Nia Body + Life Education

Teresa is a licensed Black-Belt Nia Practitioner and part of the 3NGT training program. She discovered Nia after an exhaustive search for an exercise routine she could do following an extensive surgery to remove cancer that had eaten through muscle in her back and rib cage. You name the form of exercise and Teresa has probably tried it in her quest to regain health and movement. When Teresa found Nia, she truly got her life back. She is virtually pain free, much of the scar tissue both internally and externally has been alleviated and in many ways Teresa believes she is moving better now than she was before the surgery. While Nia helped her to heal physically, she also realized Nia had an incredible ability to help her mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Ask her what she did after Trayvon Martin was killed. Ask her what she did after the mass shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. Ask her what she did after (fill in the blank-too many injustices to name). Ask her what she did after seeing the confederate flag being paraded through the Capitol Building. She took Nia to the dance floor to move this trauma and oppression out of her body. Teresa is passionate about sharing Nia and its healing potential as a somatic movement and mindfulness lifestyle practice. Through this incredible mind, body, spirit practice, Teresa has been led to holistic health and healing.  She has studied Traditional Naturopathic Medicine, Massage Therapy, Touch for Health, Herbal Medicine, and Energy Medicine: Reiki, Polarity and Therapeutic Touch.

In 2004 I began attending Nia classes as a way of recovering from a long struggle with adult-onset anorexia and exercise addiction. Experiencing firsthand the positive impact Nia had and still has on my life, I knew I needed to bring Nia to my world. As a Nia White Belt Trainer I specialize in helping people move towards body acceptance and find body and fitness liberation (i.e., freedom from systems of oppression that classify certain bodies or movement practices as more worthy and desirable than others). I believe that all bodies are worthy, that shrinking them doesn't make us better or happier people, and that partnering with our bodies to create a healthy relationship with them offers freedom and ease. As a Health At Every Size (HAES) informed instructor I take an anti-diet, weight neutral, judgement-free approach to my life, teaching, coaching and training. As part of the HAES paradigm I am committed to advancing social justice and respecting the diversity of human bodies (including, explicitly, larger bodies and all their intersections). You'll never hear me talking about weight, diets, food or equating any behaviour with moral value, fitness included. The HAES philosophy aligns with my own and with Nia in that we believe that, at a fundamental level, people can trust themselves and their bodies and that society should encourage such self-reliance. In this viewpoint, pleasure is prioritized over denial and you are encouraged to exercise agency and autonomy over your body and your experience. I intimately understand how lived experiences can create complicated relationships with exercise and I strongly believe that our individual innate body knowledge can guide us to more rewarding movement experiences and lives. I am a proud member of ASDAH (Association for Size Diversity and Heath) and FPAWS (Fitness Professionals Against Weight Stigma). My story of Nia and recovery has been featured in The Toronto Star, The Globe & Mail, The Times of India, Moods Magazine, on radio (CFRB 1010), and in two books, The Truth About Exercise Addiction by Katherine Schreiber & Heather A. Hausenblas, and Mess: The Hospital Anthology edited by Julie Devaney and Dave Molenhuis. I am also a Certified Personal Trainer and maintain a private practice in Speech-Language Pathology supporting people living with stroke and brain injury. Class Info: I teach 10-12 Nia classes per week to a variety of students in a variety of settings, currently mostly online. I offer a variety of movement options: from gentle/seated to classic Nia to a more vigorous MOVEit class and have expertise in working with seniors, people living with dementia, and people with eating/exercise disorders. I intimately understand the physical, mental and emotional obstacles and challenges larger-bodied individuals (like myself) face both in everyday life and in fitness scenarios. I'd love to help you claim your right to joyful movement experiences where you can celebrate your body, and move away from punishing or controlling it. You deserve that. I put JOY at the forefront of every movement experience and the experience is always judgement-free. You'll find size and mobility accessible options and will never hear me talking about weight, diets, food or equating any behaviour with moral value, fitness included. I've been to the dark side of body control and now I choose to accept my body as it was intended to be. Please, come as you are and be exactly who you are. I'm here to share a safe, welcoming, affirming and joyful space with you to celebrate our bodies and our lives!