About Terre Pruitt

Terre Pruitt

is a licensed Nia Teacher, White Belt. Terre's past dance experiences include Country Western couples dancing where she and her husband participated in dance competitions. Terre has recently removed her cowboy boots to dance bare foot, the dance and workout that is Nia. Terre is also a Certified Personal Trainer with the National Council on Strength and Fitness as well as a certified PiYo Instructor.

Terre's story

A couple of years ago I was sitting on the couch and I made a comment, like I had always done, about being fat or out of shape (I don't even remember what I said). My husband must have been sick of hearing it because he said, "Why don't you do something about it?" ----SMACK!!!--- I mean he might as well have just slapped me, because that is what it felt like. For once he was right. Why did I just complain about it and never do anything? So, I bought a Turbo Jam DVD and have been working out every since.

I now maintain within the healthy range, and I am in much better shape than I was, and I am much stronger and more confident.

As I started working out I realized that people need to move. Our bodies were made to move. The saying, "Use it or lose it" applies to movement, strength, balance, agility, all that stuff that goes along with our bodies.

So I decided that I wanted to do something to help people, but I didn't know what. I know I am not the stereo typical Personal Trainer type person, but I thought that I could get certified as one and start there. I am a certified personal trainer, and I would love to work with people helping them get healthy in that field, but it wasn't until I found Nia that I felt I could really help a larger number of people and in a totally complete-mind/body-way.

"As a certified personal trainer, PiYo Instructor, and licensed Nia Teacher - White Belt, I am sure by working together, we can find something that will inspire you to move."

Nia Sessions Being Offered:

• March and April:

  Sunday’s sessions are $7.00 each. They will include about 20 minutes of Nia concepts. The remaining portion of the hour will be for Freedancing, enabling the participants to practice the concept introduced. Nia Freedance encourages participants to move without thinking of the music. Let your body listen and move freely.

  Sunday sessions to be held from 10:30 am to 11:30 am on 3/15/09, 4/05/09, and 4/19/09.

  Monday’s, Wednesday’s, and Friday’s classes will be “Classic Nia” workouts. Nia workouts are classes led by a teacher and done in bare feet to diverse music and incorporate movements from Martial Arts, Dance Arts, and Healing Arts. Even though Nia might be new to you, you will see familiar steps, like the Jazz Square and the Cha-Cha-Cha. Its low impact with intensity you designate for yourself. You might want to bring a towel, a mat, and water.

  Class fees: New Students 3 class pass for $20.00 Valid for two weeks after purchase

  Drop in fee for M/W/F day class $12.00
  Sunday class $7.00

  Discount passes:

  • Purchase a 12 to 15 class pass and each class is only $7.00
  • Purchase a 6 class pass for $50.00
  • Purchase a pass for 3 or more classes for $9.00 each class

  Each pass (aside from New Student pass) good for 30 days from date of purchase.

  Please contact Terre at 408-546-2649, if you have any questions.

Location: Halanda Studio 1062 Lincoln Ave. San Jose, CA 95125
Parking at rear of building. - Click For Map

Tips for a Pleasurable Nia Experience:

Tips for a Pleasurable Nia Experience:

Dress to move. Wear whatever makes you feel free, comfortable, and excited to move. People wear Yoga clothing, street or exercise wear, skirts, dresses, it all changes the way you move and feel and work out. So wear what works for YOU and your body.

Go barefoot. Nia is non-impact aerobics, so unless you need shoes for medical purposes, leave your shoes at the door. Allow the bottoms of your feet to send information back to your brain so your body can move safely and efficiently.

Train Yourself to clear your mind. The purpose of "stepping in" is to leave all of our "outside of Nia" thoughts and worries out. Be your own personal trainer, talk to yourself, to help yourself remain focused on what you are doing and how you are doing it. Coach yourself to get your physical body into moving more efficiently and sensing more pleasure.

Start easy. Let your body slowly acclimate and adjust to Nia Movement. Allow yourself the freedom to enjoy being a beginner. Stay focused and excited by keeping your criticism and judgment of yourself down. Be kind, be gentle, be patient, and allow yourself to move though levels and stay on plateaus---this is the way to master and enjoy Nia.

Start small. You don't have to do anything bigger and "better" than anyone. The whole point is "YOUR Body's Way". So especially at first, don't reach out, sink or rise too far. Build muscle strength and joint mobility slowly.

Pick up your feet. To protect your knees and to keep from getting blisters on your feet, don't drag your feet. Instead, pick up your feet and place them in the direction you want to go.

Sit back. When you lower your body, sit back as if you were sitting down in a chair, moving your buttocks back behind you and away from your knees.

Strive for balance. Both in your posture and in your entire body. Don't strain; listen to your body's signals and move in a smooth, relaxed way that doesn't make you breathless or fatigued. If your body does not relate well to a movement, adjust and move within your own comfort zone to put positive, loving information into the muscle memory.

Find your rhythm. Get in as much nonstop movement as possible by finding your own pace. This may mean working slower and longer, rather than faster and harder.

Express yourself. Make the movements an expression of you-this is your workout. Express your own unique rhythm and body language and use your emotions to fine tune your physical body. Be jazzy, luscious, lyrical, snappy, or sensual. Most of all, be yourself and have fun.

Belly breathe. When you inhale, smell the moment and feel your belly expand, then your ribs and chest filling. Exhale, placing the tip of your tongue directly behind your top teeth, which naturally supports belly breathing. Participate in the verbal exercises as well. Breathing is one of the most effective ways to strengthen and relax your body, mind, and spirit, so don't hold back!

Use your whole body. Connect with every part of your body. Incorporate every part of your body in your dance and movement.

Balance your fitness program. Combined a good diet with internal and external exercises. With enough sleep, proper nutrition, and exercise, you will see and feel results far beyond changing the shape of your body.

Live Long and Prosper

Nia is about joyful movement. Move with joy. Move for joy. Move to joy.

On the surface Nia is a full body workout that is done to music in bare feet. Anyone participating in the Nia workout can elect to stay there, on the surface, or you can try to engage your mind, body, spirit, and emotions and get an entire PERSON workout. Either way, you will feel great!

A lot of workouts make you feel good after you do them. I believe that people should get moving and if they find something that they love that gets them moving, that is what they should do. For me, Nia is that something.

Nia is fun because it includes nine basic movement forms. From the martial arts; T'ai chi, Tae kwon do, and Aikido. From the dance arts; Jazz Dance, Modern Dance, and Duncan Dance, and from the healing arts; teachings from Feldinkrais, the Alexander Technique, and Yoga. So in one workout you can experience all those things. Strength is balanced with grace. Fun is balanced with seriousness. Body is balanced with mind.

It is basically a workout, done in bare feet, to music. Because of the bare feet it is low impact, but because of the bare feet you can really work on your balance. It is also what I am calling "self-regulated" because YOU decide upon the intensity. The idea is for you to move your body in accordance to your body. So there is no one shouting at you to "lift that knee higher . . . . move your hands faster . . . ." Of course there is an ideal on how your body should be ABLE to move because there is a certain design to it, but it is understood that maybe you are tired today or you have pain in that joint so Nia does not force you to move it, but you are encouraged to "listen" to it and move it to make you feel better. Kind of opposite from most workout regimes, huh?

Nia Is A Journey.

Nia as a practice is very difficult to describe because it is different for everyone, as I said, on the surface it is a work out, but if you apply the technique it becomes much more. And different for everyone. I truly believe that when you move your body as it was made to be moved you just FEEL better.

For some, Nia might not effect a change in your life after the first class. It might not affect you after the first class, but if you give it a chance it will do wonders.

• Nia helps joints loosen and muscles tighten.

• Nia makes me feel relaxed, yet strong.

• A Nia workout is about pleasure. If you are doing a move that causes pain, stop. Seek pleasure. Discomfort is ok, but not pain.

• They say, "Nia is like chocolate. You can't describe it---you have to taste it." That sounds reminiscent of Forrest Gump to me, but it is true.

• Nia wants you to learn to pay attention to the sensations of your body.

• Nia has different levels that are called belts. The White Belt is about the body. Learning the Body's Way.

• Like a Yoga "practice", Nia can be a practice that allows you to work the body and the mind and spirit if you so choose.

• Nia has a lot of ideas behind it. One of them is "fitness must address the human being, not just the body."

Terre Pruitt Licensed Nia Teacher - White Belt www.HelpYouWell.com South Bay Area, CA Direct: (408) 564-2649 Contact Trust me with your wellness needs.

Nia Free Dance has eight stages

• Freedance
• Being Seduced by the Music
• Feelings and Emotions
• The Creative Source
• Authentic Movement
• Witness
• Choreography
• Nia Class

Nia is not like any other workout I have ever done. It is low impact. And the intensity is self-regulated so it can be high, medium, low, or whatever YOU make it. It is up to you!