From the Source

Becoming Mindful

It is October, Carlos and I are in North Carolina for a Blue Belt, focusing on relationship, intimacy and communication, the main tools we teach for being a great Nia teacher.

Teaching the intensive is itself intense, and it is also a great Joy. We get to watch ourselves and other people come into their bodies and into alignment with love and pleasure. The smiles on the faces are always infectious, a gift we teachers receive by looking out and seeing the effects of our message. To become mindful of what the group is experiencing is a great skill to develop. Practicing mindfulness is connecting to the sensation and connection yogis call, “catchitananda,” or absolute bliss consciousness. It is a good feeling that can keep you receiving energy from your group, while at the same time giving a lot.

One of the gifts of mindfulness is awareness, something quite natural to the body. To be aware is what the body is designed to do: be. The Body’s Way is to notice and be aware of everything. However, the art of being aware of yourself, your students, and your body is an intelligence that grows out of paying attention to what you are doing, and to how you are doing it. It is cultivated by paying attention to sensation and to the details. All month long, amp up your awareness and notice all movement detail and the sensations you feel.

Become aware and…

• Center yourself in body sensations
• Personalize each experience
• Notice what is going on, and what is happening in your mind, to your emotions and to your spirit

You know you’re becoming mindful and aware when you notice…

• Things slowing down
• Your ability to witness, notice and observe improves
• Your breath is deeper and slows down
• You feel softer and more pliable
• You feel calmer, yet powerfully attentive and alert
• You feel you have all the time in the world and not a care in the world
• You become aware

To activate body awareness…

• Slow down long enough to physically sense and mentally observe your body
• Make a conscious and sensory connection between your body and the experience you’re having
• Notice one body part, a bone, ligament, tendon, the liquid, a muscle, or an organ and pay attention to what you’re doing and how you feel
• Notice what feels good and what doesn’t and make small adjustments to “tweak” what you do to enhance pleasure and comfort
• Use your body to improve your Sensory IQ and only repeat what feels good
• Become insightful, looking inward to discover personal information. Use that information to improve what you do

Learn to be aware and pay attention 100 percent of the time and you will begin to live through the eyes of a master.

In Love and Light,

Carlos Rosas and Debbie Rosas
Founders of the Nia Technique

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