Excerpt from The Nia Technique by Debbie Rosas & Carlos Rosas

1. The Joy of Movement. Joy is the primary sensation you should seek from all movement. If you momentarily lose joy, tweak your movement until joy arises again.

2. Natural Time and the Movement Forms. All of your Nia movements are done in your own personal, natural sense of time and include movements and energy from nine classic forms.

3. Music and the 8BC System. Nia is practiced to the sounds and silences of music, using an eight-beat counting (8BC) system (1-and, 2-and, 3-and, 4-and, 5-and,…) to organize the movements.

4. FreeDance. Anything goes movement-wise. Let go of structure.

5. Awareness and Dancing Through Life. In Nia, you become aware that every movement in life is a dance and that every movement can be use to self-heal.

6. The Base—Feet and Legs. Your feet are the hands that touch the earth, and through your legs they carry the energy of the earth to your whole body.

7. The Three Planes and Three Levels. Every movement can be done within three planes—low, middle, and high—and can be done with three different levels of intensity. Mixing the three levels and three planes creates a wide repertoire of movement choices.

8. The Core—Pelvis, Chest, and Head. Your pelvis, chest, and head are the home of your emotions and your energy centers. The pelvis is a container of energy, the chest transmits and receives energy, and the head processes energy.

9. The Upper Extremities—Arms, Hands, and Fingers. Your arms, hands, and fingers are tools for healing, touching, directing energy, and creating connections. They are extensions of your feelings and thoughts and allow you to express yourself in personal and purposeful ways.

10. X-Ray Anatomy. The practice of using your eyes, your other sensory organs, and your intuition to see inside yourself is X-Ray Anatomy. You can penetrate the veil of your flesh to reveal the proper placement of your bones, tendons, ligaments, and muscles.

11. Fitness Is the Business of the Body. Fitness can be achieved by listening to the voices of the body, setting goals, creating plans, reaching decisions, and attaining results. As in all businesses, achieving success is a process of making changes.

12. Continuing the Body-Mind-Spirit Education. Healing the body is a practice that never ends. Every new workout is an opportunity to reeducate your body, mind, and spirit.

13. Dance What You Sense. When you experience the primary lesson of Nia—that life should be lived through sensation—you become connected.

NEXT: Dancing Through Life

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