5 WAYS TO MOTIVATE YOURSELF TO GET MOVING WHEN YOU DON’T FEEL LIKE IT

5 WAYS TO MOTIVATE YOURSELF TO GET MOVING WHEN YOU DON’T FEEL LIKE IT

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5 WAYS TO MOTIVATE YOURSELF TO GET MOVING WHEN YOU DON’T FEEL LIKE IT

“The patterns that you repeat on a daily basis will eventually form the identity that you believe in and the actions that you take.” ~ James Clear, Atomic Habits 

We all know how important moving your body is for your physical, mental and emotional health and happiness. But that knowledge may not be enough to create a new habit or move you out of inertia, especially when the weather turns chilly or it’s raining again or your energy is low or your “off days” have turned into “off weeks”! 

If you’ve fallen out of your routine and are feeling a bit blah, make time today to check in with yourself and re-prioritise the areas of your life that are calling for the medicine of your attention. 

I acknowledge that many of us are facing personal, family, and financial struggles as well as feeling the heaviness of world events. My desire is to support and inspire you to make healing choices that create more joy, presence and vibrant wellbeing. 

Here are 5 ways that may help you over the hump to find your movement mojo again.

5 tips to turn on your inner coach + motivate yourself to get moving. 

1. Visualise how good you’ll feel afterwards

Sometimes when you’re stressed or depleted in energy, you can forget that moving body helps to release tension and leaves you feeling uplifted and mentally engaged, especially when you to tune in to your needs and integrate the whole body, mind and spirit (like Nia does).

Picture just how good you’ll feel when you make the time for yourself and give your body some movement medicine! It’s almost impossible to not feel vibrant, awake, and energised when you’re Nia dancing.

2. Find your why

Give yourself a compelling reason to get moving. What’s a fitness or lifestyle goal that is motivating to you?

If feeling better isn’t enough of itself, maybe it’s that you want to reduce the symptoms of menopause, be able to get up and down from the earth with ease, fit last year’s jeans, make new friends, or go for coffee with your community after class! Keep this goal in mind anytime you want to skip a class.

3. Mix it up

They say variety is the spice of life! Variety and consistency are also essential to keep your body systems and your mind healthy. For both physical and mental fitness, we need to keep learning and change things up.

That’s one of the (many) benefits of Nia… there are so many combinations of music and movement plus a different class focus each time, it’s never the same way twice!

4. Make it fun!

In Nia we say “Stop exercising to get fit. Start moving to feel good!” The joy of movement is the secret to sustaining your commitment. If it feels like a chore or a bore, you won’t want to do it.

Find an activity you enjoy, and if you’ve lost that loving feeling, ask yourself what you need to put the FUN back into your movement routine. Learn how to get more from your Nia class experience by taking a Nia FUNdamentals workshop or the Nia White Belt training.

5. Make it so easy you can’t say no

If you’re committed to doing things better than you are now – in other words, if you’re serious about sticking to good habits – then you have to start small. The path to wellness, presence, joy, fulfillment, meaning, and vitality comes through thousands of daily decisions. Those tiny daily habits turn into your routine. Become the kind of person who moves more everyday. Make it part of your lifestyle.

If you’re struggling to find motivation, set a minimum bar for yourself to just get going again. What’s ONE SMALL THING you can do today… and the day after tomorrow… and… before you know it… you’ve… got… momentum!

A 2009 study published by health psychology researcher Phillippa Lally found, “on average, it takes66 days before a new behaviour becomes automatic. And how long it takes a new habit to form can vary widely depending on the behaviour, the person, and the circumstances – anywhere from 18 days to 254 days.”  Why not start today?

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”  ~Aristotle

Sophie Marsh © 2022 • Web Design Seedhead

HOW RECLAIMING YOUR PLEASURE CAN HELP YOU REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE

HOW RECLAIMING YOUR PLEASURE CAN HELP YOU REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE

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HOW RECLAIMING YOUR PLEASURE CAN HELP YOU REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE

“When barriers are put in front of you, it’s God or the Universe asking you to remember who you are, and reminding you not to let yourself be defined by things outside of you.” ~ Christine Ebersole 

The personal, professional, and communal impact this pandemic has taken on our body, mind, heart, and soul is deep and real. We are dealing with a collective loss of the world we knew, and so much more.

Beneath the pain, fear, and division, can we choose to somehow feel this loss as an opportunity to become more tender, more open, more passionately alive… to remember who we are in our true nature?

“The heart of most spiritual practices is simply this: Remember who you are. Remember what you love. Remember what is sacred. Remember what is true. Remember that you will die and that this day is a gift. Remember how you wish to live.” Wayne Muller

PLEASURE AS A PATH TO REMEMBERING

There is an enormous untapped potential for pleasure in every one of us that is yearning to be fully explored.  Pleasure is the visceral, body-felt experience of wellbeing. While it’s often associated with sexuality or instant gratification, intrinsic pleasure is way more than that.

Pleasure is the embodiment of satisfaction and fulfilment – a deep delight with life – and research shows that this feeling is essential for healing and thriving in body, mind, emotions and spirit wellness.  

Having a pleasure practice (or many!) opens us to more meaningful connections, creative expression, and everyday Joy. It also helps us be more resilient during stressful times and strengthens our capacity to make good things happen. Who doesn’t need that?!

YOUR BODY REMEMBERS
Lie or sit comfortably. Take a moment to connect within, feeling your breath, feeling your body. When you feel present in yourself, bring into your awareness a place or time when you felt exquisitely energised and deeply fulfilled.  Stay with that memory and breath it in, letting the feeling wash through your whole body. If that feeling was a 9 or 10 out of 10, what number are you now in your daily experience of pleasure and inner contentment?

IT’S OK IF YOU FORGOT
Collectively, we’ve been under additional stress for a long time now, as well as having our own personal challenges. If you’ve unplugged from pleasure or feel disconnected from your heart’s desires, you’re not alone!  Many of us are still in survival mode, doing our best to adapt to this new world. If you’ve lost that lovin’ feeling, be gentle on yourself.

“When we come close to those things that break us down, we touch those things that also break us open. And in that breaking open, we uncover our true nature.” Wayne Muller

Reflecting with compassion and kindness can empower you to accept, process and communicate whatever you are feeling.  Remember that the magnificence we are in our essence is big enough to validate and hold all feelings. Remember our birthright is physical vitality, emotional vibrancy, and spiritual peace.

EMBODYING EVERYTHING THAT IS YOUR JOY
Conscious action creates embodiment. Research suggests that practising little and often is the most helpful at effecting change. Every time you do something different, you are laying down neural pathways in the brain – so the more you do it, the quicker this will happen.

Bear in mind, ‘remembering’ is not about self-improvement or looking outside of yourself for happiness. It’s prioritising practices (like breathwork, mindfulness, or Nia) that ground you in the miracle of the present moment, free you up to be yourself, and turn you on to inhabiting your body as love.

“Through pleasure, we can reconnect with our most authentic joys, and the more we do, the more deeply and unequivocally we can contact our truest self and the truest selves of the people we love.”
~ Stella Resnick, The Pleasure Zone

Let’s remember we are all divine beings expressing through a very human experience. We are still in this together. We are here to heal, live purposeful lives, and embody everything that is our Joy. Prioritise your pleasure daily and you’ll soon feel deeper satisfaction as you dance through life.

Sophie Marsh © 2022 • Web Design Seedhead

FROM ANXIETY TO AUTHENTICITY + A LITTLE BIT OF ANNIE’S STORY

FROM ANXIETY TO AUTHENTICITY + A LITTLE BIT OF ANNIE’S STORY

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FROM ANXIETY TO AUTHENTICITY + A LITTLE BIT OF ANNIE’S STORY

“We are all born with a story, It is our choice whether we want to live the story we were born with or create one that nourishes all we want to be.” ~ Amy Sophia Marashinsky 

Authenticity is a daily practice, a practice that begins by dropping out of your head and into your body, into your heart. Your body is home for your spirit. It feels expansive when you are using your energy in the direction of truth and love for yourself.

Many of us learned from a very young age to morph into what was expected of us by our culture and our caregivers. We had good reasons to adapt – to feel safe or get the love, time, or attention that we needed and deserved. For many, those “good reasons” eventually developed into false beliefs that we are not enough, just as we are.

Survival instincts and brain wiring can keep us stuck in old patterns of wounding. It also stops us from knowing and being the fullest expression of our unique magnificence. As adults, we can consciously notice when we are disconnected from our authenticity and make another choice. This is where the practise comes in!

Nia’s body-centred awareness helps you recognise tightness or restrictions that often shows up when you are feeling anxiety, fear or unworthiness, or engaging in judgment, people pleasing, or perfectionism.

When you feel the body contracting, invite in kindness, compassion and curiosity, without judging what you are feeling. You’re just doing what you learned to do to stay safe. Chances are, you are safe now, but you’re stuck in this learned behaviour of worrying about what other people think of you or replaying negative messages.

Make some time to sit with yourself and enquire, “What beliefs about myself do I need to let go of so I can nurture and embrace who I am?”  “What new belief will serve my highest good?”  Notice what beliefs bring the most joy or energy in your body? Repeat those!

Your body is wired for self-healing, unwinding trauma, releasing thought patterns, accessing ecstatic states, expressing creativity and being in deep communion with the divine.

If you are struggling, it’s so important to reach out for help. There’s no shame in asking for support, making mistakes, falling down, or failing. We’re not meant to do it alone. In fact, failure means you are open to living life, taking risks, and is essential in developing compassion, humility, resilience and connection.

Nia’s somatic education teaches you how to shift your attention and intention,to tune into your body, quieten the mind chatter, connect with spirit and make choices from love. You learn to sense authenticity as inner peace and joyful aliveness, and to recognise when you’ve lost that connection.

The brain’s bias means we’re much more likely to remember and believe the bad stuff, which is why it takes daily practise to get out of the lower left brain of survival and access the right brain where we can connect with our highest guidance. Years of therapy, study, training and life experience have been powerful teachers for me on this path.  

a little bit of Annie’s Story

One of my greatest teachers has been my 19 year old daughter Annie who last week surprised me (and my students) by popping into the Bali Hut as a “back up dancer” for our online Nia class.

Annie has struggled for many years with complicated mental health issues including anxiety and addiction. It’s been a heartbreaking and challenging time for us, and I’m proud of her willingness to learn and heal (and how this has helped me learn and heal too.)

When she said yes to dancing alongside me, it felt deeply meaningful. Having taken maybe a handful of classes ever, and with no preparation, Annie agreed to step in and be on camera for the “live class” and replay. I was so excited (and a little nervous!) Thankfully, in Nia we have a mindful practise for leaving distractions behind!

Afterwards, she shared how much she enjoyed it and how good she felt. Without feeling like she needed to perform, she wore her “concentration face” for most of the class. My mumma heart is bursting with love for her courage to show up, have a go, and be seen in her authentic power.

Of course I let her know she’s welcome to dance beside me anytime and also that I had no expectations around that.  Her face lit up… “oh mum… I’m excited to do it again!”

Take a 5 minute dance break with me to the song “If I Were Brave” and feel into the lyrics, “What would I do if I knew I could not fail? Never lose faith even when losing my way… What step will I take, today? I am brave!”

Sophie Marsh © 2022 • Web Design Seedhead

JOY AS A HEALING ENERGY + A MEDITATION

JOY AS A HEALING ENERGY + A MEDITATION

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JOY AS A HEALING ENERGY + A MEDITATION

“Biology isn’t just genes playing out some unalterable script. It is sensitive to the world around it.”
~ Dr Bruce Perry, Child Psychiatrist

Environment dictates how your cells perform. If your body moves in an environment of pleasure and comfort, your cells vibrate at a higher frequency. If the environment is one of tension, fear, anxiety, every system in your body vibrates with this energy.

Practising Nia and 5Stages brings you to a place of sensitivity that enables you to observe and release stress and embrace the sensations of “dynamic ease”, pleasure, and comfort. Every time you vibrate higher, a part of you heals.

Prolonged pain, loss, and stress in the world around you, and in your own life can lead to persisitent inflammation in the body and can adversely affect brain systems linked to motivation and mental agility. Article: chronic stress and the brain

Often, we can’t control our external circumstances, but we can change our cellular environment by choosing how we move through life’s experiences, what meaning we give them, and how we direct our energy and attention.

Living with self-awareness and intention takes courage and commitment. It’s being willing to start where you are, and begin again, and again.  It’s staying open to learning, letting go of expectations, and allowing the aliveness of every moment to inspire you. It’s paying attention to subtle feelings and trusting what you sense, making choices that are in vibrational alignment with your highest – body, mind and spirit. It’s finding your soul’s medicine.

A JOY MEDITATION

Take a moment to settle into your self, noticing the feeling of the earth or chair supporting you, maybe lowering your gaze, and letting yourself soften a little more as you exhale. Now think about a time and place in you life where you felt yourself bursting with Joy. Keep replaying it in your mind’s eye.

As you bathe in the memory with all your senses… the sounds, colours, smells… begin to notice what’s happening in your body now. Keep your focus on sensing into it. Maybe there’s a deeper breath, or your face moves into a smile, or your heart lifts or you feel a wave of warmth or a peaceful pulse or a tingling buzz?

Stay with this feeling and allow it to permeate through every part of you. Imagine your cells are swimming in light. Gently sway your spine and visualise loving energy flowing through every part of your body, and oozing out of your joints. This feeling is what in Nia we call the “Big J Joy.”

Big J Joy is a sensation of aliveness and wellbeing that permeates the Universe and every healthy cell in your body. It’s available 24/7, waiting for you to open to it. It’s not about putting a positive spin on things, or or even feeling happy. Often it’s when we are in our darkest moments that Joy does its greatest magic.  Sit with the sadness, pain, discomfort, fear. Acknowledge it, feel it and flood your cells with Joy.

Choosing to connect to this high vibration creates powerful changes to your biochemistry, thought patterns and energy. It creates a feeling of being at home in yourself, and connected to all. It helps you take your power back and self-heal.

“Each time an inner conflict is resolved, a person’s energy level increases.” ~ Alexander Lowen MD, Bioenergetics

Join me for a 3.5 minute Nia dance break to the song “Call Me Out Tiger” to practise choosing and oozing Joy, with the intention to self-heal.  Notice your energy before you move (give it a number out of 10) and then compare it again afterwards. Do you feel better?  More energised? Thank you body!

Sophie Marsh © 2022 • Web Design Seedhead

10 WAYS TO DANCE WITH YOUR INNER CRITIC

10 WAYS TO DANCE WITH YOUR INNER CRITIC

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10 WAYS TO DANCE WITH YOUR INNER CRITIC

“Courage… is to tell the story of who you are with your whole heart.” ~Brene Brown 

Growing into a people pleasing perfectionist

As a child, I remember interpreting “you can be anything except mediocre” as an expectation that I needed to excel at whatever I did.  Internalised as a fear of rejection and failure, it soon developed into an unquenchable quest for achievement, accolades, and people-pleasing.

To be loveable, my inner critic translated ‘always do your best’ into ‘you have to be the best.’ This impossible standard meant constantly pushing myself, comparing, competing and judging – a wild ride between ‘not enough’ and ‘over the top’.

I lived with a shameful secret that I was acting how I thought I was supposed to be instead of just being myself. From studies to my corporate career, to marriage and motherhood the perfectionist voice only got louder.

Sometimes her voice stopped me from trying new things I feared I might not be good at or quitting before I could fail. Needing to get it right, I’d be anxious or overbearing, often without being sensitive to the needs or feelings of others.

I’ve walked away from relationships and situations where I couldn’t meet my own or another’s high expectations. Of course I kept attracting those people and experiences into my life to prove my inner critic right, just as I’ve judged others for not living up to my ideal. We are all mirrors after all.

By the time I stepped into my first Nia class in 1999 I felt like a fraud. My inner critic (who by then I’d named ‘Susie Homemaker’) was running the show. I wore a mask of happy-wife and super-Mum (or so I thought), while inside me raged a battle of postpartum blues, inadequacy and overwhelm.

“When the student is ready, the teacher appears.” ~ Tao Te Ching

How Nia helped me find my authentic self

In the welcoming, non-judgmental, ‘no wrong way’ vibe of Nia classes, Susie Homemaker was made redundant, and the ‘real me’ began to feel safe to come out and play. There were even bigger shifts after my first Nia White Belt – learning to choose and embody Joy, to trust the felt sense of my authentic YES, to step into my power, to tell my story with my whole heart, and to follow my sacred purpose. The rest they say… is a long slow path to recovery!!

“The time will come when, with elation you will greet yourself arriving at your own door, in your own mirror and each will smile at the other’s welcome…” ~ Love After Love Derek Walcott

My wisest teachers have been my 3 children. At  7 years old, Sam stopped me in my comparison dance by saying, “Mum, you’re looking in the wrong direction. You can always find people better or worse off than you.” (he’s now 24 and still calling me out!)  My daughters inspire me to continue learning about loving myself, to fully live the awkward, human, messy and sometimes scary dance of life without pretence, and to help women find their voice and feel safe to speak their truth even in the face of upsetting another… or a whole culture!

Nia co-creator Debbie Rosas and my colleagues in the International Training Faculty embody the spirit of Nia as a business and practice founded on Love, acceptance, and collaboration. And  I am grateful for you and our caring Nia Australia community – passionate people want to do their best, connect authentically, and make a positive difference in the world – together.

“By living your life out loud, unafraid of the opinions of others, you may inspire someone who was feeling lost and encourage them to join you on your campaign of uniqueness.” ~Walk On Your Wild Side Day, 12 April

Self-mastery is certainly not for the faint-hearted!  It takes courage to break down – processing pain, feeling to heal, learning a different way. And Susie Homemaker still likes to have her say! I recognise her in my body as bracing rather than embracing, breath-holding instead of space-holding. While she speaks the language of concern, comparison and blame, through Nia I have re-learned the language of my body, mind, heart and soul – love, divine guidance, uniqueness, choice, Joy.

Now I listen and dance with her, a sensuous dance of love and self-compassion… I ask her what she needs to feel safe and gently remind her that perfectly imperfect is right for us now.

10 WAYS TO DANCE WITH YOUR INNER CRITIC

  1. Soften and breathe. Invite her into a slow, sensuous dance of Tai Chi or harmonious Aikido.
  2. Lighten her up by connecting to the sensation of Joy. Recognise that dimming your light to please others is a form of lack.
  3. The more you think about it the bigger it gets, so focus on and give gratitude for what you want more of; recognise and thank yourself for what you did well today. Teach your daughters it’s ok to brag!
  4. FreeDance and let your your inner critic release and express herself or sing all out (aka car therapy). Give her a theme song like Love to Be Loved or Only Human OR amplify an empowered voice This Is Me or Remember
  5. Satisfy your senses and make time for pleasure. Fantasise and daydream… even thinking about it helps us feel better.
  6. Witness your beliefs and stories around comparison and lack, the ones that come with sensations of tightening or heaviness in the body. The brain has neuroplasticity and CAN be rewired; it’s never too late to create a new story of abunDance and possibility!
  7. Surround yourself with people who you respect and adore and who respect and adore you just as you are, and who will also call you on your ‘stuff’!
  8. Rejoice in the prosperity of others. Celebrating their successes brings a magic that expands your heart and juices your spirit.
  9. “I love life and life loves me!” Know it’s never too late to begin… anything!
  10. Laugh. Play. Have fun. Get out in nature. Give your inner critic the week off! Gift yourself the Nia White Belt training.

Sophie Marsh © 2022 • Web Design Seedhead

STALKING WHAT STEALS YOUR JOY AND HOW TO GET IT BACK

STALKING WHAT STEALS YOUR JOY AND HOW TO GET IT BACK

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STALKING WHAT STEALS YOUR JOY AND HOW TO GET IT BACK

JOY OF MOVEMENT – Nia White Belt Principle 1 – A concept and tool for turning all experiences into positive ones. Joy is the seed at the heart of Nia. The kind of joy we speak of is not simply personal enjoyment, but the essence of joy – that which is our birthright – our connection to Universal Joy.

Find out what brings you Joy and do it more often…

Stalk what steals your Joy and give it less attention.

Sounds simple enough. But the way our biassed brains are wired… we tend to focus on the negative. Our “fight or flight” sympathetic nervous systems are being flooded daily by external and internal stressors, real and imagined. There’s so much going on in the world that is beyond our control and these are troubling times for our planet and many who are suffering and struggling.

Right now, without ruminating, make a list of 5 things that steal your Joy.

These might be the things that you lay awake at night ruminating about… that create stuck stress and fuel anxiety… that leave you tired or wired… that when you think about them, you get shallow breathing, a racing heart, a tight jaw and scrunched shoulders… that make you feel separate and alone.

It could be a pessimistic belief, an ungrounded fear, a toxic relationship, a soul-sucking job, someone that you’d like to forgive or something you need to do that you’ve been putting off, or maybe it’s a serious concern about the world or your place in it. Notice how you feel when you bring these things to mind.

Please know if you are currently facing any kind of imminent danger… then my heart and prayers are with you… and this is not what I’m writing about.

Here are the first 5 that came to me right now (and not listed in any particular order of importance):
1. worry about my children’s wellbeing
2. any person, ideology or Facebook post that promotes fear, separation, intolerance or hatred
3. global climate change and the bushfires currently sweeping eastern Australia
4. the fear that I am not enough and at the same time, that if I step into my full potential that I’ll be too much
5. feeling helpless to make a difference

Phew! Take a few deep breaths… put your hand to your heart and let yourself know you’re ok. Bring yourself back into this moment, to the screen you’re reading this on, to the sounds around you, to the feeling of your body on the chair/bed/floor. Say, “I am here now. It is 12 November 2019″ (insert today’s date) and, smiling with relief,  “there is no tiger in the room.”

Now… write down 5 things that bring you the sensation of Joy as aliveness.

When you think of these things you might feel an expansion in your chest and the desire to take some deep breaths… a sense of being connected with your true self, with others, with nature, with life… a smile in your eyes and your heart… a spring in your step and like the world is full of boundless possibilities… simultaneously microscopic and Universal… being centred, grounded, and radiant all at once… feeling like you are ‘in flow’ and ‘on purpose’.

Here are the first 5 that came to me (oh and there are so many more… how did massages, making love, belly laughs, puppy licks, starry nights and nature walks not make it??!):
1. hugging my children
2. dancing in community
3. ocean time
4. looking into another’s eyes in a silent exchange of love
5. inspiring Joy and supporting personal transformation through Nia

Nia White Belt Principle 1 – Joy of Movement – invites you to get to know the sensation of aliveness and to choose it again and again.

Your body’s natural self-repair mechanisms can only activate when you are in a relaxation response. Being in a positive brain state allows your creativity, connection and compassion to flow. It’s not always easy. It IS a practice. Energy follows attention, so it makes sense to stalk patterns and habits that stress your body and mind as well as put your attention on what you want to feel more of. Joy. Peace. Gratitude. Love. Faith.

At this precarious time of bushfires and bullies, heartbreak and homelessness, injustice and ignorance, environmental disasters and political oppression, domestic violence and mental health crises … there are also hundreds of precious moments and miracles. Let’s raise the resonance and practice together… Today I choose Joy… choose breath… choose movement… choose love… choose gratitude… choose life.

Sophie Marsh © 2022 • Web Design Seedhead