Meet Susan McDowell, Nia teacher

Susan McDowell is a certified Nia movement and dance teacher and earned her Nia Brown Belt in July 2026. She first fell in love with Nia dance in January 2023, whilst attending class with inspirational Nia teacher Rose Campbell, who first brought Nia to Belfast. Since then, Susan has become a firm believer in the vast evidence-base attesting to the physical, emotional, mental and social benefits of community-based movement and dance.

Susan has experienced improved flexibility, mobility, strength, stamina and stability since she began practicing Nia movement regularly, and is eager to share those benefits with others through her teaching. She particularly enjoys facilitating a relaxed and friendly class environment for people to rediscover the joy of movement for themselves.

As both a student and teacher of Nia, Susan has noticed how group classes foster connection and friendship between people from all walks of life, promoting support systems and a sense of belonging, health and well-being.

Before discovering Nia, Susan earned her certification in Hatha Yoga from Santosha Yoga Studio in Lisburn in 2020 (RYT-200, Yoga Alliance). She likes to think of Nia as a “dancing yoga” and often reassures people that responding to music with movement is an inborn instinct that each one of us — no matter how “coordinated” we imagine ourselves to be — can access and enjoy forever!