How many foods can really represent as well as this one can for us fans of the sublime circle? The onion steals the show. We should all try our hands at finger hooping!

• Leave a comment...

DC’s burnery, object-manipu-
latory, improvey crew DanceAFire is hosting a Free Pajama Jam at the Mt. Rainier Artist Lofts featuring the musical stylings of DJ Sam starting at about 6:30pm tomorrow eve, Sunday the 7th of March. Wear your PJ’s or something equally as cozy and prepare to move and groove. It’s been suggested that you can DVR the Oscars if that’s a concern. Your body will thank you for hooping. The address is 3311 Rhode Island Ave., Mt. Rainier, MD. Hoop~dancers are ENCOURAGED to come and play!

• Leave a comment...

This weekend’s hoopjam fundraiser for Water Missions International and the Haitian community was a beautiful time~ with around 20 hoopers coming out to move & share in the joyful revolution, send healing energy outward, self-loving energy inward, and also to learn more about the importance of clean water for our fragile human systems. We collectively raised $265 for this vital cause, with our intention being to raise $400. If you were unable to attend, but would still like to contribute, please do so securely right here, and thank you very much for your support! To learn more about how our thoughts and emotions affect water, both in our cells and beyond our individual physical bodies, check out the groundbreaking work of Dr. Emoto and the Hado Institute. If you are interested in learning about the alkaline-rich water we drank on Sunday which helps balance out acidic dietary tendencies, check out this link about magnesium-oxide Prill beads. Big thanks again to Jocelyn from Love Movement who spearheaded this fundraiser and super sweet jam-time. Peace, love & healing to all people of our ever-shifting earth~

• Leave a comment...

I was talking to my dearest on the phone today about the concept of closure, and I quickly made mention of “opensure,” ’cause that’s where my goofily mercurial mind traveled… We both had a minor chuckle, but later I got to thinking more seriously about how much hooping & in particular full-bodied hoopdance truly captures both Closure AND Opensure~ and of course how vital both of these contrasting concepts are for helping to balance out our precious celestial earthling selves. As hoopers, we have a head-(& shoulders & knees & toes!)-start over non-hoopers in finding this balance, simply because the *spinpetus* (motivating orbit) of the hoop requires opensure and closure, it requires a certain amount of both protecting and surrendering, both left and right body and brain activity, rocking forward and back, convex, concave, low & high, right and left, thin & wide, fast & slow, big & small, up & down; translating into sun & moon, lightness and dark, work & play. I suspect that most of us feel not quite as balanced as we’d idealize on most days; like we could frequently use a V-8 or other body-aligning beverage d’jour… constantly weeble-wobbling back and forth between too much of this or not enough of that. Of course a certain amount of this wobble is an integral part of living life. However, sometimes the scales tip a little or a lot more to one side for too long for many of us to remain comfortable and we get an ache in our back or our belly or our brain. If we were hooping our way through life in this lopsided fashion, the hoop would be dropping far too often to advance much at all on our path. Sometimes we need to get back to center and ground out in our bodies. When we’re ready, we can expeditiously find grounding and attain high levels of embodiment in the hoop. The simultaneous push and pull around the circular form reflects both our openness to our selves and evolution, as well as our need to feel protected and even guarded within the bounds of the hoop itself. The hoop is our tool, but if it’s not aiding us, if we’re not able to hear it’s rhythm beckoning us with each hug of our core, we can set the hoop down for a moment or few, or simply & subtly move our bodies inside of the hoop as we hold it relatively still in our hands around us. We can try to feel our bodies from more of an internal awareness. We can try to quiet our minds enough to truly feel Embodied~ to let go of our external concerns and worries and doubts, and to circle and circle and circle and circle and c i r c l e~ creating a joyful human-hoop-movement fusion. Fast or slow or mid-tempo smooth~ our moving meditation makes sense across the nation & world, planets & universe… Hooping is orbital be-bop for folks who realize that the speed of the earth around the sun (18+ miles a SECOND!) creates an invisible ring which places all of us earthlings inevitably on a hooper’s path! By the way (as just noted) we’re moving so so fast that it’s OK and in fact necessary, to slow down or even break to play (in other words, Adults: you have a right & dare I say need to hoop or otherwise have fun!). Circularity continued: The moon around our Earth is also a ring. The bits of moonlet around the planet Saturn? Rings. The rest of the rotating planets also form a target of rings around the biggest star this side of what we’ve discovered thus far in our circle-clad solar system. All of these circles and spinners and even hoopless humans, too, ever opening and closing and opening again. The only constant we know is this ebb and flow~ and what a delightfully (whirled) peaceful way to notice as when you’re inside of your hoop! Above is a quick picture I drew in between hooping and marinating on the center of this hoopdance seesaw of life. Please do comment if you have any of your own circular insights or musings to share~ oneLove, noelle

• Leave a comment...

sTrAnGe PoWeRs will be spinning rings around (AND post show go-go dancing!) with a stellar line up of performers tomorrow night at the Palace of Wonders for another HOTT installment of Lil’ Dutch’s monthly cabaret, the Dutch Oven. Other artists lined up include the lovely local starlet Sugar Ann Spice, the captivating OuiOui Nonnon, the musical talents of New York’s radical Sabrina Chap, of course Lil’ Dutch herself, and more! Show at 10pm. $10 for a ridiculous amount of fun. Come melt the snow away with us!

• Leave a comment...

This coming Thursday I will be donning my fishnets and grabbing my hoola hoop for a short performing appearance at Tango Mercurio’s Fishnet Fete party to raise money for this wonderful dance company spreading the beauty and passion of the Tango tradition throughout DC and beyond. Reception begins at 7pm and I will be hooping it up around 8:30. There will be tango dancing throughout the night ending promptly at 11:30pm. In addition to a splash of hooping, enjoy tango, live music, food & wine, a silent auction, and additional surprises! $35 and fishnets to enter. More on Dress Code: Fishnet fabric in any form or color will get you in the door. Legs, arms, ankles, wrists, and hair are all fair play for fishnet fashion! Masculine folks: consider a fishnet tie, cravate, or pocket square! This exciting evening will take place at the lovely Josephine Butler Center in Washington, DC. Get there early to enjoy all the fun and festivities. Limited parking in Josephine Butler’s lot and on 15th and 16th streets. Metro accessible by way of Columbia Heights or U Street/Cardoza. See you in your fishnet gear!

• Leave a comment...

Just sayin… in case any of you DMV hoopers are extraordinarily hard core~ that I, am not. And Joe’s is closed. See you post-snowsanity! In the meantime, if I may suggest: make some hot cocoa, move some furniture, and getchur home-hoop a’spin! What better way to enjoy the day? With Love & Blinding White Light~ sTrAnGe PoWeRs

• Leave a comment...

The hoop jam originally scheduled to take place tomorrow, February 7th from noon to 2pm is now rescheduled (due, of course, to the Blizzard of 2010) until Sunday, February 28 also from noon to 2pm at the same location. Enjoy the winter wonderland and please come out on the 28th to hoop, fun-raise & fund-raise for clean, drinkable water in Haiti. Until soon, take good care~

• Leave a comment...

You can play ‘Seek The Circles’ in this one, like ‘Where’s Waldo?’ for hooper-geeks.

• Leave a comment...

Organized by local and fabulous movement artist Jocelyn Gordon of Love Movement Healing Arts, we will be hooping with a purpose on Sunday, February 7th from noon to 2pm at the Carderock Springs Swim and Tennis Club in Bethesda, MD. The proceeds of this donation-based hoop jam will go to Water Missions International~ helping folks in need/crisis get this essential liquid that flows forth from our faucets in the blink of an eye and twist of a wrist. We will gather at high noon for an opening meditation led by Jocelyn herself, learn some of what they don’t seem to teach in schools about water & it’s vibrational sensitivity, hoop our tail feathers off to an array of hott tracks til close to 2pm, and close with a self-loving hoopdance stretch and meditation led by yours truly. Suggested donation is $20, however, a donation of ANY amount is welcomed and greatly appreciated. All levels (including straight-up-beginners!) of hooping experience are welcomed and encouraged to attend. **If there’s only one hoop jam you make it out to this year, let it be one for a cause as important as this.** We look forward to seeing you at noon on the 7th~ when we will build up all kinds of loving energy for ourselves and all beings everywhere, provide monetary donations to Water Missions for Haitian relief efforts, and relish in our collective, circular dancing bliss! Unending love & healing wishes for the people of Haiti, today and always~

• Leave a comment...

This is a new hoopLog series in which I’m posting circular-ish imagery I’ve captured, mostly from my less-than-awesome camera phone and occasionally also a Canon Power Shot. Low end hoopLove-flavor at it’s finest. Here’s some love for the littlest hardcore wheels of the world!

• Leave a comment...

“SuperPowers!” This is my family and friends’ amazing team name for the Race for Hope to fight against brain tumors. As many who are close to me already know, my family’s been doubly affected by brain tumors recently, and we’ve therefore been active in the DC Race for Hope fundraiser for the last four years. I will again be spearheading my annual Hoop for Hope efforts, giving away beautiful hand-crafted hoola hoops on race day in exchange for a donation to the cause. Our team is already actively seeking donations for this incredibly important cause culminating in a 5k race/walk/hoop(!) to take place in early May. Please consider making contribution of any amount you can spare towards finding a cure for brain cancer. More to come on volunteering, joining our team and/or the race, donating hoop materials etc. in the coming months. In the meantime, please feel free to email me from the CONTACT page of this site if you’d like to be involved, and THANK YOU, in advance, from the bottom of my brain and the belly of my heart!

• Leave a comment...

Having just settled back onto the soil of my country of origin after a long hooping sabbatical in the forest, I’m finding myself in the midst of this big city life where it can be difficult to find environmentally-friendly-hoopspiration & SPACE TO HOOP! Walking the streets of DC, Metro’ing through the Bethesda suburbs, or driving the oft-aggressive avenues of Baltimore can take a tall toll on a human hooper with a country soul. As I walked my sister’s dog this morning pondering the pavement & locale-malady, I realized that the best cure what ailed me was to get into my hoop, and stat. If you have the fortune of a large, open space in your residence, you are all set to hoop it up with any sized hoop you please. However, if abode space is limited or you have fragile items around that could easily be knocked over or break with the smallest of hoop kisses, you still have a viable options to consider in order to maintain your practice & play. The first of which is to gear up in your warmest and least-bulky attire and take your hoop/s outside. Most ideal & important winter hoop-garb: thin layers that are snug to your body, a hat, and gloves with some definite grip and digit-flexibility. Active hooping outside actually warms you up surprisingly fast…and it’s a surefire joy for witnessing passers-by, too! A second option is to find a studio that allows you to use there space for either a nominal fee or even for free! If you already pay for a gym membership, ask them if there is a time and space in which you could play with your hoops, aka: “your preferred fitness workout.” Frequently there are non-peak hours when studios are not being used and you can easily sweet talk your way into them. Your gyms want you to use and make the most of them and most importantly to get fit, so let them provide this service to you! You can also check out your local community rec centers for good empty studios or gymnasium space. If you live in an apartment or condominium, do not overlook the option of hooping in furniture-free hallways or common areas not otherwise in use. If these spots do not afford wide enough spaces, you can use it as an opportunity to practice your hand/arm hooping with smaller to mini-sized hoops. Traversing a long, empty hallway back and forth with hoops a’spin on arms & hands allows for both a long distance of practice/play (you could even hoop with a pedometer affixed to your shoe!) and, as HoopPather’s would say, the ever-so-important “flight time” accrual as well. Changing up your normal hooping environment goes way beyond staying active during the coldest months of the year… It’s also a solid way to bring forth different styles and skill-sets, as well as to further stimulate & strengthen your brain by creating fresh sensory associations in the form of: new surrounding sights, a change in terrain under your feet &/or wind against your cheeks, or simply being exposed to new sounds and smells while spinning your disparate brain hemispheres into more logically soulful sync~

Do you have fav spots to hoop in cold urban environs? If so, do let us know!

• Leave a comment...

Hoops are mandalas, circles, portals, wheels, clocks, rings, irises, and symbols of sacred geometry. The circular shape of the hoop makes it an ideal addition to altars, meditation nooks, sacred spaces, and decorations on/in homes, temples, buildings, barns, etc. Many modern (& European-descended) hoopers are beginning to see what indigenous American people and hoopdancers have known for a great long while, as clearly evidenced through the sacred art of Native American Hoop Dance: a clear connection between the symbol of the hoop and spirituality. I am visualizing a picture of a target- a series of hoops one inside the next; the smallest & most central hoop being you and your soul, then your family, friends, strangers, nature, earth-planet, universal big, overarching higher powers, all infinitely stretching outwards. And beautiful also, to realize that no matter where our ancestors came from, the hoop symbol connects us far beyond our biological families, to the larger family of Human beings, and the even larger family of: All Living & Growing Things on Earth. When I was recently living with some friends in the woods, there were mandalas (see: hoops) on all of the altars. The largest altar being outside, it has a screen decorated with a big & beauteous mandala behind it, along with a bench in front of it on which to sit and pray or just be. An addition that I made to this altar during my stay was hanging a hoop (halo-style) above the bench in front of the altar. I wrapped it in some glow in the dark tape so even in the darkest of nights, you can see the spectacular-circular hoop-goodness glowing in the middle of the trees and better find your way on the path! Around the outside of the hoop I twisted some vines from the very same forest, to help further fuse the slick-plastic-urban-ness of it with the surrounding native trees. Here is a picture from a moment when I was sitting on the bench in front of the altar, looking upward. Watching the trees through the hoop- a veritable portal to the clouds in the sky, helps me feel a little more calm, held, and centered in both the more sorrowful and sublime times of this life~

• Leave a comment...

Today is a big day. On this eve of 2010, we are experiencing a rare celestial occasion, with the combined forces of not only a new year upon us, but also the powerful energies of both a ‘blue’ full moon, and a partial lunar eclipse (at 2:12pm EST). The *astrological significance of a blue moon (the 2nd full moon in one month) falling on New Year’s Eve will not repeat itself again until 2028! Those of us already blessed with a conscious hoop practice have an additional powerful mandala (concentric geometric shape) upon which to meditate today and draw strength to carry forward into the new year. Astronomy, astrology, and ‘hoopology’ all share in common certain traits, such as: predictable cycles, geometric beauty, and the movement of encircling bodies, whether they be planets, the Sun, or your everyday human hoola hooper. During a full moon lunar eclipse, as well as on the eve of a new year, things have a tendency to come under reflection and to fruition, often in the form of letting go of that which no longer serves our greatest good. Examples are things like limiting beliefs, relationships, behaviors, or material possessions. On a day like today, we may likely feel more apt and able to make resolutions about living more healthily, ridding ourselves of tired habits, and intentionally committing to furthering our personal evolution. Furthermore, with the influence of a lunar eclipse like today’s, it marks a perfect time to reflect on how we feel about our contributions to the world~community at large, the legacy we are creating within it, and whether or not it is in alignment with our innermost wants and needs. Hooping, like the mandalic planetary patterns studied in astronomy and astrology, can also be used as a tool for this internal and external growth work. As you find yourself inside the circle, it is at once both a literal and symbolic effort to reunify the sense of Self. My own new year-blue moon eclipse’s resolution (and revolution) is to keep fervently focused on Self-Love and being gentle with myself. The constant hug of the hoop helps me do this everyday. And today, more than most days, I have a bonus boost in accomplishing this through such a rare and powerful lunar placement as mentioned above. If you should find yourself free this evening from 7:30 to 9:30pm, please consider joining me and others in the Greenbelt hoop jam to ring in the new year and reflect on living the way we want to live in 2010! More info about the jam on my CALENDAR page and on Greenbelt’s website. Happy New Year, Moon Power, and Hooping Powers to you today, this coming year, and always! With Love, noelle

~Accompanying photo courtesy of my friend Ricardo, shot in Chile last month, of me and my hoops and the moon high above!~

*Thanks goes out to Alison Yates for much of the Astrological data and suggestions referenced above~

• Leave a comment...

This is a video of an excellent Ted Talk about how our education system as it is today, around the world, is basically killing creativity. In this lecture made by Sir Ken Robinson, he champions a radical rethink of our school systems, to cultivate creativity and acknowledge multiple types of intelligences. I think it’s perfect for hoopdancers, hooping instructors, folks who are curious about hooping, and anyone who feels at all put off by the rather sad state of our industrial-revolution-inspired education system. He asserts that there is a world-wide hierarchy of school subjects, with mathematics and languages at the top, followed by humanities, and at the bottom are the arts. He further advances that within the arts, there’s a hierarchy too, with [fine] arts and music given a higher status than drama and dance…and that there isn’t a system on the planet that that teaches dance everyday to children the way we teach them mathematics. He asks, “Why not? We all have bodies, don’t we? Did I miss a meeting? Truthfully what happens is as children grow up we start to educate them progressively from the waist up. And then we focus on their heads, and slightly to one side.” How dreamy it would be if every classroom across the globe started their days off with a hoopstretch & mini-jam, or took hoop-breaks throughout the day to get bodies and brains’ right-hemispheres extra-activated and feeling great! What a difference it could make for the confidence & skill-growth of kinesthetic learners. Thanks, Michael, for sending me the link to this! A real gem and positive affirmation for a movement arts educator like myself, and for all of us who think a little less linearly (or at least more circularly) than the current powers that be~

• Leave a comment...

Every once in a while you meet an instant convert to the joyful revolution. You know it the minute you put a hoop around their hips or hand that they’re hooked for life. It’s an incredible sight, bearing witness to someone’s discovery of the hoop’s super magical properties. This past fall/early winter while living in Chile with some of my ‘logical-family,’ I got to witness one of these extraordinary ~hoopiphanies~ in my friend Christine, as she began to find heightened states of liberatory movement through the exquisite simplicity of the hoop. She says, “For me the hoop allows me to move as I have always longed to. I am so grateful that you came into my life right at this time to share your hooping wisdom with me. You have been my bruja hoop guide Noelle and I am so thankful.” And I, too, am so thankful to have gotten the chance to share my love of hooping with my southernly hemisphered friends in the woods! It’s why I have chosen to do the hoop-work I do; because I truly believe how powerful a healing force the movement of the hoop can be~ and souls like Christine continually serve to prove me right. Gracias, Christine! Amor y besitos a ti, siempre~

• Leave a comment...

Lately I have been combining my practice of hooping and my practice of writing into one two-sided coin freshly tossed into the air spinning freely and highly above the ground, often to the accompaniment of positive-centric, medium-tempo’ed hip hop and r’n'b~ where the lyrics seep straight into your soul even if only your body hears the beat. And then I write. And hoop some more. And write. And hoop. And sometimes both concurrently~ which is a quite a sight to behold. Most recently I do so enjoying tunes through my creation-stations on www.Pandora.com from folks like Braille and People Under The Stairs, so that I can choose familiar and beloved genres or artists, but still be surprised with varied and novel movement inspired by songs that are new to my ears.

I am sure that many of my earliest hooping inspirations have long been aware of the complementary nature between the hoop and the pen/computer. Prolific and smart writers like Ariel Meadow Stallings and Kara Maia Spencer were, after all, the two beings who first introduced me to the modern hooping phenomenon whilst I was living in Seattle. I have been saying since back then that the movement of the hoop encircling me increases my brain’s pathways & connections. And, the best part is, it continually proves to keep making me feel: better, smarter, more compassionate and more critical, and generally a healthier human being overall. Right now it certainly contributes to a flow of thoughts and words bubbling forth from my brain and busting out my fingertips in between spinning sessions, more often than otherwise occurs–> when I’m: in the hoop> near the hoop> thinking about the shape of the hoop> feeling an ancestral connection through the hoop> baking bread through the hoop> healing hearts with the hoop> yin~yang> this~that> he~she~zee~infinity in the hoop>!

If you are looking to jumpstart your relationships with: creativity, love, self-confidence, new directions, child-like wonder, self-loving embodiment and positivity in your life, pick up the hoop and a pen and sit yourself down… NO! Get up! Hoop it out a song or few- ok. now sit down~ and let your mind just flow- let your keys clickity clack typing out your new rhythms, whatever they may be, without judgment… and when you stand back up, perhaps you’re adding a new more circular quality to your dance, finding your serpent arms or new disco legs, and of course, your fanciest sweetest-pelvic-action possibly ever! And just continue to play back and forth between your hooping (on hands, arms, waist, hips, off body, angled etc.) and writing (pen or keyboard, scrap paper or big poster, whatever you feel)~ seeing where it takes you. Stream of hoopishness. It’s all the rage these days. Please do let me know how it goes if you try it! And hoopy holy days your way~

• Leave a comment...

La Christine and I took a pause from tending to the bees one afternoon to hoop in our bee costumes (I mean, bee-suits!). Que divertidisimo y un poco raro tambien…how hilarious and and little weird, too!

• Leave a comment...

Este es el primer “upa” yo hice de solomente material natural y organica! Estoy emocionada para mas exploracion en el construccion de upas sin plastico. Este upa linda es de Colihue (un primo de bamboo) y vid de la selva de Sur Chile , y es super funcional, tambien. Que vakan y divertido y bueno para nuestros cuerpos y el medio ambiente!

This is the first hoop I made of only natural and organic materials! I am very excited for more exploration in the construction of hoops without plastic. This pretty hoop is made of Colihue (a cousin of bamboo) and vine from the jungle of Southern Chile, and is super-functional also. How cool and fun and good for our bodies and the environment!

• Leave a comment...

This past week I had the great pleasure of working with my talented friends Karin and Ricardo from Valparaiso on the creation of a new hoop-dance-music video piece about home; one of both documentation and art. At the end of the week, we’d traveled great distances with hoops and cameras in tow, through and around native trees of rainforest, homogenous pine plantations, paths big enough to hold trucks full of cut-down trees, and small enough to be fit for only the strongest of ferns and most agile of human passerby’s. We talked about home. I hooped about home. We thought many hours about how we define home, what we need in order to feel at home, and how we find and hoop our way home. I explained how my personal definition of home is a web of many special people in different places across the earth, and also- like the spider who spins a community around themselves, I am the most consistent and present definitions of home that I know. In turn, looking both outward towards connections, and also looking inward with true self-love, I can be the most present and positive as possible in my body. Additionally, aided by the constant hug and boundary-defining support of the hoop, I am aware that I hold in myself the greatest home that I can realize. Here’s a silouhoop shot captured by Ricardo on the final day of filming as the moon steadily gained attention in the darkening blue sky~ Muchas gracias Korin y Ricardo por todo. !Paz y luz a Ustedes!

Having recently increased my amount of time writing and therefore my general sitting-still time, I am realizing more each day how important the pure physical movement of hooping is in my everyday life. Our bodies are simply not designed to be so sedentary. How perfect an outlet is hooping for our modern day “sit-tense-and-staring” style of life that so many 9-5ers, computer users(!), factory-workers, writers, & students, etc. tend to employ on the daily. As children, we instinctively know the importance of play and movement. Youth who go into the average, western-style school system become fast-acculturated to the ways of sitting still and quiet in order to ‘learn properly.’ After years of this lifestyle, our bodies are typically prone to poor posture, inflexibility, tension you don’t even want to mention, and a host of other unpleasantries. Hooping is an easy and inexpensive way for people to feel comfortable to get up, stand up, and stretch up, inside our bodies that are carrying around so much stress and often many insecurities, and literally hoop the ‘nor-maladies’ out of you~ leaving much of the good stuff: the positive feelings, the utilized muscles, the neural pathways firing, the broad movement paths, as well as the more subtle, specific, and delicate movements paths, too. You can hoop yourself into your true height and body size and style of being in your particular skeleton. You can hoop yourself into the dancer that you already are~ as frequently the hoop acts rather magically like a security blanket for your inner movement artist to be born and to flourish forth. Loosen your hips and shoulder-tips more than you ever thought possible. Strengthen and increase flexibility anywhere you spin~ including around the commonly-overlooked hands and wrists, so often pained with carpal-tunnely ‘office-ness’ syndrome that many of us know all too well. The gifts just keep on giving as long as you keep on spinning… so do as the ol’ song says and don’t stop til you get enough! With your very own and very special Hooping Powers. It is truly a wondrous thing~

• Leave a comment...

Hola Amigos Del Mundo~ While I usually write posts in the English language, right now I am finding home to be in the Southern part of Chile- where I will be holding my first hooping workshop in the coming weeks. Therefore, what follows is a description in the Spanish language for Chileans (or any other Spanish-speakers) who may be interested in learning a bit more about this joyful revolution before boldly venturing out to a workshop, or “taller” to experience great fun and wellness…

Ula~Ula, o “UPA”~ es un movimiento moderno, revolución de felicidad, y un nacimiento de paz. La gente en todo el mundo aprendan de la revolución de la oopa~ upando! Las ula ulas (o “upas”) que ocuparemos son mas grandes que las ula ulas del pasado y de la generación de nuestros padres. Entonces, estas upas son más fáciles para aprender y usar, y más personas pueden upar! Las personas que quieren buena salud usan la upa para sentirse muy bien, como niños, además para cuidar los kilos y desarrollar músculos fuertes. La upa también es muy buena para la salud porque estimula los dos lados del cerebro. Cuando upas en las dos direcciones (a la izquierda y a la derecha) mejoras tu equilibrio. Upar es como un abrazo constante, es una meditación en movimiento muy bello. Al practicar con la upa estarás rodeado de más paz, amor y compasión en tu vida. Entonces, ayuda con la ascensión del espíritu. Upar ayuda a tu cuerpo sentir todas las sensaciones y seguir el camino de tu alma. Puedes upar con todo tu cuerpo: el tronco, por supuesto, pero también con tus manos, tus brazos, tu cuello, tu pecho, tus piernas, y tus pies. Jóvenes o viejos, toda la gente puede upar! La revolución de la upa es como una mandala, un gran cambio social, como los ciclos de la vida y la historia del mundo. La upa conecta a toda la gente, los animales, las plantas, y el universo.

…Junto conmigo en este primero taller de “upa” (ula-ula) moderno en Valdivia. No es necesario tener experienca. Adultos son bienvenidos, y jovenes también. 3 mil para publico general, y 2 mil para estudiantes. Habrán “upas” grandes y pequeños para usar en clase, y podrán comprarlos también. Mas detalles del taller vendra pronto… ¡VIVA LA UPA!

• Leave a comment...

I have had an almost entirely new hooping world of sorts open up to me in the last few weeks of my practice~play, and that is: behind the back-space hooping on hands with mini (or larger) hoops! Some of my biggest positive role models in the hooping world have acquired great skill in this behind-body space early on in their hooping lives. I, on the other hand (like several other hoopers I have met) have mostly focused on front of body or side spaces in which to explore with the hoop until very recently…

One thing that I am especially focusing on is the bounce of the knees as the main “spin~petus” of the arm as it spins (palm-upward, arm extended horizontally outward) behind my back. I am finding that the ease with which you can get a vertical up and down push for the hoop on your hand/arm simply by using the bounce of your knees is super helpful wrestling with a new and at first rather un-comfortable zone of repetitive, demanding movement that comes in the behind-the-body hooping territory.

Additionally, I feel that a lot more of my neurons are firing in my brain when I am hooping in this opposite-of-normal-life zone that is the space behind my body. And I also believe that the multi-directionality of it (6 ways of hooping between your two arms!) definitely adds to increased brain health and fusion of my logical and emotional hemispheres. It’s a win-win situation for sure!

I will try to attach a video of some of this play~exploration in the coming weeks. In the meantime, here’s an accompanying hoop-shot of mine that makes me think a little bit more off-kilter, a little bit more about the pre-constructed boxes in which we tend to exist. I suggest giving your hoop a whirl yourself in your ‘behind-back-space” if you do not already know of its wondrousness; to try to do one thing behind your back in whatever way possible every so often- or better yet, every time you pick up your hoop! In Peace and Hoop Love~ noelle

• Leave a comment...

I have been in the countryside of southern Chile for nearly a month now. Here’s a shot of me just before a gay parade in Santiago my second day in South America~ donning an “I Love Myself” sign in Spanish- “Yo Amo A Mi Misma!”~ with my hoola hoops happily overhead. The modern hooping movement is practically unheard of here~ and by ‘here’ I mean in Valdivia, which is about a 10-hour drive south of Santiago. Everyone I’ve met has been super-receptive and excited about the joyful revolution. I’ve made a gang of hoops thus far, which are all a bit softer than what I am used to making and using in North America. More to come on my hooping-making adventures in a post very soon. I am planning to hold a workshop in a couple of weeks to introduce the movement to the beautiful people of Valdivia. Check back frequently for more updates now that we have internet access on the land~ a serene and stunning temperate rainforest in which to hoop and meditate and explore and hoop some more!

• Leave a comment...