Nia (fitness)

Nia (previously Non-Impact Aerobics, Neuromuscular Integrative Action) is a physical conditioning program based on a premise that movement is a pathway for self-discovery and personal transformation. Nia is intended to deliver cardiovascular aerobic exercise and whole-body conditioning. Nia was created in California 1983 by Debbie Rosas (now Debbie Rosas Stewart) and Carlos Rosas (now Carlos AyaRosas)^[1].

Nia is considered a body-mind-spirit exercise like yoga by Inner IDEA http://www.inneridea.com/about-us. Inner IDEA is part of IDEA Health and Fitness Association.

As a movement form, Nia Technique is based on 52 moves (and lots of variations) that integrate movement modalities from dance, martial arts, and healing practices. Nia blends nine movement forms:

Martial Arts	Dance Arts	Healing Arts
t'ai chi	Jazz dance	Feldenkrais method
Tae Kwon Do	Modern dance	Alexander Technique
Aikido	Duncan Dance	Yoga

Nia classes are choreographed and accompanied by a wide variety of music styles "ecclesiastical choral arrangements to technofunk"[1]. Nia is a non-impact form of aerobic dance that is practiced barefoot.

Nia has its headquarters in Portland, Oregon.

References

1. ^ "Nia About Us". http://www.nianow.com/about-us. Retrieved 2010-03-22. 

External links

• NIA: fitness meets improv. Dance Magazine, Jan, 2005 by Shayna Samuels
• Find Fitness Bliss With NIA, WebMD