. To be clear, I have been doing lots of things these past months but nothing concerning my own development. Some would simply call it a job but to me that word is no longer empowering. Since I gave up the office job and moved into more holistic areas, it's all about personal growth, self confidence and new ways of being. I want to return to teaching yoga when I feel ready, which judging by recent feelings and thoughts, is not so far off now. But there's more. It has felt like I have been waiting for something to emerge...like the new growth on a tree, fresh green leaves full of new life and energy. 


One of the things I discovered along the way last year, was Nia. In truth I have only taken about 10 classes to this day given travel schedules, jet lag and a simple lack of classes, but I fell in love with it during my very first class in Hong Kong back in November 2010. My teacher was inspiring, clearly very passionate about Nia and it's potential for enriching lives and who knows, had that not been the case, maybe I'd have been less impressed. I certainly don't underestimate the power of enthusiasm in a teacher, any teacher. However, I believe there was more to it than that. You see, not many people know this, but since I was little, I wanted to be a dancer. Not that you'd ever know it, even if you knew me then or now. I did ballet for a few years but was never keen on performing in front of others, and my memory suggests this is partly why I never pursued that or any other form of dance. I was oh-so-shy. In my early teens I remember watching Pans People and other such dancers on TV, truly enthralled by their energy and grace. It was never something I was going to seriously consider for me. Me? A dancer? Made no sense at all. I wasn't even good at it and I'm sure my family had no inkling of my wistful day dreams. Then in my later teens it was the disco era and I loved to dance to pop music...but who didn't? I was no different to anyone else but it made me feel good. As an adult I tried ballroom dancing, salsa, merengue....various stuff with and without dancing partners and I enjoyed them all. I still wasn't very good at them, but I have always seemed to smile more when I dance, even when learning and I'm not the most co-ordinated mover!


Nia is different. With my limited exposure so far, I am not going to attempt to tell you exactly what it is here in this post but I can tell you what is to me, right now. It is a way of connecting with my body and mind through movement and dance. It's dance with a yogic slant. It's dance with freedom of expression. It's dance and mindfulness together. My body has some issues, it's not perfect and it's certainly not as young as it used to be so when I dance, I need to be mindful and to take care of it...really be conscious of my movement and Nia allows this and even encourages it. For all these reasons it resonates strongly with my own personal beliefs on yoga and my teaching style. I have found my yogic dance!


A few days ago I enrolled on a Nia white belt intensive training, here in Ottawa, in July. A week long course running Saturday to Friday from around 7am til 6pm daily. Right now with my current schedule (freedom), that feels rather intense and more than a little daunting but I think I need it. I can't imagine this can be anything other than a wonderful, liberating, inspiring week of energetic learning and I'm counting down the days!