 With the arrival of Spring 2022, some folks are eager to come out and play...carefully. We get it! At the same time, we also want to make it as easy and inviting as possible to dance in our studio again. Although we've opened our studio to a limited number of fully vaccinated people (10, max) for our Nia classes since last spring, we realize that accessing that option was confusing for a number of folks. That's why we've updated our Studio Calendar to include an "IN STUDIO" option for all of Melanie's and Ann's classes at Move2Center. Don't worry, we're still offering all of our classes on Zoom. To join us in our studio, please be fully vaccinated -- as in, you have completed the 14-day period following your 2nd Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, or your J&J -- and preferably boosted. Both Mel and Ann are fully vaccinated and have each received booster doses. How Do I Sign Up to Come Into the Studio? It's very simple: Simply go to the Calendar, look for the Nia class with Ann or Mel that you'd like to take, and click on the "IN STUDIO" option. Then, reserve your spot as usual. Please note: If you have to cancel, please email us and let us know as soon as possible. Do I Have to Wear a Mask? Although we encourage anyone who wants to wear a mask while dancing to do so, you do not have to. However, we also have disposable masks available on site. Is Awareness Through Movement Also In Studio? For the time being, Awareness Through Movement will continue to be held on Zoom. Does the studio have ventilation? Yes! Our basement-level studio has windows that we open during class in order to keep air moving. We also have an air filtration unit that cycles air through the room every hour, and will be ordering a second. Since we will be opening our windows, we invite you to dress in light layers so that you can be comfortable until you warm up. Other Details to Know: 1. If you have signed up to join us, please arrive at least 5 minutes prior to class. For our safety and comfort we have been locking our door before class begins. 2. If you have to cancel please let us know as soon as you can. For those who sign up for an in-person 8:15am class, if you need to cancel please let us know by 8pm the night before. If you need to cancel your in-person appearance at 6:30pm please let us know by 1pm that same day. 3. Please bring your own towel and water bottle to the studio to use during class. We'll still have a water pitcher on site as well as single-use cups and disinfectant wipes, but to be safe we are asking folks to please bring their own bottles with them if possible. You may also want to bring your own yoga mat, but we have mats available for Floor Play and disinfectant wipes to clean them with. 4. Most importantly, if you are feeling ill or out of sorts at all, please stay home. Remember, we're still conducting classes over Zoom so even if you want to move a little, you'll be keeping everybody safe if you dance at a (Zoom) distance. Otherwise the same rules apply: If you need a new pass, please buy it online. (You can do that here.)
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 Updated! Now that Washington State is fully re-opened, we're welcoming a limited number of fully vaccinated people (six at a time) inside the studio for our Nia classes.
Don't worry, we're still offering all of our classes on Zoom. If you are fully vaccinated -- as in, you have completed the 14-day period following your 2nd Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, or your J&J -- join us on the dance floor. Per Washington State emergency mandate, all students must wear a mask during class until further notice. Awareness Through Movement will continue to be held on Zoom only for the time being. At Move2Center Studio we have always operated with an abundance of caution and will continue to do so as Washington state's re-opening evolves. We realize six is a small number. However, that number allows for enough room for the instructor to use our existing Zoom set up and plenty of room for everyone else to move. We are also asking people who wish to join us in person to adhere to certain guidelines, including wearing a mask during class. Click here to read the latest guidance from the CDC. Also, click here to see the CDC's Choosing Safer Activities chart. 1. Please give us at least 1 day of advance notice if you intend to come in. Make your reservations as usual, but if you want to come in please also send us an email at info@move2centerstudio.com and let us know you're coming. Remember: we'll have six slots per class. So don't delay...and please be certain that you're coming if you request a reserved slot. 2. If you have signed up, please arrive no later than 10 minutes before class. We will be locking the studio door five minutes before class begins and we will not be able to let you in afterward. 3. If you have to cancel please let us know as soon as you can. For those who sign up for an in-person 8:15am class, if you need to cancel please let us know by 8pm the night before. If you need to cancel your in-person appearance at 6:30pm please let us know by 1pm that same day. 4. Please bring your own towel, water bottle and yoga mat to the studio to use during class. We'll still have a water pitcher on site as well as single-use cups and disinfectant wipes, but to be safe we are asking folks to please bring their own bottles, mats, rollers, etc. with them if possible. 5. If you are feeling ill or out of sorts at all, please stay home. Remember, we're still conducting classes over Zoom so even if you want to move a little, you'll be keeping everybody safe if you dance at a (Zoom) distance. Otherwise the same rules apply: If you need a new pass, please buy it online. (You can do that here.) As much as we can let's continue to observe social distancing roles of six feet or more. We have ventilation and an air-filter for your comfort. Ready to dance with us, online or in-person? Make your reservation, then email us! Either way, see you soon.  Spiders have long fascinated me.
Given their reputation, that may seem like a strange thing to say. These tiny beings inspire their own phobia, and even those of us who aren’t afraid of them wouldn’t necessarily keep them as pets. But they’re an unavoidable aspect of Autumn. You may be wondering what spiders have to do with Nia, and there are many ways to answer that. When Nia practitioners refer to the concept of “Life as Art” – part of Dancing Through Life – what this means is finding inspiration in the world around us in order to enrich our own experience. There's also the metaphor of a spider’s very existence: it represents both natural time…and for many of us, fear. I was moved to write about spiders the morning after enduring the dispiriting chaos of the first presidential debate. I woke up thinking about the terms that have dominated our lives lately: Unprecedented. Uncertain. Frightening. Dark. Looking out of my window, I saw morning sunlight dyed deep orange from California wildfire smoke once again hovering in the higher atmospheric layers above Seattle. What else could I do but pour myself a cup of coffee and walk – no, let’s be real here, trudge – out to my garden to center myself? So it was. I surveyed the dahlias, the scarlet leaves on my dogwood tree, opened my ears to the chirps of morning birds. Then I saw her, a spider weaving her web. She was so methodical, her delicate limbs collecting each tendril of silk as she produced it and connecting each spoke of her wheel to another, gracefully dancing from one to the next in a seamless spiral. She was minding her own business, not worried about her observer or the red sun or human anger. Autumn is when most varieties of spiders, the vast majority of which aren't poisonous, seek mates before finding a safe space to lay their eggs and, inevitably, die. Children receive this lesson and many others about spiders when they read E.B. White’s “Charlotte’s Web,” an influential work that taught me to see the worthiness and loveliness in every creature, even vermin and pests. White was insistent that any illustrations of Charlotte in his books refrain from glamourizing her face, preferring that any representations draw attention to her “eight wonderfully articulated legs (arms) which offer a great chance for ballet treatment," as writer Abby Walthausen explains in an essay about literature's most lovable spider. White’s story empowered me to fall under the spell of a spider's movements, not the fear surrounding them. I've marveled at their artistic expression in all the years since I first read "Charlotte's Web," and this morning I was gratified to meditate on one spider's dance. To watch a creature move so unhurriedly, so certain in her pattern-making even as the world around her falls further into uncertainty, is utterly soothing. If her work happens to be destroyed, she simply starts over. She does this every day. Nature, when allowed, endures. I breathe this in. I tell myself, this web is within my sphere of influence and care and will endure. I breathe this in. In return its creator helps me to endure by inviting me to pause, be seduced and for a few moments, to meditate on her work. “The most fundamental benefit of seeing Life as Art is that it can make ordinary life as inspiring as viewing a great painting,” writes Nia Technique co-creators Debbie Rosas and Carlos Rosas in their foundational book on the practice. “This inspiration is not just figurative. It is literal. When we are inspired by art and beauty, we inhale the ethereal energy, or chi, that surrounds all great art and all physical beauty.” Return, then, to the spider’s web, those intricate doilies draping across our gardens, weaving between doorposts and eaves and anywhere their sticky silk can take hold. Most of us don’t appreciate the telltale tickle on our skin of having barreled through one as we go about our business, myself included. But those webs are architectural wonders and, when the morning dew catches each strand, a delight to the eye. “When you learn how to perceive the whole world as art, you will feel inspiration from this art flow into you,” Debbie and Carlos wrote. “You’ll feel it as a physical sensation. You will actually inhale the beauty, with its chi, that is all around you. The world becomes your masterpiece.” Its much easier to appreciate the web than its builder – the art rather than the artist – which is why I suggest reconsidering that notion. In this stressful season a spider’s autumnal weavings offer the gift of pausing, breathing and experiencing Life as Art. So if given the opportunity, watch one as she weaves. They are much-needed reminders of all the goodness of which we can avail ourselves if we breathe, pause and refuse to be danced by fear. “You have been my friend. That in itself is a tremendous thing. I wove my webs for you because I liked you. After all, what's a life, anyway? We're born, we live a little while, we die. A spider's life can't help being something of a mess, with all this trapping and eating flies. By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyone's life can stand a little of that.” ― E. B. White, Charlotte's Web  "Consciously recognize through body sensation the self-healing and fitness benefits you have received. Step out and into your next life experience with renewed health." - From The Nia Technique Book When I share Cycle 7 of the Nia class experience and invite my students to Step Out, I always extend the invitation to take something from their practice with them. It could be the Focus, the Intent, or something that they discovered about their body and life during the class. For me, when I Step Out, I am often stepping into the next thing, carrying with me something from the practice I just completed. So it is that I'm Stepping Out of teaching Nia at Move2Center for now. I will be teaching my last Saturday class this week, August 1st, and will teach my last Monday evening class on August 10th. Going forward, Melanie will be returning to her Center for Movement & Healing schedule and will be teaching both the Monday and Wednesday evening classes. The Saturday morning class will continue, with Ann and Melanie sharing that pleasure. My husband and I are selling our West Seattle home and moving to the Poulsbo area. This has been in the works for a while, and now it is really happening! We are excited and ready to step in to the next chapter of our life together. I need to take a break from teaching Nia during this time of transition, and of moving from one place to the next. That does not mean that I am leaving the Move2Center community. This extended break is meant to be a sabbatical with the prospect of returning with a clear mind and spirit, ready to share what I discovered during my time away. (Also, Poulsbo is not that far away. AND this amazing invention called the Internet will let me pop in to classes as a student any time I want!) As I Step Out, I take the love, compassion, and treasured friendship of Alyssa Aimette, Melanie McFarland, and Ann Nicolaysen with me on my next adventure. As I Step Out, I take with me all the lessons I learned while dancing with all of you. And now, I take the love, acceptance, and encouragement that you all have given me as I Step Out of teaching at Move2Center, and Step In to what’s to come. With a Loving Heart and a Dancing Spirit, Juliann
Our ongoing pause at home presents a unique opportunity to more deeply embody our wellness practices. This is why Ananta Yoga Studio is offering a unique opportunity in collaboration with Move2Center: Everyday Yoga! with Susan Westlund Everyday Yoga is a six-week course dedicated to helping you to craft a practice suited specifically for you. Each of our bodies is different and requires focuses specific to our needs. As such, Susan is presenting a package of private lessons along with group lessons with other participants, allowing you to co-design soothing, energizing, and awakening techniques that serve as invaluable tools for your well-being. Everyday Yoga uses an eclectic approach that draws from several schools of yoga to find practices designed specifically for you, and is suitable for Beginners and Experienced yogis alike. What you can expect: •Three 60-minute private lessons (individually scheduled) to take place between May 25 and June 26, 2020 •Three 60-minute group lessons with those in your cohort, scheduled for Tuesdays: June 2, 16 and June 30 •Handouts •Blog entries directed at the Course •Brief small group Q&A sessions Tuition: $180 (tax included)* *For an idea of cost comparison, we Googled the local cost for private yoga sessions alone... they can can range up to $90 per hour... so this is a steal! So—you say you can’t do yoga? You think your hamstrings are too tight, belly too round, your birthdays have marked too many decades--and now you can’t get out of the house? Bendy or not, men, women, children, elders, healthy and sick, short, tall, heavy, thin, procrastinators and all shelter-in-placers can do yoga. Yoga is for Everybody. Still have doubts? Google these guys: · Michael Sanford, paraplegic yoga teacher from Minnesota · Tao Porchon-Lynch, at age 101, she taught a weekly yoga class in NYC and led programs across the globe. ·Keith Mitchell, Former Texans linebacker turned yoga teacher · Allan Nett, “Yoga with your boots on”, “Toolbelt yoga for construction workers · Shruti Pandey, who started teaching yoga to adults at age six. Yoga adapts well to the individual which explains the many and varied styles of yoga. We have slower, quieter forms in Yin, Gentle and Restorative practices and more vigorous, active forms in Ashtanga, Vinyasa and Power yoga. We build relationships with our community and draw energy from our peers in group classes. We deepen our relationships with ourselves and integrate our practice into our lives in one-on-one lessons and personal practice. Everyday Yoga helps each of us find the practice that suits us just as we are, now. Join our inaugural cohort.  Special thanks to Nia Teacher Jennifer Hicks for sharing this document with us!
Improving Your Experience of Using Zoom For Nia Classes In general, being part of a Zoom class is using a lot of your internet connection’s “bandwidth”. In other words, your internet “capacity” is being taxed. Because of this, sometimes the audio or video in Zoom becomes choppy or distorted. But there are things you can do to enhance your experience and to help your internet to work optimally, and help us to deliver the best class to you that we can. Here’s what you can do to get the most out of your online Nia class experience. 1. Use the best Internet connection you can. In general: • Wired connections are better than wireless (WiFi or cellular) connections. • WiFi connections are better than cellular (3G/4G/LTE) connections. 2. Plan ahead for Zoom classes. For Move2Center's classes, you can pre-register online as far ahead as you'd like for your Zoom classes. Your registration link is tied to a particular day's class, so using a link from a previous class may not allow you to enter a Zoom class in progress. And as often as possible, join Zoom classes from a location where you can use a fast, reliable, wired Internet connection. 3. Mute your microphone. Our instructors will do our best to mute everyone before class starts, but we also want to make sure we get some time to socialize before class begins. It's important to mute because when your microphone is on, Zoom will devote part of your Internet connection to an audio stream for you, even if you are not speaking. 4. Stop your webcam video once class begins. We love enjoying your smiling faces and creative movement, so it's great to see you. That said, be aware that when your video is on, Zoom will devote part of your Internet connection to a video stream for you and this may add to distortions. So please feel free to start your video at the beginning/end of class – to say “hello” and check in. When we start class, I will remind you of the option to stop your video. 5. Disable HD webcam video. Sending high definition (HD) webcam video requires more bandwidth than sending non-HD. Disabling HD video will free up more of your Internet connection for other parts of your Zoom meeting. Even if you will only be sharing your video at the beginning and end of class (if you choose to do so), disabling your HD video will still help improve your internet connection. How do I disable HD video in the Zoom Client? From within the Zoom Client: 1. Click the "Home" tab. 2. Click " Settings". 3. In the Settings window that opens:
On a Mac, you can access these settings when signed into Zoom from the top right-hand corner of your screen. Click on the icon that looks like a camera (the first symbol on the left), and you will find the “Video settings” which you can change. For some reason you cannot change these settings from your browser or from your mobile device, only by clicking on this icon. 6. Close other, unneeded applications on your computer. Zoom meetings can demand significant memory and processing power from your computer. Closing other applications, ones you do not need during the session, will help Zoom run better. 7. Avoid other activities that will steal bandwidth. Don't start other bandwidth-intensive activities just before, or during, a Zoom meeting. On your Zoom device—and as much as possible, on other computers and devices that share your Internet connection—avoid: • large downloads • large uploads • streaming video (e.g. Netflix, Hulu, YouTube) • cloud backups (e.g. Carbonite, CrashPlan) • cloud file synchronizations (e.g. OneDrive, Dropbox) • other high-bandwidth activities Other info • If you are joining on a mobile device (iPhone, iPad, android) make sure that your “Do not disturb” feature is enabled to prevent other apps from derailing your Zoom experience. If all else fails, sign out of the meeting then join back in again! The information for this document was found here: https://wiki.millersville.edu/display/instructdocs/Improving+your+Zoom+connection Created by Stephen Gadsby, last modified on Mar 16, 2020  Since the day we opened, cleanliness has been a practice that we take very seriously at Move2Center. We consider our studio to be a place of healing, health and sanctuary, and we want our students to trust our dedication to that philosophy.
This understanding is particularly important as new developments about the cold and flu season and the novel coronavirus COVID-19 continue to emerge. Since several students have asked about what precautions we've taken and continue to take, here's a list of our studio's cleaning protocols. (Please note: This list was last updated on July 6, 2021.)
What You Can Do According to the CDC the best measures for preventing the spread of germs that cause respiratory illness are easily adopted by each of us.
 Lots of people talk these days about self-care and self-love as necessary tools to maintain our well-being. But what is self-care and self-love, anyway? The answers vary for each of us. However, the truths we can always return to are sensation and feeling.
The body is the ultimate truth-teller. And the body is very honest with its feelings. Foremost it loves the feeling of being loved, whether by way of giving love or receiving love. We don't have to depend on anyone else to give us that feeling. We can give it to ourselves anytime we want, thanks to the body's four favorite love potions: endorphins, oxytocin, serotonin, and dopamine. Each time that you do anything that you love, you're mixing yourself a cocktail of these feel-good natural chemicals. Nia classes grant us the ultimate mix of the four. Guess what? Sciences backs us on this. Oxytocin is produced when we bond with loved ones. But it's also produced when we sense trust and belonging. Part of the reason participating in a Nia class feels different than doing it in your living room -- which is great, by the way! -- is the Joy of community. Nia is intentionally non-competitive and supportive for this reason. When we're dancing with others, we exchange energy, giving joy and receiving it. You can also boost your oxytocin right now: Grab some of your favorite moisturizer, and focus on touch as you massage it into your hands. Notice how that soothing sensation manifests in your whole body, even if only for a moment. That's self-care! Endorphins are the body's natural pain reliever. But they're also amplified by laughter, crying and yes, dancing -- all of which we do! Need a hit right now? Give yourself a dance break. And this is key, according to the British magazine Psychologies: "Feeling uncoordinated is the point – ‘new’ movement is how you get the endorphin rush. Make it fun, so that you laugh at the same time." Dopamine is the reward chemical, that uplift you get when you feel a sense of victory. When your Nia teacher invites you to say "Yes!" it's really an invitation to access that burst of natural reward. What about right now: Make a list of tasks and, as you complete each task, cross it off. If the act of crossing something off that list feels good, that's a tiny dopamine Valentine hitting your body's inbox. Serotonin is what's behind feelings of safety and respect, and it can be triggered by exercise and positive thoughts. It's also one of the reasons that a daily gratitude practice is one of the most effective tools a person can have in their wellness toolbox. Take time today to full embrace a moment in your life. And remember, in the words of Leslie Knope... "You are the most beautiful, glowing, sun-goddess [or god] ever." We hope that you have a restful, lovely Thanksgiving holiday. Please be aware of our special Thanksgiving week schedule, listed below. Our regular class schedule runs Sunday, November 24 and Monday, November 25. Business as usual resumes on Saturday, November 30 with our 9am Nia class.   I nearly stumbled into Move2Center a year ago. I had seen the studio’s posters. I’d driven past the corner sandwich board. I had even looked up the website, so I knew it was a Nia studio, but it wasn’t until I was walking by and noticed the sign on the door, that I decided to take a moment to check it out. I took a chance, turned and reached for the door. Finding it open, I walked my curiosity down the steps to the warmth and beating heart of Move2Center.
Some sweet scent was in the air. There were flowers. There was music. But mostly, there were warm smiles and welcoming eyes waiting for me. There was an intimacy present that was born of authenticity. I wanted to teach yoga here. The Move2Center community did what it does best for newcomers: it opened a space for me. Each Friday from 5:45 to 7:00 pm our circle of Happy Hour yogis unwind—together. No matter how our week has been, how stiff our backs are, or how tight our shoulders, we sit, stretch, twist, flow and hold gently and with ease. We breathe together, gathering strength from within ourselves and from those circled around us, and we radiate that same strength back to the group. We move slowly, consciously, allowing our bodies and hearts to open with ease and safety and to connect to ourselves and each other—all in the welcoming arms of Move2Center Studio. Take a moment. Take a chance. Join us for Happy Hour Yoga. |
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