Done barefoot to diverse and inspiring music, Nia is a transformational movement practice. Nia draws from dance, martial arts and healing arts like yoga to create safe, purposeful movement that engages your body mind and spirit. What’s more, Nia invites you to tap into the Joy of Movement… so it feels more like play than working out.
- Do you get bored doing repetitive exercise routines? You’ll love that Nia is creative, lively and fun. No two classes are quite alike.
- Fed up with movement that leaves you feeling sore the next day? Nia works with the design of the body, so you get exactly what you need without overdoing it. And you’ll feel amazing in your body after doing Nia.
- Limited time? Nia offers many fitness benefits in a single class format. Feel alive and fully rejuvenated after just one hour of Nia.
- Nervous about entering a new community where you don’t know the rules or the moves? Nia class is welcoming and gives you permission to be yourself.
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Nia is like chocolate… you have to taste it!
Current Class Info
Nia Technique: Mondays 9:30-10:30 @ East Bay Dance Center in Oakland.
Class Fee $16 per class
East Bay Dance Center Map & Location. Limited street parking available.
Nia Technique: Wednesdays 12:15-1:15pm @ Berkeley Yoga Center. Begins March 7th.
Class Fee $50 4-week course ($16 drop in)
Berkeley Yoga Center Location & Directions . Limited street parking available.
Nia Technique and Sound Healing Salon: First Fridays of Each Month 6:00-7:30pm @ Berkeley Yoga Center .
Class Fee $20 per class. $35 for two (you and a friend, or you for two months!)
*ENTRY CODE REQUIRED after 6pm – please contact me for the code if you plan to attend!
Berkeley Yoga Center Location & Directions . Limited street parking available.
Nia Technique: Sundays 10:30-11:30am @ MoveMe Studio in San Rafael. Begins February 12th. Teaching rotation with myself, France-Laude Gohard and Sarah Caveney.
Class Fee $16 per class. Unlimited monthly class pass $90 (first month $45).
MoveMe Studio Map & Directions. Validated garage parking available at 3rd and C.
History and How It Works
Nia was one of the first fusion fitness programs, blending movement from the dance arts (Duncan dance, modern dance, jazz), martial arts (tai chi, taikwondo, aikido) and healing arts (yoga, Alexander Technique, the work of Moshe Feldenkrais). Unlike traditional aerobic exercise classes, Nia works WITH the design of the body to deliver healing effects, while at the same time encouraging fun, spontaneity and personal choice.
Nia was created in the early 1980s in California by Debbie and Carlos Rosas, a couple of aerobics instructors who were fed up with their students’ frequent complaints about injury and joint pain. Through the study of anatomy and extensive training in nine complementary movement forms, they developed Nia – an ever-evolving one-hour fitness class designed to engage all of the body’s 13 joints and muscle groups in a healthy and ergonomically sound way.
The beauty of Nia is that you won’t feel the hours of careful intention that go into the design of each and every Nia class. You just feel great. From the first strains of warm-up music to the last breath of the cool-down, Nia students are encouraged to focus on Nia principle #1 – the Joy of Movement. “If you experience pleasure, keep doing that! If not, tweak your movement until it comes back…”
Good advice in dance, as well as in life.