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Immersing myself into a 200 hour yoga teacher training became a reality during my stay in Costa Rica at the Nosara Yoga Institute.  I was so thrilled to have this wonderful opportunity and time to go into the inquiry of my Yoga. Located in Nosara, Costa Rica the Institute is a beautiful place to study and go deep into daily practice.  Don and Amba Stapleton and the NYI team are truly all very gifted teachers and inspired me on so many levels.  I enjoyed sharing a BodyHoops introductory hooping class one afternoon, in the beautiful Rancho where we also met for our morning yoga practice.  Now as a certified Yoga teacher, I am very excited to add this to my offerings and experience how it will continue to enhance my hooping practice and overall well-being.  Namaste!

Yes, its pure life and casual living in Costa Rica.  I’m living the dream that I’ve been looking forward to since my last visit, which is to visit Costa Rica for an extended stay.  So, here I am in Montezuma on the west coast of Costa Rica.  Last week, a group of us gathered at the Montezuma Hills Villa for a fabulous hoop retreat.  It was really fun and I’m already excited for next year’s retreat.  Some of the highlights include;

the random hoop jams around the pool of the fabulous villa, sitting around, talking, and laughing in the beautiful open air space, listening to all the critters that live in the jungle and the girls reactions to the various critters, zipping through the high canopy on the Sun Trails canopy tour, eating ceviche, and the lovely warm waters of the ocean.  

It was a really great time.  Fun to meet the new folks who came along and great to see some of the familiar faces from the various teacher trainings, and events that I’ve done in the past.  The weather is just lovely, warm and tropical and its so fun to see the wildlife of the area, such as monkeys, parrots, iguanas, giant moths and coutis (which look like a fuzzy ant eaters).  The high season is just beginning here so with each day drawing near to the holidays, more travelers are coming in and the town is coming to life.  Its a very cute beach town with lots of accommodations, yoga studios, restaurants, horse back riding and canopy tours.  Surfing, hiking the local jungles and boat rides in the ocean to Tortuga island are other highlights that tourists enjoy.  I have just moved into a cute casita near the town and am excited about being a local for a short while.  I’m practicing my Spanish and hope to become more fluent by the time I leave.  I have my first fire hooping performance scheduled this weekend with some various dance artists that live here.  We will be performing for a local school fundraiser.  I’m looking forward to it.  

Also, in January, Nick Woolsey of PlayPoi will be here.  He is a world class poi artist, which is another favorite flow art that I enjoy.  If you’re in the area, I highly recommend checking him out and joining us for some fun playshops.  I brought lots of hoops for my ongoing daily hoop sessions and to share with the locals, so if you happen to be in the area be sure to send me a message and let’s get together for some hoopla!  More to come…

So, this past weekend I did a presentation for a Physical Education Conference in San Diego, Ca. It was important to include ideas for all kinds of kids and ages, including those with handicap and / or learning issues.
Of course hoop dancing with kids that have learning issues is wonderful, because they will definitely benefit from the movement that hooping has to offer and the way that those movements stimulate the right and left brain hemispheres, develop balance and coordination.
But what about kids and people with real handicap issues? Kids who can’t walk well, or in wheelchairs and what about those who are mentally challenged.
I have worked with kids who are blind and they can hoop! Its amazing. If you are able to clearly talk them through it and be super positive and patient, a blind person can enjoy the hooping experience.
The infinity hoop was very popular for those in wheel chairs, they just enjoyed opening and closing the hoops and playing with them in that way, which requires some arm flexing and strength. They also enjoyed rolling them to each other (the smaller ones).  Also, the rolling game can be adapted for these kids by allowing them to be in front where you are rolling to, so that they can just be there to go through it when it reaches them, rather than having to run, chase and jump through the hoop.
You can also set the hoop down and throw bean bags in the hoop, after that first challenge you can fold the infinity to a smaller size circle to throw bean bags into the smaller hoop for extra challenge, or hold the hoop up, and throw bean bags through it that way.
The weight of the Infinity hoop is also nice for just basic arm movements, using the hoop as a weighted dance prop. Smaller hoops are good for hand and arm hooping …and I demonstrated the potential for upper body hooping while sitting down and not using the lower part of my body.  The presentation was very well received and I enjoyed sharing the multiple ways to use the hoops aside from traditional hula hooping or hoopdancing.  Just discovered this lovely video which is very inspiring, beautiful and on topic. If you have other adapted ideas for using hoops with people who have severe learning issues or handicapped, please feel free to write in and share.  We spend a whole session on ideas for kids and learning in our teacher trainings.  Thank you.

It was a beautiful weekend in Ojai for our annual fall conference in southern California.  We had a lot of fun developing skills, teaching techniques and learning about what it takes to become an effective hoopdance instructor.  The twelve hour training is packed with a lot of activities and share time.  I always wonder if its an overload of information but everyone always loves it, and is eager to learn as much as possible, understandably since many of the people who come through my trainings, are still in areas where hoopdance is still an unknown.  So its very exciting for all of us to get together with a group of super fun high energy people who share the same passion and desire to continue developing their practice and teach others.  I’m very pleased to have Phyllis coming on board as a Level 3 Master Instructor who will soon begin to facilitate trainings.  As usual the firedancing was a big hit along with our double hoops session.  Its truly a joy for me to see how inspiring these training weekends are for people.  I was really touched by Lori’s tears of joy today as she accepted her certificate.  I am continually moved by how inspiring and healing hooping is for so many.  I am grateful for the opportunity to continue sharing what I love and to have so many beautiful people coming together for our trainings.  I’m looking forward to more!!

The annual “Ojai Day” festival is very popular in our little town and always draws a very large attendance of people from both far and near.  It was great to have Natasha, Lori and Pam hooping and selling hoops with me at the BodyHoops booth.  We did really well.  This year the event was bigger, with several stages for music and exhibits throughout the event which was sprawled out in downtown Ojai.  I was happy to be in the lovely Libby Park next to the gazebo with ongoing belly dance and music performances.  Loved seeing the familiar faces of Ojai and lots of newcomers and it was nice to connect with those that I haven’t seen in awhile.  My performance in the vaudeville circus dance was really fun.  You can check out my performance here.  The hoop continues to be a big hit and its great to see and feel the joy that hooping brings to my little hometown, Ojai.  Obama stopped by and says “hi, don’t forget to vote, this November 4!”  

Wow, so what would it be like if all of our world leaders started hooping?  Here I am in the UK facilitating a wonderful teacher training and the world seems to be heading into a financial crisis.  For many this is extremely stressful and the media seems to enjoy instilling more and more fear.  I do not own a television at home, so when I’m out traveling and staying in hotel rooms with the t.v. at hand, it seems as though the whole world is just falling apart, but then I step into a room with a wonderful group of people all eager to learn and share the joy of hooping and I am reminded of how important my work is…

Now more than ever it is so important to keep moving, stay healthy and enjoy those activites that give you a sense of joy and well being.  For me that activity continues to be hooping.  Still, after 8 years of dedicated practice, I can honestly say that hooping is life changing, calming and inspiring.  You will smile, feel exuberant and your body will love all the benefits of cardio, core strengthening, and body moving bliss.

On the outskirts of London, we are meeting over the next 3 days and that doesn’t even seem like enough time but we are making the best of every moment of it.  Fifteen lovely ladies from all over the country and some from as far away as Ireland and Norway came together today to learn new moves, get advice, inspiration and tips for starting their own classes in their communities.  I am honored.  The material continues to expand with my experience and the excitement that is created throughout the days exercises and discussions is so inspiring for all of us.  I am also very thrilled about Marion and Jacquie training as Master trainers, which is Level 3 of the BodyHoops Teacher Training Program.  They have really dedicated themselves to developing their practice and fulfilling the many requirements needed to become a Master Trainer.  I really enjoyed hearing how everyone got inspired to start hooping and what they hope to do with continued practice.  Its amazing.  I am really looking forward to Day 2 and 3 of the UK BodyHoops teacher training.  Cheers*

We go through life with constant change going on all around and within us all the time.  Now and then, we are thrown into a huge life changing experience, those that seem to block out everything that is going on around us and forces one to closely examine the mystery of life.  Death is one of those things.  This past year I lost two very special beings in my life.  One was my dog and the other, most recently, my mother.

I’m still processing the feelings and waves of emotion that overcome me as a result of these great losses and I’m realizing that the grieving will never end but can be transformed.  A deeper appreciation for the preciousness of life and gratitude for the abundance and richness that life offers, continues to grow within me.  A love for the joy that movement brings and continued healing that hooping gives to me.  Having the sense to recognize what brings me joy and dedicating myself to experiencing joy and then giving back the love.

The hoop is like a magic tool that has the power to transform and open.  As I continue to experience the range of feelings that death and loss brings, I feel blessed for what I have now and my hoop smiles at me and I am still able to smile back.

In the center of Riyadh, the capitol of Saudi Arabia is the location of the lovely Yibreen Spa.  It was about 2 years ago, that I happened to meet Princess Rema at the Los Angeles Gift show and I gave her my card and told her I would love to come and introduce hooping to the fitness instructors and clients of the spa.  The opportunity finally came and I found myself flying business class on a 21 hour long journey to Saudi Arabia this past September 11th.

I was really excited about this trip as I am with visiting most new places, but this was a particularly different place to visit.  Saudi Arabia is considered to be one of the most authoritative countries in the world.  Located in the harsh desert and with an entire culture of people that live day to day lives based on the muslim religion.  This is not a place that accepts tourism.  One must be invited and have a sponsor to enter the country.  It finally became a realization, that my visit was a special one, as a guest of a princess of the Saudi royal family.

Prior to my visit, the most common question I was asked by friends and family was “how are you going to hoop while having to wear that black robe?”  Well, upon arrival I was handed the traditional black “abaya” that is required to be worn by women when in public. The abaya (pictured below) is black and ankle length with full sleeves, it also includes a head scarf to cover the hair and neck.  The Yibreen spa is a womens only spa, so once inside, we are able to hang the robes and be in regular clothing.  So no, I didn’t have to hoop in the abaya, which was good since it is very warm to wear and not easy to move in for fitness related activities.  It took a few days to get used to the abaya, but being immersed into this culture, it was also nice to blend in with the crowds when outside the spa or hotel room.  The abayas were all black and mostly the same, but also touched with various adornments which made them distinguishable and fashionable to wear amongst the women in Riyadh.

During the days, the fitness instructors and I would meet for BodyHoops teacher training and for the evenings, I was scheduled to teach classes, private lessons and 2 performances for Princess Rema and her sister, Princess Banderee and their children.  The families are very large with many cousins and all of their nannies.  It was a lot of fun to visit the palaces and present a firehooping and lighted hoop demonstration.  The kids enjoyed taking turns with the lighted hoop and were amazed with fire on a hoop.

Being a woman in Saudi Arabia is not easy, with many restrictions and limitations, but being at the spa enabled me and the women who visit to have a place for letting go,  relaxation, pampering and experiencing fun empowering classes like hooping.  I really enjoyed getting to know some of the regular visitors of the spa as well as the fitness team.

Overall, the experience was very rewarding and enjoyable, despite the dramatic lifestyle differences.  I feel grateful for having the opportunity to share something that I love and experience being amongst a very interesting culture for a short time.  Hooping was well received at the spa and its exciting to know that hooping is now happening in the middle east!

Hoopers all around the world set the intention to hoop on World Hoop Day.  Since 2007, World Hoop Day has been dedicated to bringing toy and dance hoop to underprivileged children living in extreme poverty and underdeveloped neighborhoods of our world.  Founded by Annie O’Keeffe, and partnering with her husband, Kevin,  World Hoop Day is a not for profit organization that uses a community-based approach to provide durable hoops.  The adult-sized hoops can be used their entire life as a simple and effective way to bring joy to an otherwise devastating situation.

There are many aid organizations who provide food and medical relief, but what about the mental welfare of a child who grows up too quickly and hardly has a reason to smile or play or just be a child?  To date, 10,000 hoops have been given away by hoopers all over the world.  The simple hoop has positive and mental health benefits, stimulates imaginations, and enables feelings of pure joy and bliss.  

As World Hoop Day was approaching, I knew I was going to be in Tecate, Mexico visiting and hooping at the world famous Rancho La Puerta Spa www.rancholapuerta.com, so I thought this would be a wonderful place to seek out orphanages and donate BodyHoops to underprivileged children, but during my stay at the ranch, I discovered the Foundation Rancho La Puerta http://www.fundacionlapuerta.org, which is non-profit partner of the Rancho La Puerta Spa.  

Fundación la Puerta provides the Tecate border region with solid leadership in land conservation and regional planning. A major objective of the Fundación is to educate and inspire the people of Tecate to respect, preserve and celebrate their immediate natural environment. 

Las Piedras Environmental Education Center lies at the center of Fundación La Puerta’s Environmental Education Program and its commitment to creating a magical place where children fall in love with the earth. Here, children discover the interdependent relationship between humankind and nature, and learn to treasure and protect their natural environment.  Children from all of the local schools and orphanages visit the foundation for hands on fun and educational activities that teach environmental awareness and community building.  

After discovering this wonderful organization, I knew that this is where I wanted to donate bodyhoops.  Hundreds of children and adults will be going through the Foundations Programs and the hoops will provide hours and hours of fun for all those participating.  It was my pleasure to donate 30 BodyHoops to the Foundation La Perta.  

Several weeks later, I was thrilled and touched to receive a lovely letter of thanks from the Director of the foundation along with photos of the local children enjoying them.  Fortunately, Hazel Striker, the hoopdance teacher of the spa came over and showed the kids and teachers, the basics of hoopdance.  Now the leaders of the foundation are really excited to continue using the hoops for all their programs and I am really excited to know that they will be enjoyed by many!