Startup Sisters

Little did Sarah Love know that when she started taking Nia classes in 1999, she would become one of the movement’s most dedicated instructors and eventually teach college students about the role that movement, visual art, music, writing and media can play in problem-solving.

Love, who holds a blue belt in Nia, lives in Woodinville and is a member of Startup Sisters of Kirkland. She recently finished teaching her fifth “Movement & Creativity” workshop at The Evergreen State College Tacoma campus, and says each workshop is even more invigorating than the last.

It’s a three-section program designed to show the correlation between physical and mental agility, and creativity: Section I focuses on Movement & Writing, the second one explores Movement & Drawing; and the final section is an experiential mini-Nia class.

Nia is a “fitness-fusion” program that was developed by Debbie Rosas Stewart and Carlos Aya Rosas in 1983. It incorporates nine movement forms from the martial arts, dance arts and healing arts, which Love combines into 60-minute cardiovascular workouts she teaches weekly at the Circle P Barn, 18711 152^nd Avenue NE in Woodinville. During the Evergreen College workshops, she says students who familiarize themselves with the 52 basic Nia movements fall in love with it, because of its ability to stimulate creativity.

An added benefit, is what Nia does for physical health, she says. According to the World Confederation for Physical Therapy, an estimated 1.9 million people die each year as a result of illness brought on from lack of physical activity — a statistic Love shares with students in an exercise called “Why Move?”

“Nia is playful, integrates body, mind and spirit, has been taught around the world and promotes physical and mental fitness,” Love says.  “Each workshop has been a joy to present and students definitely remember it.”

That’s because Love teaches them how to use Nia movements to work through mental blocks and the stress they feel when they have papers due or  presentations to prepare: “They find that Nia’s simple, every day movements and the hands-on activities we deliver help them overcome fears and find new ways of coping with their stress, which leads to enhanced creativity and energy levels.”

Love’s full-time job is as a marketing writer and editor, and she says teaching the workshop and weekly Nia classes helps keep her centered, as well.  Her classes are from 6 p.m. – 7 p.m., Wednesdays,  and 10 a.m. – 11 a.m.,  Saturdays.  This Saturday, Sept. 15, she will be teaching a special class: The Base Moves of Nia’s 52 Basic Moves. It will explore feet, stances, steps and kicks with a goal of fully knowing and understanding moves that provide stability during movement. The 45-minute learning session will precede Love’s regular Nia class.  The charge is $15 for both. Click here for more information or contact Love at sarah@niaseattle.com, or by calling 425.985.8653.

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