Sometimes we want movies to distract us; other times we want them to remind us—of our humanity, of magic, of meaning. The Spiritual Cinema Circle offers films that aim to do the latter with its monthly DVD club. Sign up and you’ll get a disc filled with four short and feature films, a blend of U.S. and international, some exclusive to club members, others that you might see elsewhere. Though there are hits and misses among this “heart and soul of cinema,” a few are cringefests, plenty are actually quite touching and good.

Take tai-chi, yoga, and dance. Stir. And you have Nia, one of a spate of newish fusion-fitness methods. It’s an acronym for “Neuromuscular Integrative Action,” though the method’s founders point out that in Swahili Nia also happens to mean “with purpose” and “a small tiny movement” in Hebrew.

Regardless, Nia reaches for a body-mind “fusion fitness” with classes that are like a slow-motion aerobics session. It’s cardiovascular, caters to all fitness levels, and encourages relaxation, even when you’re drenched and panting. Among other jargony tenets (“intrinsic and extrinsic muscular movement that is multi-dynamic and multi-directional”), Nia is based on the “Pleasure Principle,” the idea that exercise should be fun and joyful, not painful or hard. Its founders claim that all this leads to enhanced chi, better immunity, flexibility, clear thinking, strength, and weight loss.