Whole Being Healing for Adventurer and Entrepreneur
Posted: Jul 14, 10:23 AMWhole Being Healing for Adventurer and Entrepreneur
By Barry Schlouch, Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, United States
The very first time I danced Nia, I was filled with tears of joy and also tears of letting go of pain. What I experienced was so freeing, so in flow with my spirit and felt so good to my body that I knew I had found something more than an exercise program. I’d found something for my whole being. Since that day, I have kept dancing Nia and I have no pain in my joints or body, only Joy!
My wife, Deb and I are adventurers, and we own a very successful construction company. I’ve always kept my body strong so I could pursue adventures and run our business. Before I found Nia, I had been working out in gyms for 20 years with various trainers. About a year ago I began to feel bored with my exercise program. My body joints were inflamed and I had an inguinal hernia on the rise. I had prostate surgery in May 2006 and afterward I went back to working out in the gym. Instead of feeling better, my workouts were making me feel worse.
I felt it was time for a change, so I called my long-time fitness trainer over Christmas 2006, thanked him for everything he did for me and let him know I wanted to pursue other opportunities. I did not realize until after I made my decision to quit my long-time fitness practice that letting go of my old path of exercise would open up the opportunity for a new path with far more than just exercise as the benefit. It would open up the opportunity for whole-being fitness – Nia!
Two weeks before our vacation in Sarasota Florida, I had surgery for the inguinal hernia. It was January, 2007. In Sarasota, Deb and I discovered Nia.
After discovering Nia, Deb and I wanted to keep practicing. There is no Nia class near our home, so we bought the Nia routine, Global Unity, on DVD and worked out with it every week. After dancing to Global Unity the first time, led by Nia founders Debbie Rosas and Carlos Rosas, I was really taken by the Joy of Movement they shared in the workout, and I knew I wanted to meet them and take the Nia White Belt intensive.
In June, Deb and I attended the White Belt intensive in Portland, Oregon with Debbie and Carlos. The depth and thoughtfulness of the Nia program really took my breath away. Debbie and Carlos are fantastic trainers and people. Since the White Belt, I feel I am more in synch with my own rhythm, and I manage stress better. From consciously experiencing the Joy of Movement in the White Belt, I feel like John Travolta going down the street in Saturday Night Fever – full of total joy and power!
As I am embodying the Nia principles and sharing them in my life, I’m seeing my friends and family smile and resonate with me even more. Also, Deb and I attending the training together was an amazing thing to deepen our relationship. We’ve been married for 30 years and have had many adventures. Doing the White Belt together was a whole new adventure for us as individuals and as a couple. It has meant a lot for our relationship. I love dancing Nia with Deb every chance I get.
Although I went into the White Belt for personal growth, I found that the principles and practices are really applicable to business and can be used to create a space where people are happy and therefore creative and productive. I see the connection between my business relationships and my Nia practice. I now have a vision of Nia dancing with a heavy construction piece of equipment such as an excavator – just for the Joy of it! The Joy I feel dancing Nia is awesome. I am so thankful for the Joy I feel from my Nia experience.
