What Is Special About NIA?

Photograph provided by Nia Technique (www.nianow.com).

What is special about NIA?

If I could pick one exercise program that I think would be great for highly sensitive people, it would be NIA. NIA stands for Neuromuscular Integrative Movement. It was founded in 1983 by Debbie Rosas and Carlos AyaRosas, two fitness trainers, who felt that there was a need for a better exercise program.

NIA , located online at NIANOW was the result of their effort to integrate martial arts, dance and healing arts disciplines into a program that celebrates movement and, as they say again and again, “the body’s way. The story of NIA is a wonderfully uplifting tale of how two people searched for their wholeness and found it in their own creation, NIA, which they have made into a gift to the world.

Where did the idea come from that we have to fight and deprive our bodies? Too often exercise is really a form of punishment and when we engage in punishing exercise we feel virtuous. NIA is not a punishment so it dispenses with “no pain, no gain.”

One of the most amazing characteristics of NIA is how each move is really simple. No complex movements that make you feel like an idiot! You do not have to turn into a pretzel to be healthy. You do not need special outfits, lots of equipment, not even shoes! If you like walking barefoot in the grass, you will like NIA.

NIA treats the entire person. Now, NIA is not the only exercise discipline to consider the whole person. Yoga is the best known and there are others. They are all good exercise programs. So why is NIA different? I think is it a combination of factors:

Because the individual exercises are simple, each person can have a their own exercise experience at their own pace. In many exercise programs, the technical side is so complicated that the individual focuses on the execution. In NIA, the simple exercises make it possible for the exerciser to BECOME the movement, which means the integration of body, mind, emotions and even soul can occur.
The physical integrative aspects of NIA are impressive. I like the way all joints are exercised. If you follow the exercises, you will also create an exceptional core.
In my experience benefits are achieved quickly. I have been impressed with the fast improvement in strength, back and arms.
The program is portable, flexible, and it takes 15-30 minutes to do the basic exercises depending on the person and the amount the exercise.

Highly sensitive people need a simple effective way to become healthier and fit. Since many HSP’s can be in a weakened state because of stress levels or illness, NIA is made to order for people who needs great results but without being expected to jump through more hoops than a circus tiger.

As their book, The NIA Technique, the Rosas write, “NIA is like chocolate”. And it is.

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