Over the past two week-ends, I spent 10-12 hours a day in an intensive training to get my white belt in Nia.  (That is me at the graduation ceremony in the bottom left corner of the photo.)

Don’t know what Nia is?  A month ago, neither did I!  I had heard of Nia, because my good friend and mentor Susan Tate teaches it out on the West Coast.  She gave us a little taste of how Nia connects body, mind and spirit at her Women & Wealth seminar, where we experienced the connection between the pelvis and our feelings about money.  That was it…I was hooked.

So what exactly is Nia?  Here is the description on the official Nia website:

Nia is a sensory-based movement practice that leads to health, wellness and fitness. It empowers people of all shapes and sizes by connecting the body, mind, emotions and spirit. Classes are taken barefoot to soul-stirring music in more than 45 countries. Trainings are designed for those seeking personal enrichment and professional development. Every experience can be adapted to individual needs and abilities. …

Nia draws from disciplines of the martial arts, dance arts and healing arts. Every class offers a unique combination of 52 moves that correspond with the main areas of the body: the base, the core and the upper extremities. Stiff beginners and highly fit athletes alike can adapt Nia to meet their needs by choosing from three intensity levels. Consecutive trainings collectively explore 52 principles for personal enrichment and professional development. …

Nia’s purpose is to grow a worldwide community of healthy people who are empowered to do great things. We believe every person can discover, explore, unleash and enhance their individual potential to live a fulfilling and meaningful life – by engaging their senses and listening to their bodies. With the right tools and education, we can increase our confidence and happiness. We can become connected to others to shape a consciousness that extends beyond our own. Together we will unearth possibilities never before imagined.

If you’ve read my previous posts, you will know why I find the Nia philosophy inspiring.  It fits right in with my beliefs in the body-mind-spirit connection and living a meaningful life.  But that is not the only reason I took the white belt intensive training.

I’ve spoken before about the fact that I will soon be entering a new decade of my life….and I want to embrace this decade as a time to take on new challenges.  I also want to live every moment with as much joy and passion as possible.  I love to dance, and have practiced yoga for many years.  Although I’ve never tried the martial arts, the image of power and precision resonated with my ideal of being strong and empowered.    So, after just three Nia classes, I took the plunge and signed up for the white belt intensive.

I knew the white belt would be challenging in many ways…

• My body has not experienced that level of intense physical activity in quite some time
• I spend most of my time in the mental realm, and have a hard time turning off my thoughts
• My spirit was feeling beleaguered by the constant negative news about jobs and the economy
• I have been working long hours, and find it difficult to leave my work behind

The first week-end was indeed a challenge.  I woke up at 5:00 a.m. each day to drive 1 1/2 hours to class.  By the end of the first day, I had a new-found respect for Aleve and epsom salts.  And I couldn’t imagine how I would survive two more days.  The Nia intention of experiencing JOY in every movement seemed like a starry-eyed ideal.

The second week-end I gave myself the gift of a hotel room in town… 1 1/2 more hours of blessed sleep each morning.  By then, my body had found its rhythm and my monkey mind had quieted down to a dull murmur.  I even experienced moments of joy…between the pain and tears and frustration.  You can see a moment of pure joy in this photo of our Nia flash mob in front of the Lincoln Memorial. I may have been out of step, but I was in the bliss.

None of this would have been possible without the expert coaching of trainer Casey Bernstein (front row in black),  teacher Suzannah Weiss (behind Casey in red), and the support of my sister white belt trainees.  They inspired me to keep going when I thought I couldn’t go any further, to work at my own level of intensity, and to let go of the judgment that gets in the way of enjoying beginner mind.

At the end of the white belt intensive, I felt stronger, more integrated, and open to the possibility of joy.   It was the most challenging seven days of my life…but as Casey says, “They don’t call it an intensive for nothing.”  That strikes me as the perfect metaphor for the next decade of my life, one that I embrace with open arms and an open heart.