Press about Nia
The instructor, Gail Condrick, brings a spark of energy to the room, as she moves quickly and easily among her students . . . In this class, she will serve as part motivator, part guide and part den mother: Think video workout queen Kathy Smith meets Shirley MacLaine, with a healthy dose of Deepak Chopra and Jackie Chan thrown in for good measure--just watch out for her roundhouse kicks.
Washington Post
What is Nia? The Nia Technique is a cardiovascular fitness and personal growth practice that integrates the body, mind, emotions, and spirit. Nia embraces both form and freedom: the form of simple steps, kicks, and stances that anyone can learn, and the freedom of each students inner dance. Nia truly represents the joy of movment.
- Natural Awakenings
The class builds beautifully and naturally from muscle-warming to sweat inducing. I feel just like a little kid again, skipping and playing hard. Workout is a misnomer. This is sheer fun. By the end of class I am joyous.
- Mode
Roll over yoga, there's a new regime in town. NIA (pronounced nee-ah), short for neuromuscular integrative action or nonimpact aerobics, is a workout trend that combines the best of modern dance, martial arts, yoga and tai chi. A sort of East meets West workout, with elements to enhance the body as well as the mind and spirit.
- Washington Post
Your strength, balance and flexibility will improve with these exercises. They're based on everyday movements-done slowly with concentration and precision, they give you a good workout.
- Glamour
Have injury, muscle pain or mere fatigue forced you to reconsider becoming a couch potato? Worry no more: A new aerobic program, The Nia Technique, Non-Impact Aerobics, has come to the rescue of ailing and would be exercisers who find even low-impact aerobics a drain on their aching bodies and tired minds. The Rosas aren't the only ones who think Nia is a good Idea. The International Dance Exercise Association (IDEA) rates The Nia Technique 4.9 on a scale of 5, measuring effectiveness, safety and creativity.
- American Health
A workout that pumps the heart, lubricates the joints and stretches the muscles to release tension, enhance balance and comprehensively tone the muscles in a way that leaves the body sweating yet refreshed-all without running, jumping or jarring calisthenics.
- San Francisco Chronicle
Possibly the most revolutionary of today's soft aerobics-Nia's movements are fuller, more controlled, and more graceful than the typical "watered-down aerobics" of low-impact classes. NIA is designed to be easy enough that anybody of any age or skill level may participate, yet grow with the challenges of the technique and improve spinal flexibility.
- Women's Sports and Fitness
Nia gets the pulse rate up, but it does so without risking the injuries common in aerobics and other high-impact forms of exercise . . . In Nia classes, everybody does their own thing, but in an orchestrated way-as if they were all singing the same song, but at different octaves. Whether your pitch is high or low, the result is improved tone.
- Business Week
Nia (pronounced nee-uh), which in Swahili means "with purpose," is a uniquemind/body/spirit movement program developed by Debbie and Carlos Rosas of Portland, Oregon. The word "Nia" stands for "neuromuscular integrative action" and is a kinesthetic experience that incorporates a blend of eastern and western movement styles with concepts and philosophies drawn from yoga, the martial arts, the healing arts, and modern, jazz and ethnic dance. Used as a tool, Nia will help you to explore life, to grow, expand, learn and to transform yourself, say the Rosas', whose personal and professional explorations have included the study of dance, martial arts, music, art, therapy, and energy and healing work. They have been keynote presenters at the International Dance Exercise Association (IDEA) conferences for more than 10 years, have produced seven videotape workouts and a meditation tape, and have developed four teacher-training manuals used in the Nia certification program.
- NBC