“If music be the food of love, play on.”    Willliam Shakespeare

I can’t imagine life without music. 

Music can make your heart sing or make your heart cry.  Music has the power to bring back such strong memories you feel like you are reliving the moment.  Music is primal, emotive, sensual – it can energise and excite or relax and soothe. 

And above all … it can make you want to dance!!

In my Nia White Belt training the day we got to Principle 3 Music I thought … oh my … this is going to be a challenge!  

Not being overly musical I struggled a little with counting the 8 counts and drawing the bars.  And then listening to whether it is verse, chorus, solos or other when the music can be ethereal at times … How will I ever understand this 8BC system? I thought. 

When I got home and started learning my first routine Ride. I sat down one day in my garden in RAW (Relaxed, Alert & Waiting) and started to map the music. 

This is when the magic really started to unfold. 

I relaxed into the process and cleared my mind. 

The bars became easier to mark; listening to all the sounds and instruments became exciting.  Every time I listened to the track again I would hear something new – a subtle nuance or another sound. 

It was like the music was revealing itself to me the more I listened to it.

Mapping the music has gifted me a deeper embodiment of the choreography. 

I have my own map of the sounds, tones, instruments, feelings, vocals etc that are strong cues for me to refer to – like my own personal landmarks. 

I feel empowered knowing these cues.  I can often sense when the kata changes, it just seems to work in so well with the music. 

My awareness of sound has increased and my hearing is sharper.  I can move with greater ease to the music – like a flowing river – in tune with the beat and the emotion of the song. 

I love Nia music. 

It is so varied. 

Often uplifting, sometimes very stimulating and upbeat or calming and tempered.  And always interesting. 

I have a much greater appreciation for the complexity, creativity and skill involved in producing music. 

Thank you, Nia, for creating this incredible system to enhance our love affair with music and movement.

I know I will always find music mapping an inspiring journey of discovery. 

Blissful, soulful and enriching. 

Hayley was destined to teach Nia! Hayley has completed the White Belt, Blue Belt and 52 Moves training.  She offers weekly classes in Launceston, Tasmania.

“I have always been athletic and yearn to move my body.  In 2007 I fell in love with Contemporary Dance, then explored 5 Rhythms and other forms of dance.  In 2017 I stumbled across Nia in a yoga magazine and I knew straight away I had found something very special.   

Nia is an amazing technique to condition your body, self-heal and express your true essence.  I love the feeling of JOY that Nia brings to your whole body, mind and spirit.”

Hayley brings her passion for movement, vitality and self-expression to her Nia classes.  She invites you to explore the MAGIC of your inner joy and body wisdom; and to let your spirit soar!

Come and join our lovely growing Nia community in Tasmania.  Learn More.