Nia Classes & Training

What is Nia?

Nia Classes: Wholistic Fitness, Yoga & Dance Training in Hawaii. Enjoy non-impact wholistic fitness, dance & yoga, in-person & online: Nia classes & trainings at Still & Moving Center in Hawaii!

Nia students from around the globe seek out Still & Moving Center for its joy-filled Nia classes to soul-stirring music. As the foremost Nia studio in the state of Hawaii, Still & Moving Center offers Nia classes nearly every day and serves as the seedbed for new Nia teachers, hosting all of the Nia teacher trainings on the island.

Nia originally stood for “non-impact aerobics” in the 1980s, with the purpose of providing a cardiovascular fitness alternative. Nia has evolved since then into a wholistic somatic practice. It connects the mind, body, and spirit through the precision and power of the martial arts (such as Taekwon Do, Tai Chi and Aikido), the expressivity of the dance arts (such as Jazz and Modern dance) and the mindfulness of the healing arts (such as Yoga and Feldenkrais).

A beautiful balance of freedom and form, Nia provides choreographed movement and asks you to do it “your body’s way”. As long as you are listening to your body, and moving accordingly, YOU JUST CAN’T DO IT WRONG IN NIA! We ask you to tweak the movements so that they fit your body’s needs and your heart’s desire to express itself. No one needs to look like anyone else in Nia class. People of all different ages, shapes, and sizes love taking Nia!

The exemplary embodiment of moving meditation, Nia is the reason behind that Renée Tillotson, a 2nd Degree Nia Black Belt, founded Still & Moving Center in 2011! Renėe enthuses about how Nia as made her more mindful in daily life:

“In a mindful moment, I’m fully engaged. I’m aware of what my body is doing, and my mind tracking, interested. If my emotions enter the picture, I can watch them pass through like waves into the background. No anxiety. Just Joy. Moving meditation is part of my medicine, my ticket to a ride on the healthy life train. For me, focusing is more effortless when I’m in motion. I compare it to riding a bike: easier to balance when I’m traveling along. For me, mindfulness can be as close as a dance step away.”

Nia provides wonderful cross-training for dancers who are so accustomed to dancing someone else’s choreography, they’ve forgotten the childlike freedom of true self-expression, which we find again in Nia.

Nia also gives you an effective cardiovascular workout that will increase your strength, agility, mobility, and flexibility. We practice Nia barefoot. The martial arts aspect empowers us to connect with our breath by using our voices, which can be especially powerful for women, or any of us who want to find our voice.

Still & Moving Center proudly offers many different Nia classes online and in-person in Hawaii, hosted by our talented instructors. Come as you are and leave with a newfound personal enrichment.