ROOTS AND WINGSDiscover your Vital, Breathing Dancing Self through the NIIO DANCE MAP and JOURNEY OF EMPOWERMENTFeel more Connected, Embodied and Whole through the Power of Dance
31st January - 21st March - with live Zoom class Tuesday evenings 8th February - 22nd MarchFinal Workshop 29th March
Roots and Wings Course Intro
Remembering Who You Are
Join me if you would like to gain:
A new Map to support your Movement vocabulary
I have defined the seven Niio Spheres of Awareness from a lifetime of exploration and discovery into what supports our bodies and our being through our movement in life. The support from the natural world, our energetic body system and the qualities that enable us to truely be Humans Being.
New Inspiration for your Dance and beyond
If you love dance, and would like to go deeper into your body mind connection, this course will give you a foundation.
We all have the capacity to find a true voice and dance within us. This course will give you new tools to help you find that dance within you, and to learn more about yourself along the way.
A new sense of Ease and Flow in your body
As you are inspired through new insight and guidance, your mind may release some of its previous holding around movemet. With new frameworks and ideas for focus you may be taken away from your usual mind chatter to discover a new sense of deepening and stillness within the body.
NB: All the above are potential gains, dependant upon time and commitment invested, prior health conditions and personal constitution.
Seven weeks is an introduction to what is possible through the power of dance. Also whilst dance is potentially healing, Niio Dance cannot be held responsible for any outcomes. For more info please see disclaimer.
Course Modules and Previews
Each week we look at one of the Niio Spheres of Awareness, the foundation of Niio Dance.
Grounding
Everything starts from the ground. If we are not connected to the earth, we are 'disconnected', unplugged from our source, and we can feel dizzy and 'spaced out'. That is why astronauts can suffer severely when away from the magnetic and gravitational pull of the earth. We need the earth for support, from which we can grow and expand.
Structural Integrity
Our bodies are an incredible living, liquid matrix of bones, tissues, organ and fluids. These give us an inner tensile strenth that can assist us if we allow it, to go forth into the world and create what we desire. With awareness we can recognise the different states we are in, and the inner support that we have.
Breath
Our breath not only keeps us alive, it is our direct connection to ourselves and to the world around us, and it has the unique ability to be both part of our autonomic nevous system and yet still be intentionally directed by us . Our breath connects us to our inner subconscious realms, which is why breathwork alone can be so powerful.
Fluidity
Our bodies consist of seven different fluid systems and if we can recognise and harness the energy and power inherent in each one, we can tap into our natural rhythms and flow, to support us when we need.Tapping into a natural fluidity and flow in our movements, that transfer out into the wider world.
Power
Our power lies in our core, our third chakra centre, and represents not only our fire and get up and go, but also our sense of self-worth and our self-esteem. When we connect to the forces of our passion, we can move mountains and change the world!
Compassion
When we stop to listen to our hearts, rather than be ruled by our heads, our whole physiology softens and changes. We connect to our bodies in a new way, revealing emotions that can often be long buried, hidden behind layers of stories and histories. Practising compassion is a fundamental human need for us to access deeper realms of feeling and healing.
Connection
Life is all about connection. As humans we do not live in isolation, and the foremost relationship we have is that of connecting within. Once we have established a relationship to self, we need to cultivate the support that is available to us from our outer world, if we allow it. And this begins through our breath and our bodies.
Is this course for me?
If you love to dance, and would like to explore the bodymind connection deeper then this course is for you!
You may already have a regular conscious dance practice such as ecstatic dance or 5 rhythms
and would like to explore or study deeper on a somatic level.
This course gives a comprehensive look into the foundational aspects of Niio Dance. We look at some yoga principles,
ideas from Body Mind Centering, the creative aspects of Life Art Therapy and some energetic aspects from Kung Fu.
We are influenced by the chakras, our energetic power centres,
the elements in Nature
and the clarity of meditating through movement.
Explore your dance on a new, deeper level.
Experience the holistic aspects of wellbeing through the body mind connection,
and explore your creative free movement.
You may become inspired with new ideas and motifs.
The invitation is to welcome in flexibility, curiosity and openness.
In this way, you may notice new details, nuances and textures in your movement,
that may also reflect into your everyday activity and your movement in life.
Unlike Find Your Flow with Dance Basics which gives you clear structure and framework for steps and ways to move,
this course goes deeper into the symbolic realms of your movement.
Each week the dance journey has some gentle guided structure,
which then expands out to give you the opportunity to move freely,
dive in
and dissolve into your dance.
What you will Receive :
WEEKLY MODULE INTRODUCTION VIDEO
Here I introduce the main focus for the week, and relevant bodymind information
WEEKLY GUIDED WARM UP VIDEO: 20 mins
This video will give a concise warm up that prepares you for the session, or can be done on its own as a general mini warm up and movement session for your body.
WEEKLY REFLECTION EXERCISES
These may be questions that you can reflect and journal on, before, during or after the module
WEEKLY ZOOM CLASS
TUESDAY evenings 7.45 - 9.15pm:
Meeting on 8th, 15th, 22nd February
1st,
8th, 15th, 22nd March
Recordings of the sessions (speaker view only) will be sent out afterwards. The course videos for each module are released on the Monday before, and you have 8 days to go through them before we meet.
COURSE COMMUNITY
Private community group within the course itself so you can communicate with each other and me, either privately or publically to the group for ongoing support, to ask any questions and extra sharing during the course.
WEEKLY GUIDED DANCE VIDEO: 25 - 35 mins
These videos have focussed guidance to demonstrate new movement pathways, time for you to follow, and then with freer guided movement exploration after. The videos are deliberately bite-sized. From experience, it is possible to drop very deeply when we focus our energies, and in 25 -35 mins, we can access a new state of perception and transcend our current state of being; whether that is to shift our energy levels, or to uplevel our mindset.
WEEKLY GUIDED MEDITATION VIDEO: 10 - 15 mins
The meditations are also an opportunity to go back to basics, of the body and the breath, as we begin to explore our interior. I give you simple guidance accompanied with beautiful music and subtle visuals to help you ease into the meditative mind without pressure or expectation.
Extra Bonuses!
SELF-MASSAGE TECHNIQUES VIDEO Bonus - 40 mins
The ultimate in self-care! Learning to apply techniques from the various modalities I have studied such as Swedish, Thai and Indian Ayurvedic massage in UK and India to help relieve pain, promote ease in the body and self-soothe. Some acupressure points for common ailments such as headaches are also covered.
YOGA MODIFICATION CLASS VIDEO Bonus - 40 mins
We all have injuries at times, and this video will address basic modifications for some yoga asanas, so that eg we can protect our knees or neck.
EMOTIONAL HEALING THROUGH THE TAOIST HEALING SOUNDS COURSE - 60 mins
These 3,500 year old sounds have been medically tested, to help us to clear and cleanse our negative energies. We will learn how each of the 5 sounds represents specific organs; their connected emotions such as sorrow, anger or fear, their elements and how to embody the sounds for our personal healing. When extremely troubled I have found these sounds to be extremely calming, soothing and helpful. A course transmission from my own training in the Himalayas fifteen years ago.
Meet Your Instructor
Helene Su
Dance is Helene's first love, giving her joy, expression and freedom since childhood, and she originally began with ballet but has since studied martial arts, yoga, dance movement therapy, somatic movement education and meditation in the UK, India, Thailand and Japan. She has also explored a whole range of dance since including contemporary, conscious, contact and trance dance. Dance's unique synergy of mind, body, spirit and soul has helped her to gain clarity, resilience and confidence and inspired her to create Niio Dance.
She has presented talks and workshops in UK and Europe, and is now creating online dance programmes so you can find your flow, and reconnect with your joie de vivre in the comfort of your home! Combining ancient wisdom with modern science, Helene is committed to helping you to find personal tools for your vibrant health and wellbeing, through the joy of dance.
Each video lesson has the corresponding Audio download so that you can really sense into your body and tune into your inner world, whether in warm-up, dance or meditation. Having an audio download means that we can totally enter into our internal world without distraction, or have the luxury of moving in a beautiful outdoor place of our choice, which can bring new inspirations - and get away from the screen! Some of the exclusive Niio Dance mixes are incredibly evocative and can send you to beautiful places. All the lessons are kept in the Niio Dance course portal for you to reference and access again for 365 days altogether. MP3 downloads are yours to keep forever!
The music for Niio Dance is carefully curated from some of the finest musicians and producers, and the range is eclectic, worldly, soulful, tribal and many layers in between! Along with my guided voiceovers, these selections are all professionally mixed and mastered to give you a flawless audio experience.
NB Dance Journey Audio downloads are available with Silver Package. Audio Downloads for warm-ups and meditations are available for separate purchase from the shop.
Facebook Group Access
You can continue to be part of the Niio Dance closed Facebook group long after the course has finished, where you can connect with me and others on our dance and bodymind journey. I drop into the group regularly and post news of interest.
Community
In Course Group Access
During the course access period, you can communicate with others in the group directly and to me.
Facebook Group Access
There is a closed Facebook group Niio Dance Foundation, which you can continue to be a part of long after the course has finished, where you can connect with me and others on your dance and bodymind journey. I drop into the group regularly and post news of interest.
Testimonials
Beautiful Dance Course
Helene is really amazing and she know how to help us access exactly what we need to do in order to grow our ''roots and wings''.
The outdoor settings were inspirational and a real tonic during this strange time of Covid. The course has made me feel more flexible and given me hope!
Rated 5 out of 5
Gillian
Music Lecturer
I loved your course.
It helped me to get through those tough days when I struggled to get on with anything!
Hayley
Reflexologist
Great course, really enjoying it.
Love your instruction and the lovely backdrops, and the meditations are really beautiful.
Also its really helping with my lower back, which has been giving me a lot of pain but is getting better and better.
And my husband has noticed I'm being a lot more expressive in my dancing!
Claire
Wellness Expert
Oh my goodness,loving your course!
Love love love the music... the African dance in the first was wonderful,,, felt the spirits near..
Bimba
Circus Performer
Thank you for such an excellent course.
The presentation was highly professional, filming was impressive
and it's clearly been really well planned and thought through.
Your on-line dance classes are really, really good. I particularly like the bits in the open air !!'
Rated 5 out of 5
In spite of some misgivings that the course was on a computer, I found the course very enjoyable. I liked the conversational way in which you directed our dance movements, and the suggestions that you made that included, as well as movement, ways of perceiving; ways of thinking about and feeling the sensations of our bodies. I couldn't always follow them, as sometimes they changed too quickly for me, but that didn't seem to matter. There was enough input for there to be at least one new idea or discovery made each session. I learned a lot about how I move, and how I could perhaps move, given enough practice and attention. There was so much that was new in the sessions that I can't comment on it all, but I will continue to use the recordings long into the future I think, as I carry on exploring. There only remains to say, thank you Helene, for the gift you have given. Bless you.
Niio Dance was a very transformative practice for me. Listening to Helene’s words of inspiration and guidance, I was able to hear the invitation, not to just follow on mindlessly someone else’s practice/regime but to listen to the wisdom of my own body. We all have very different bodies and what we need to heal is to feel what’s going on for us. By going inward and being able to focus on the aliveness of our bodies, our minds and emotions. And I really loved the music Helene used, it carries you, takes you into yourself.
During the course I feel I've released my body of so much built up stress and emotion. My space at home felt part of Helene’s space it didn't feel uncomfortable dancing on my own, even at times when I could feel resilience arise in my body, like I wanted to stop dancing, I would hear Helene’s voice encouraging me, talking to me and I managed to work through it.
Helene has so much to share and is such a generous and empowering teacher. Her instruction is so natural you can feel it comes from the heart. It was my favourite tool for staying well in lockdown. I really embraced the opportunity to tune into my body, getting out of my head and feeling confident with such an embodied dance movement experience…Niio Dance…shake out your stress and dance your way to freedom…xx
"I was not too sure what to expect with Helene's digital course, as it was the first dance and well-being online programme that I had subscribed to. I always found dance a therapeutic activity and I discovered that dancing, whether alone or as part of a class, helped to develop my confidence and identity through that mind-body connection.
However, what is different on Helene's course is that she facilitates a journey where I can process emotions in my movement. My understanding was that this holistic approach would help me to reconnect with my sense of self after a long period of caring for my parents. This is helped through Helene's narrative guidance, synergised with the music and scenery featured in the dance videos. The process also includes introductions, warm up exercises, meditation videos and reflective activities.
In Grounding Module Dance 1, Helene starts with the idea of Genesis and our evolutionary beginnings. She combines descriptions of physiology and natural history with movement, simulating ourselves with the flow of nature. The visual landscape, music and the poetry of her narration are so vivid, and changes as we explore our feelings. In the second video I felt that that she is commentating on the story of my life, describing real experiences that we all feel - a unifying and affirming sensation. I cannot wait to start week 2!"
On Compassion:
Was giggling to myself once I'd finished this module, giggling at the fact we sometimes are too harsh with ourselves and was reminded to be playful and compassionate first on foremost to onself
On Fluidity:
I loved this module, it really resonated with me and brought calmness and safety to being, it is just right for where i am at right now.
Rated 5 out of 5
How much dance experience do I need?
If you enjoy movement, dance and music and would like to experience a deeper insight into your body mind, then curiosity and interest are the most important prerequisites. I might give you ideas, themes and visualisations, but there are no specific techniques. Any previous dance training may influence your movement repertoire, but you may feel encouraged to, and in fact feel the ‘permission’ to explore movement in other ways. This could be very liberating.
With regards to personal ability and mobility, all movement however big, small, abstract or ‘understated’ is a dance, and dance does not demand to be of a certain size, or physical ability. However if you are looking to learn specific steps on how to move and dance with guided instructions and techniques, then Find Your Flow with Dance Basics may be a better fit for you.
How much space and time do I need?
Whilst experiencing freedom in movement, we also have to be mindful of our surroundings and it is possible to move and dance in a very limited space . We can move and travel in many directions, not only across the floor! The videos will take up approximately 1 hour per week, though the reflection questions may be something you take more time to ponder and absorb. The additional follow on art work all depends on you, but it could be as simple as a short 15 min session of writing/sketching after any particular movement session, or more if you have the time and feel called.
We then meet every week for a group zoom which will take 1-1.5 hours. If you have time, you may enjoy to do the videos again, perhaps as downloads where you can go deeper without visual distraction, giving you the opportunity to have a new and different experience. (this is of course an option you can do anytime again after the course has finished!)
I’m not very good at art, do I have to share with the group?
Everything is always optional. Meeting together every week is so that we can feel the support of a group on the same, albeit individual journeys, and also to meet with me for any questions you may have. There is never any pressure or expectation, you come as you are, and participate as much or as little as you like.
There is also the option of booking private sessions with me in lieu or in addition to the group sessions.
Is this course dance therapy? Can I take this course for self healing?
Whilst dance can be therapeutic, this course is not deemed ‘therapy’. Working with a Dance Movement Therapist is often one-on-one, looking at specific issues over a certain period time. You may have certain aspects in your life that you would like to give the time and space to reflect upon, and this course may give you that valid opportunity.
On one level we are using mindful movement and conscious dance, which can be a moving meditation as you go into your flow. You may discover tools that help support you in your own journey to wellness, and in Niio Dance the emphasis is on empowering You with your own resources, to cultivate deep self-awareness, and to promote self-care. It is allowing and affirming for yourself dedicated holistic ‘me’ time.
Gold
£447
or 2 x £237 monthly instalments
Course Videos
Bonus Videos and Course
Mentoring with Weekly Live Group Class & Support
Course Community
FB Group
MP3 Downloads
NB Due to the digital nature of these courses, it is not possible to offer refunds.