MAXINE GORDON tries a dance class with a difference.

FLAPPING your arms up and down like a giant albatross crossing the ocean turns out to be a great workout for those bingo wings.

I’m at the York Yoga Studio in Acomb, trying Nia, an exercise class that fuses cardiovascular fitness with flexibility, stability, strength and agility.

Imagine aerobics crossing yoga – but done to the sound of dynamic African beats rather than Beyonce’s latest hits and you’ve almost got the picture. But not quite.

Nia was launched some 30 years ago by two fitness professionals who wanted to create a more gentle way to exercise.

Nia originally stood for Non Impact Aerobics, but today, it’s simply called Nia or Nia Dance.

It is the original “fusion fitness” claims Sarah Proctor, York’s sole instructor.

“Fusion fitness is everywhere with hybrid classes such as Koga (kickboxing and yoga); SoulCyle (yoga and spinning) and piloxing (Pilates and boxing), but Nia Dance is the original fusion fitness, drawing from nine different movement disciplines in the areas of dance, healing and martial arts.”

Classes are taken barefoot and students are encouraged to tap into “the body’s way”, moving in a way in which the body was originally designed for, says Sarah.

Visual images are employed – like the albatross – to encourage students to dance in expressive ways.

Sarah says: “It’s much more fun to move your arms up and down, imaging you are a bird flying across the ocean, rather than me instructing you to flex your arms, feel the burn, keep going, nearly there…”

And it’s true. The “albatross” moves last for the entire second track of the Nia class. My arms feel like dead weights by the end, but I was enjoying myself so much, I didn’t care about the discomfort.

Likewise when Sarah challenges us to embrace an “Annie Get Your Gun” persona and we begin side-stepping the length and breadth of the yoga studio, with arms at right angles in a rifle pose – it’s such a hoot, that we barely notice the time go by.

Soon, layers are being stripped off and water sipped. My heart-rate is up and I am pleasantly surprised that Nia is both an enjoyable and energetic work out.

York marketing officer Vanessa Charters has been coming to Sarah’s class for a year. “It makes me feel taller by the end of the session,” she says.

“Also there is no pain, like other forms of exercise. This is because Nia teaches you to dance while respecting the limits of your body.”

It’s great for general wellbeing too, says Vanessa. “It is a mind, body and soul sort of exercise, so at the end you feel very Zen-like and balanced.”

Sarah, whose full-time career is as a PR professional, took up Nia at a particularly difficult time in her life, and found it helped her cope with her stress. She became a tutor in order to pass this on to others.

She said: “With the curve balls that life throws from time to time, Nia has given me a coping mechanism and connection with positive like-minded people

“Mentally, Nia helps clear my mind; it’s almost as if a re-boot button has been pressed when I emerge from the dance.”

And it’s great for getting fit and in shape too. Sarah says: “Nia gives me the feeling of being alive, a chance to express my emotions and feel joyful. My body is stronger now, more shapely, supple and flexible.”

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Find our more about NIA at nianow.com or www.facebook.com/YorkLovesNia