Nia in focus

FINDING YOUR SENSE OF INNER NECCESSITY WITH NIA

Shelley Angelil, one of our Cape Town teachers, received her Nia black belt in August.  She wrote the piece below for a Nia newsletter.  Discipline is the quality I admire most about Shelley and one reason she richly deserves her new belt.  Feeling the integrity of her words I wanted to share them with you.

A quality that I cultivate in this short life is discipline, though here I have a long way to go too. I love what J. Ruth Gendler has to say about Discipline in The Book of Qualities: “Discipline does not disappear forever, but she does take vacations from time to time….Guided by a sense of inner necessity, Discipline works hard and takes many risks. When Discipline was a teenager too poor to afford dance classes, she skipped lunch to pay for her lessons….. She appreciates the necessity and dangers of structure. She understands that the same structure that supports you can also hold you back. The bones of the skeleton which support the body can become the bars of the cage which imprison the spirit. After Discipline has mastered a form, she is free to improvise.’

It is easier to be disciplined when ‘guided by a sense of inner necessity’. Sometimes on tired days coming to Nia takes discipline. Finding a ‘sense of inner necessity’ will help.

Why come to Nia? What’s my intention for myself?

When you find it hard to get out of bed, or to get yourself to Nia after a hard day at work, find some deep reasons for doing so. Some of the answers might be ‘Because it’s good for my body, my brain and my soul.’ ‘Because I feel great afterwards. ‘ Because it challenges me in all kinds of ways.’ ’ Because I love the group,’ or ‘I love the music.’  Or ‘Because I’m worth it!’

Structure is key to leading a disciplined life. When your life has structure, you will find freedom within that.  When you learn to write, you first have to master the shape of the letters, then the structure of a paragraph before you can express yourself with elegance. In Nia, the more relaxed we become with the steps, stances, kicks, and hand movements, the more freedom and pleasure we find.

So what is this all about? I would love for all of us to structure MORE Nia into our lives. The more we do, the better we feel. The more we master the moves, the more freedom we find.

My life has been transformed by Nia – I have more physical strength and flexibility, my brain and my emotions get a great workout every time I do a class! I feel much freer, much more positive, less reserved. My senses are more alive – life is altogether more sensual, tastier, more delicious in fact! Nia has done all of this and more!

So draw on your inner warrior woman or man, structure Nia into your life (it’s a great habit – a habit that is always a little different from the last time you did it) and find the freedom within.

Thank you Shelley!!