One of the most provocative presentations at the Inner Idea conference was by Carlos and Debbie, the founders of Nia. the topic was embracing being an athlete as a sacred path. As a hoopdancer, I found this idea very resonant. Carlos said even if we have never considered ourselves athletes, simply claiming that as part of our identity can be very transformative.

I am an athlete.

I am a sacred athlete.

Carlos spoke about how embracing the identity of being a sarced athlete can heighten our focus in every aspect of our lives.. leading us to always consider all choices in terms of how they can help us reach our highest potential. Food choices, friend choices, activity choices, how we speak, how we use our body and nourish it.

Debbie spoke about how one of their Nia teachers is an olympic athlete and how much she admired how this person moved through the world. Movement was totally decisive, no hesitation, and powerful. She said that even when this woman was ordering a cup of coffee, her entire presence was alert, focused and present. Debbie said she was also fascinated when hanging out with this olympic athlete while she was with other team-members .. that the group seemed to have some quality about them that set them apart, in how they spoke, interacted and moved their bodies. Total presence.

In this class we did a walking/dancing meditation for some time, walking in a Tai Chi inspired way... total awareness in how we switched balance from one foot to the other, awareness of which part of the foot was applied to the ground first. From this very slow, consiously shifting place we moved to a simple forward and back dance movement which was done for a while with total awarenes of shifting balance from one foot to the next. Unfurling the foot slowly, breathing. From here we went to adding qualities of movement to this simple dance step and making it our own by finding ways to make it more pleasurable. Swooping lower here, lifting higher there, letting the neck turn, adding flow or focused martial arts-style precision and stopping. And from here we went onto the whole dance class, but with the same level of presence.

I really wish I had writen this account sooner because the class had so many subtelties and such a sweet evolution that I can't catch the exact progression of what we did anymore in my mind... I really think it was one of the most powerful classes I have ever taken and the applications to hoopdance were so obvious for me.

By this time i had taken 5 other Nia classes, one of which was floorwork, and I found myself easily transitioning to the floor in a very organic, body-satisfying way. The carpet made it so easy to surrender down and then rise up again, over and over, in very round fluid movements.

As with an earlier class, Carlos told us "not to crush the bug"... an image of there being an bug in the carpet underneath us and that we can choose to step so lightly and with such awareness that we can keep the bug safe and sound underneath us, even when we are dancing strongly or fast.

We worked a lot to develop agility... the ability to move rapidly and shift balance in intense, explosive movements, and then consistantly shifting back and forth between doing the same dance moves with agility and then with what felt like flow ... and exploring how maning powerful sounds like "ha", "ho", "he" or "haaaaaaaa" effected the quality of movement. So much fun.

Words that I remember in relation to this presentation .. choosing to dance and move with-
intention, focus, precision, breathing, making sounds to enhance your quality of movement, self coaching during movement to seek more pleasure, modifying to seek grace and beauty, exploring, seeking the joy of movement in every action, presence, balance, giving everything, not holding back, attention...

While doing all the exericses and by the end of class, I felt as if I was in a hyperaware state of focus and relaxation, while also being centered and energized at the same time. As with almost every class, I had a longing to move to Portland so I could take daily Nia classes from Carlos and Debbie to continue this process for myself... Nia opens up my awareness on so many levels.

There is something sacred about how an athlete devotes themself to something wholeheartedly... passion drives them to focus and a level of attention which provides something wonderful and mysterious in return, at least for me, something that is physically pleasurable but also transcends the physical to spiritual. A sense of connection.

I really liked that Debbie and Carlos said that anyone of any ability level can simply choose to declare themselves an athlete and let their path begin from there. That there is no hierarchy .. that you can "fake it till you make it" .. since that is a very famillar experience for me when I was just learning how to perform with confidence on stage. It is true... anyone can choose to be a sacred athlete... the affirmation itself sparks presence that will help the path unfold.

For me, hoopdance is a body prayer which heightens all my senses, quickens my body and elicits movements from me which I didn't even know existed. It is a fascination of the subtelties, fascination with balance and feeling sensations. And yet I still feel I can push myself to another level entirely with it. My daily practice has lagged a bit .. it has been 4 days since a concentrated 1 hour daily practice ... For my own sanity I need to bring that back into focus. At this point in my life now, my daily practice is what gives me the most joy in hooping. I am curious to see how I can explore this idea of being a sacred athlete. I really felt that way at Burning Man, when I could let my entire life revolve around hooping, practicing and seeking extreme dance and hoop experiences .. no computers to distract, no worldly obligations, no nothing! But I realize of course that the true sacred athlete for me is the ability to still have this level of devotion despite worldly obligations... to organize the worldly obligations around the hooping instead of the hooping around the worldy obligations. Yes. That feels right.

I have somewhat been on hiatus over the last several months... I slowly transitioned all my classes and performances to the Allstars in San Francisco, feeling burnt out and ungrounded. This workshop showed me that I was doing that for a good reason... to discover and reconnect with the sacred athlete through real daily practice. One thing that has happened is serious change in how I hoop and in what ways I hoop. Even the hoop I used is radically different. For one, I want to teach radicaly different things than when I started. I am much more interested in teaching only advanced classes then beginner and intermediate. We will see how this unfolds....I am excited to continue exploring and I know clarity wil visit me when it is time.

I am an athlete.

I am a sacred athlete.