Journia
By Judy M. Zimmerman
Last September, I enjoyed a special Journia (Journey with Nia) Week at Cal-a-Vie Spa, located just forty miles north of San Diego. Nia, which means “neuromuscular integrative action,” is a unique mind-body fitness program that draws from a variety of dance and martial arts movements, including jazz and modern dance, T’ai Chi, Tae Kwon Do, and yoga.
At our first session, it was a relief to discover Nia’s creative dance-like movements were appropriate for us all—from stiff, self-conscious beginners like myself to those who were highly fit athletes. In our bare feet, unmindful of the others, we spontaneously swooped and whirled about the room to the music, soaring free as birds.
Our expert teacher, Debbie Rosas, created this fun aerobic workout in the early 1980’s because she believed play-like movements would be more effective for the joints and muscles than the “no pain–no gain” philosophy.
The next two Nia classes were very different. I was startled when we strapped on kneepads to crawl and roll about the classroom floor as Rosas directed the movements of our hip joints, pelvis, shoulders, and arms. She explained how it would help us “gain strength and balance, increase flexibility, and our ability to squat and rise more effortlessly.”
During several more morning sessions of crawling and rolling, I no longer doubted the eventual benefits—but the emotional release of the fun and fat-burning dancing Nia class was more my style.
After full mornings of strenuous hiking and exercising in the grand chateaux-like fitness center (there are four classes to choose from each hour), afternoons are set aside for pampering treatments in the beautiful Bath House. Inspired by Mediterranean and Roman baths, the Bath House walls are painted soft blue around a Portuguese tile mural. In the Jacuzzi room, gilded lanterns hang above the antique day beds.
Later on, there’s yoga, relaxation, and meditation in the 400-year-old chapel purchased from a Dijon monastery. In the evening, dinner is served in a room lit with glowing candles before a fire crackling in the stone fireplace. During one fireside chat, Rosas talked about another important goal of Nia: “to experience life as art, seeking inspirational benefits in the beautiful details of each day.”
Reflecting on that statement while at Cal-a-Vie was easy. Nestled in my own country-French villa, with its genuine antiques, Italian marble, fine fixtures, elegant tiles, and turrets, I was surrounded by both beauty and art, and felt not only inspired by my surroundings, but also rejuvenated by my week of Nia. For more information call (866) 772-4283 or visit www.cal-a-vie.com.
Jan/Feb 2008
