Excerpt from The Nia Technique by Debbie Rosas & Carlos Rosas

The Body’s Way is a concept we originated ourselves, early in Nia’s development. The beauty of Nia is that we always go to the intelligence of the body and ask it, “What is the Body’s Way?” . . . and we listen to its inner voice.

Our first hint of the existence of this phenomenon came shortly after we began practicing martial arts in our bare feet, as is generally the custom among martial artists. We were immediately struck by how invigorating and natural it felt: Wow! This is amazing! We sought a rationale for why it felt so good and were surprised to find that even in the literature of the martial arts, very little had been written about the benefits of working out barefoot. It was simply a custom.

With no books to direct us, all we had as our guide was the design and structure of the body itself. Later we realized, of course, that this was the mot profound guide of all. But in the meantime, we began to take anatomy courses. As developers of an emerging exercise system, we wanted to learn specific lessons about the relationship between the body’s structure and its function. What we discovered was that, in engineering terms, “function follows form.” In other words, the proper way for the body to be used followed the way it had been built. Such a simple concept!

As we refined the concept, we sought to find the most effective and powerful ways of moving, based on the body’s own anatomy. For example, we discovered why it is always best to place your weight on the inside of your standing leg, instead of the outside. It’s because the shin bone that’s on the inside of the leg, (the tibia) is thicker than the one that’s on the outside (the fibula) and therefore provides better support.

From hundreds of little lessons like this, we built the system that we now call the Body’s Way. The Body’s Way is a method of using the body in accord with its specific design and structure. It involves looking at the boy as it really is, instead of viewing it in an idealized, conceptualized way. Nia’s Way is always in alignment with the Body’s Way.

When you begin to understand the Body’s Way, you will start to forge a new relationship with your own body. You’ll learn—based on the design of your body’s bones, joints, muscles, and connective tissues—how to get optimum power, propulsion, fitness, and flexibility from your body, without pain. Your movement choices will change. They will no longer be based on habit but on scientific validation.

NEXT: The 13 Principles of Nia

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