We have thankfully resumed our weekly jams at Joe’s Movement Emporium on Tuesday evenings, from 6:45-8:15pm. This is a wonderful chance to develop your hoop skills, have tons of fun, meet other local hoopers, and most likely learn a new thing or few. While it’s not a formal class, the jam facilitator, Powers, will be happy to provide guidance and mini-lessons as so desired. Otherwise, spin jams are a free-style, improv-based hour and a half with fresh music and dozens of multi-sized hoops for your whirling delight. $7 entry. All ages and skill levels are welcome. Newbies encouraged to come out! Don’t be shy, hoop-curious friends! (: Contact noelle@hoopingpowers.com with any questions or concerns, and hope to see you soon at the weekly Spin Jam!
Archive for the ‘Classes’ Category
Jammin’ on the One~
Sunday, September 9th, 2012*No Workshop This Saturday!*
Monday, August 20th, 2012
Dear ones,
Due to end of summer trips and such, we are postponing the ‘Putting the Dance in HoopDance’ workshop ’til a later date when more folks can make it. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, and encourage folks to send a direct message if you’re definitely interested in this class, so as to surely be notified of the reschedule date. Happy end of summer hooping to all! Also, please note~ hoop jams at Joe’s are on pause for a couple weeks due to Joe’s being closed, and will resume on Tuesday, September 4th, at the normal 6:45-8:15pm timeframe. ( :
Cheers & Hoop Love~
Powers
August Hoop Workshops: Beginner Basics & Intermediate Dance Skills
Sunday, July 15th, 2012
We’re extremely excited to announce not one but two long-awaited spinning workshops coming up this August.
Saturday August 4th will be HOOPING 101: Exploring the Basics. This is an intro-level 2 hour workshop from 3-5pm at Joe’s Movement Emporium in Mount Rainier, MD. Cost, curriculum details, and a link to purchase are located on our Webshop page right here.
Saturday August 25th will be Putting the DANCE in Your HoopDance. This is an intermediate-level 2 hour workshop from 3-5pm at Joe’s Movement Emporium in Mount Rainier, MD. Cost, curriculum details, and a link to purchase are located on our Webshop page right here.
Both classes will be taught by Hooping Powers founder Noelle (a.k.a. Strange ‘POWERS’). Please contact us with any questions or concerns, or to reserve your spot today for either of these revolutionary workshops. Excited to hoop with you soon!
Head Hooping is So Hot Right Now
Tuesday, March 6th, 2012
Soooo… a natural progression of most folks’ hooping journeys is to start to explore how many different ways you can hoop on your total bod. For me, this exploration has led to my head. It’s easy to skip over tender spots like legs, neck, and yes, your precious brain case when there are so many other hoop-friendly body spots around which to play. And there is certainly Nothing Wrong with staying in a comfort zone (i.e. waist or arm hooping) forever, really. There’s definitely a whole lotta dance you can explore in the more common torso terrain.
However, if you are looking for new ways to play in your ring, consider taking it to your head. Prior to beginning head hooping, I recommend integrating head tilts, turns, and neck rolls into your warm up/stretching regimen. If you already do this, you are probably in a good place to start spinning. If this isn’t already a part of your practice, consider doing it for a while before taking the hoop to your noggin. *It is a good rule to make sure your various body parts move well & fluidly in whatever way you need them to without a hoop revolving around them prior to adding a hoop into the mix. Using your own personal hoop (vs. one you share with others) is also best for head hooping- as it likely will end up rolling over and around your mouth, nose, and eye zones. Since most folks use their hands a lot on their hoops, this is simply an added precaution for health maintenance.
There are two main ways I’ve been playing around my head: (1) in a stalling fashion a.k.a. holding a point of contact while turning your feet on the ground, and (2) gently revolving your actual head to make the hoop spin. I suggest starting with (1) the stall- by turning in place and while doing so, placing the hoop on a ’steadying’ or crook-ish head spot, such as your nose bridge, between your nose and mouth, or even on the flat of your cheek- and maintaining your turn while you hold the hoop on that spot, courtesy of the stall’s magical effect. If your hoop is super droopy or altogether dropping, it means you are not turning in place quite fast enough. You can play with this technique for a while and work it into transitions from neck, overhead lasso, etc. and people will really get a kick out of seeing you ‘hoop on your face!’ If you are ready with your neck flexibility, you can (2) experiment with actually using your entire head as the moving axis upon which the hoop spins. Hoop size, head shape, and hair amount/type/style, too, definitely all play into the speed and ease with which this movement is possible. A thin (1/2 inch) small to medium sized hoop is recommended for the majority of folks. {Hoopers’ Secret: a thin strip of ‘gaffer’ tape on the inside edge of your circle is a great trick for added grip and therefore less drop;} Utilizing the stall a bit also in this style of play is also recommended, as it will slow down the required head motion to keep the hoop spinning. Additionally if you are already stalling a little while actively head hooping, it is an easy way to integrate the aforementioned contact point hold technique, and/or go back and forth between the two styles.
There’s something really exciting and undoubtedly highly ‘neurobic’ for your brain when you can spin your hoop so close to it. Tis a novel mind hug! It has also served to remind me how we often overlook our neck movement in this rather forward-staring computer culture. Let us know if you try it out and what your precious head feels and thinks of it!
Spin Art is Hooptastic Fun!
Sunday, August 21st, 2011
I cannot believe that I did not know about spin art until this week of my life. Not only am I a hooper (so naturally obsessed with mandalas and all things that orbit) but I had never set mine eyes on a spin art machine, much less even heard of it until I got a chance to see one in action at a camp where I taught hoopdance last week. After we’d wrapped up our hooping, I saw all the youth bustling in a far corner of the retreat space, and when I followed them over I found several gorgeous, bright-colored, circular-blasted paintings hanging to dry and a sweet older fellow helping folks one by one, affix their paper canvases to the inside of the spin machine and go to town on creating their prize paintings. Apparently this man had found an heavy-duty grade spin art machine at an estate sale and took time to clean it up and get it running well, and then volunteered his time to spread the spin art love with these young campers. What a splendid combination of activities for a youth (or any age!) camp~ hooping AND spin art… when I mentioned the natural association, people said they hadn’t until then thought of them being related. Well I’ll be! I want to spin more art! Pictured is the one I did very quickly just before departing… I shall name it ‘Spin Rising.’ : )
Musically-Inspired HoopDance
Saturday, August 20th, 2011
Over the last few months, no doubt thanks in large part to the incredible musical offerings of the MXP drum circle players on Sunday afternoons, I have been able to fuse my hooping with my dancing more and more seamlessly each time I enter the ring. Hoop-Dance fusion has always been my favorite ’style’ of hooping (vs. being a trick monkey or exercise monkey, e.g.)~ and now that I’m getting better at it, I like it even more! While I’m enjoying newfound levels of pleasure and skill in this realm, I am concurrently developing ways of how to easily instruct folks in the art of ‘hoopdance musicality.’ We are in the process of lining up some dates for fall classes and workshops~ where we will definitely be working on techniques to better bridge the gap that frequently exists between a person’s hooping and the accompanying music. If you are interested in enhancing your own hoopdance musicality, please do message us from the contact page and we’ll keep you abreast of class information as it solidifies. The shot above is of several hoopers feelin the beat with drummers backs barely visible to the left and in the far center background the Joan of Arc on horse statue that presides over the southern end of this most magical spot in our nation’s capital. Do come out tomorrow and join us! Drumming begins around 3:00, is LIVE BY FIVE, and wraps up by 9pm~
Hoop Funk Shui
Friday, April 1st, 2011
Anyone that has a hoop or two or twenty has likely become well-acquainted with the nature of what I like to call hoop funk shui- the challenge of flowful transport & placement of your hoop/s in your abode or practice space. It’s quite humbling (and often frustrating) after a super fluid and inspiring session of play inside your hoop to then try to clunkily traverse a space, doorway, or narrow passageway with hoops on your person, or even to set your hoops against a wall to have them quickly slide to the ground sometimes knocking over other objects along the way. There is actually an art and dance to simply walking through the world with your hoop (becoming exponentially more difficult when using crowded public transportation). Backing up or turning feels like one should have an accompanying beep like a big truck or otherwise ‘wide load.’ The sheer size and shape of the hoop require that there be intention and actual delicacy in where and how you decide to keep them. I have found the best sources of storage, both practically and aesthetically to be hanging your hoops- this could be from a single nail against the wall for a lone hoop, to a full on bike-rack protruding from the wall for a gang of hoops (make sure to place it above head level to prevent potentially injurious collisions). At a hoop class or jam where there are lots of other bodies around- sometimes a awkward lean against the wall is all you can hope for- but if there’s room to set the hoops flush against the floor- that’s a great option. Hoops demand our attention not just when we’re in them spinning ‘em around us; their mere existence is a cause for pause and thoughtfulness. A lesson we can draw from the difficulty of hoop travel and storage is that we are invited to find and cultivate flow in our lives both inside and outside of the hoop. Hoopdance and the hooping movement itself is indeed a great place to start. As we start to discover our inner dancer and rhythm from within the hoop- we can try to apply the same skill set to our life outside of the hoop. The consideration of how flowing and calm our hoop’s physical placement feels in our life can soon move into how flowing and calm does our communication feel, or our dietary habits, or our accountability for missteps in our relationships. The endless circle of the hoop symbolizes all of the possibilities life has to offer. We can chose to focus on what’s working, and actively work to improve that which is not working so well. There are infinite possibilities and paths- it’s up to us to truly consider what feels best and keeps our energy flowing optimally, each and every day.
Acro-Hooping Awesomeness!
Friday, March 18th, 2011
This past month’s workshop with the talented acro-hoop instructors Marria & Zach of Hoop Ninja fame proved to be a super fun (and also an admittedly exhausting!) time. Three straight hours of inversions and one-handed cartwheels and carrying another’s body weight was way more strenuous activity than I’m used to in a given day. And still it was great! I have a ton of new movement ideas to now play with and delve deeper into when the mood strikes me. I did thankfully get exposed to gymnastics as a wee one, but as an adult the closest I’ve come to this type of practice has been the rare acro-yoga class. This fulfilled that extra physical push for me, and was additionally awesome because it integrated my favorite toy of all beyond the bod: the hoop. Pictured above is yours truly steadily ‘basing’ for the magnificent Maddy high hooping, with Soolah & Zach visible in the back. : )
The Subtleties and Vastness of Arm-Hand Spinning
Thursday, March 3rd, 2011I am pretty much in love with light, mini arm & hand hooping these days. My time in Chile just over a year ago really jump-started this relationship, even though I had done it a bit before the trip~ but without as much intention nor attention regarding the many positive & often subtle impacts it was having on other parts of my life. I recently received movie clips captured in the Valdivian rainforest of my first natural exploration with mini hoops in hand. The videos (a portion of which is shown above) were produced by my friend Karin {y Ricardo tambien} whom I had the pleasure to meet during those few months I spent in South America, falling into winter~ 2009.
Core or torso hooping helps you be embodied and feel your core energy centers hugged. What an extraordinary gift to self in this day and age: positive & joyful touch and play, in a not-so-sexual yet body-positive, super sensual and self-loving kind of way, hugging around your belly, pelvis, & heart spaces. There is perhaps nothing to the hooper more personal and basic and raw and intimate as core hooping. Or so I thought- and still do, in certain ways. However, my mind has been super-charged of late through the motion of *lightly-weighted, miniature hooping on the left and right arms/hands/sides of body space. *I prefer a super light grade of tubing for tiny minis. This I feel allows me to focus more on the dance of hoopdance. It’s really up to your stylistic preferences- remembering that heavier tubing (even if only 125 PSI) is going to go a little slower and not fly of the fingers quite as fast.
When I first began “neo” hooping in 2005, I marveled at the brain training that waist hooping afforded me. It was obvious: I could tell core hooping was extraordinarily helpful as my balance increased, and I felt steadied in thoughts & emotions through bilaterally stimulating the two halves of my brain. If core hooping is a brain-boosting college class, arm-hand hooping is the doctoral level of brain training. In the vein of Poi-style object manipulation, arm-hooping is simultaneously a challenge AND a graceful flowing mix; at once the New York Time’s Sunday crossword AND an Alvin Ailey dancer. And cutie baby hoops.
In the last year, I have started to make arm-hooping a standard part of my personal hoopdance practice as well as many of my hoop classes. Sometimes it’s challenging to leave the comforting core space~ but I do believe it’s a risk worth taking & well worth any struggle, in my humble hooper experience. The rewards abound and continue to come ’round. Have you yet ventured off your core for more?
A Comfortable Depth of Stretch
Sunday, January 30th, 2011
Recently I was asked in a circle of spinners to share my current favorite hoop move. My answer was actually: “Hoopstretching.” For those of us who regularly use a hoop to assist us in our various stretching practices, we know that there’s an ability to experience a broader range of movement in the rather safe-feeling confines of the hoop. Often in classes I refer to the classic Leonardo da Vinci drawing above (Vitruvian Man, 1492) in which the human figure has outstretched arms and legs- and fits perfectly within the circumference of the circle. Having a rounded object such as a hoop to hold while warming up before more dynamic hoopdance helps us move through our ranges of motion feeling a deeper sense of groundedness, stability, and hoOpfully doing so a little further than we might otherwise be able to go sans hoop. For my particular body & range of motion, the hoop informs me of when I’ve stretched to my limit, and because of it’s circular shape, it more safely brings me back into my upstanding position with ease. In addition to helping with deeper side plane & forward/backward bending stretches, twists are significantly easier while wrapped happily inside a hoop: Holding the hoop while standing in the middle of it (hands on the sides around 3 and 9 ‘o clock’ with hoop equidistant from torso on all edges) is a great position for doing torso twists which help to keep the spine limber and complement the typical back and forth hip motion that waist hooping requires. Depending on the height of the hoop in this twisting exercise, one can get specific with the area of spine that you are loosening rather precisely (envision hoop below waist level, at waist, at chest, at head, overhead). Similarly, if you lean forward while twisting (like steering a wheel upside down) it helps to stretch the oft-tense sheets of muscle on the sides of our spines. Twisting variations abound- from the center-standing variety to placing the hoop against the front or back of your body for arm adjustments & consequent flexing of different muscles areas.
Taking the time to stretch in your hoop is also a wonderful opportunity to deepen your breath, release or ‘table’ distractions in order to become more present, set an intention for your practice, and generally become more embodied in the beauty & simplicity of the circle. Please do let us know how you like to warm up with your hoop, if you in fact do! Flexing blessings your way~
No Hoop Class Tonight~
Monday, January 17th, 2011
Joe’s Movement Emporium is closed in honor and observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day~ therefore there will be no evening hoop class tonight. Happy hooping wherever you may be today. Please join us next week for more practice and play in the ring of revolution, and happy birthday Dr. King! In gratitude for those who work for liberation & the right to peaceful existence for all~
Hoop Kisses @ Joe’s
Saturday, September 4th, 2010
This is one of my all time favorite hoop shots for so many reasons (thank you Christine for taking it! and Carol for sharing!). The composition & lighting= my cup of tea. It a picture of my oldest friend on earth, Carol, whom I have known since the ripe young age of one. It’s a picture of a beautiful rainbow hoop complete with alien inside- and don’t we all feel a little alien now and then? In it, Carol’s giving a *beso* to the alien kin, AND wearing an iFree tee that is pretty much the coolest t-shirt this side of anywhere. Everyone and thing is laying on the ground which is such a nice gift for ourselves in this fast-paced culture where we rarely stop to lay down unless we’re in bed. Lastly, this picture was taken at Joe’s Movement Emporium- where I’ll be starting new classes on Monday the 13th- new HumpDayHoopJams on Wednesdays beginning next week, and where we’ll be having the screening of the new-hot & not-yet-released documentary about hoopers called The Hooping Life on Saturday October 9th in celebration and FUNdraising for World Hoop Day 10.10.10!
The Infinite Power & Joy of Poi
Saturday, July 3rd, 2010
While I have yet to take a formal class on the New Zealand-born art of Poi, I have increasingly amp’ed up my own exploration of poi-inspired hooping techniques in recent months and it has proven more powerful for bilateral brain strengthening than most other movement paths I have explored in this lifetime. The basic motion of poi hooping movement involves circles and figure 8s~ infinite shapes that create infinite flow. As a pianist plays one chord with one hand, and another chord with the other, so does a flow artist trace one path with one hand, and another path with the other, while often times crossing the midline of the body & brain~ a critical tool for enhancing neural connections from your brain’s right hemisphere to the left hemisphere. Back and forth, over and over, this criss-crossing & ever-circling figure 8 pattern helps the merging of one’s emotional and rational facilities and in turn eases emotional trauma and improves coordination & mood, among many other health benefits. I’m excited to continue to share more of the poi-style hooping in my classes with both adults & youth, as I think it’s an underutilized & invaluable tool in overall flow technique, shoulder-arm-wrist-hand strength/flexibility, & breadth of one’s off-core hoopdancing repertoire. A big thank you goes out to the several poi & hoop artists that have shared technical know-how with me in the last 6 months to acquire certain moves that would have been tricky if not impossible for me to have mastered on my own. In flowing & infinitely loving gratitude~
De’Arra’s Hoopy B’day Jam~
Sunday, April 25th, 2010
Here’s a mildly fuzzy yet still super fun shot from De’Arra’s recent 3rd year of life birthday party in which I facilitated a HoopingPowers Hoopy Birthday jammy-jam-dance session of bliss with HOOPS! This particular moment captured was when we were driving around with hoops as our steering wheels, whirling up a storm of goodness. The party was unique in that the ages of the youth ranged from 3 to around 11~ and it seemed to work out comfortably if not perfectly for all ages involved. I think, now that I’ve been constructing smaller, lighter, “toddler-friendly” hoops, and also hanging and hooping with both my 3 year old niece and 4 year old nephew, that I have developed more of a capacity to flow well in introducing hoops to younger humans. I used to shy away from working with youth under ages 6 or 7 for hoop parties and/or classes. I am excited to be gaining skill and grace in working with younger folks as well, and am thankful to De’Arra’s party people for being so cool and open to the magic of HoopDancing. I’m currently scheduling summertime parties from birthdays bashes to Bat Mitzvahs and all around the hoop of life. Contact Noelle at HoopingPowers dot com with party deets and visions, and we will liberate dancefloors with celebration & delight through HOOPDANCE!
Mandala & Hoop-Making Workshop! This Sunday: 4.25.10
Monday, April 19th, 2010
I will be hosting a Mandala & Hoop-Making Workshop this coming Sunday the 25th of April in Baltimore City (Waverly neighborhood)- complete with tons of education & materials at your fingertips, refreshments, and the house cat, Ellsie, who rather likes herself a hoola hoop.
A hoop is an example of a mandala, or an expression of inner reality, on the levels of the individual, society, and universe at large. The process of making a hoop and/or mandala often provides a way for meditation, creative energy, and various nuggets of self awareness and growth to flow forth. Drawing from Susanne Fincher’s The Mandala Workbook: A Creative Guide for Self-Exploration, Balance, and Well-Being, and my own 5+ years of hoop-making & spinning experience, we will convene in comfort at my humble abode in Waverly to construct & decorate large, adult-size-friendly hoops with brilliant colors & bits of bling to boot, and also create a second smaller mandala craft of choice as well (i.e. drawing, journal, baby hoop, mobile, necklace etc.) all the while learning about the history and significance of hoops & mandalas throughout the world & building hooper-community to boot.
It is not too late to register for this unique DIY workshop-opp. to create a sweet hoop & relish in the magical beauty of mandalas. Sign up here, and please contact me with any questions at: noelle at HoopingPowers dot com. All materials provided with workshop investment. Locale will be emailed to you upon receipt of payment. The picture above is not my house in B’more, it was taken this past December with my friend Christine outside her house in Chile. I am looking forward to group-hoop-making Sunday night! 6pm~?> Probably wrapping up around 8 or 8:30 depending on our flow…
Strr r r e t c h with your Hoop
Wednesday, March 24th, 2010
Anyone who’s ever stretched and moved about with hoop in hands is sure to have felt the incredible benefits of this simple & most gloriously deep shape in ever-expanding one’s range of body movement/s. I have danced throughout my lifetime, but only in the last five years and more intensely in the last one or two years have I felt a dramatic increase in my joint mobility, a lessening of pain to the point of completely eliminating my lower back pain, and a strengthening of my wrists & hands so much more than I ever would have thought possible without the blessing of a healthy dose of hoop practice. Moving your spine does good stuff in your bod. It is my assertion that: twisting, shifting, rolling, and reeling through space with and against gravity, pushing and pulling and dance-making with your circular partner makes you at least a bit to A LOT more happily cope-able with and on this world. Tonight I had an interaction with a woman from the group who comes in after our hoop class to use the space for her Gamelan Orchestra. She was stretching, bending forward with widening arms and such, when I noticed and suggested she try it with a hoop~ explaining after she inquired–> how we integrate stretching regularly into our warm ups and cool downs and into specific movement choices that contribute to beautifully slow & flow-ful paths of hoopdance. She tried it and immediately, enthusiastically agreed how powerfully good it felt~ & naturally energizing! The hoop sells itself. It needs no marketing gurus, no Hollywood Hudsucker Proxy tales of success. It is a magnetic shape in which we want to be enveloped, & with which we want to adorn our lives. It helps us feel united & whole, in a rather torn apart world. Within families that couldn’t be more repelled, it brings folks together. The hoop helps you stretch out of your comfort zone just a little bit more, each and every day. Even if you don’t have time, space, or energy to hoop it out on a given day, the simple act of lifting and lowering, bending and reaching, circling and twisting, & all the while Breathing with the magic ring allows a person to be more flexible in the inevitable winds of challenge & change. May the hoop increase your peace in the whirlwind of your life~
Captain Obvious Sez: “No Hoop Class Tonight!”
Wednesday, February 10th, 2010Just 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
!Hooping at Home in Chile!
Friday, October 23rd, 2009
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!
The Constant Hug of the Hoop
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009
One thing that I like to share with others and try to remind myself of often, is exactly why the hoop is such a powerful mechanism for experiencing joy, clarity, and creative expression in a relatively safe place: inside the circle.
Most folks who’ve hooped before (as adults) recognize fast about the pure fun and childlike playfulness the movement invokes…it feels goofy and giggly to move one’s hips back and forth or round and round. At a certain age- often around puberty as hormones and bodies change greatly, many humans begin to limit or taper off their creative movement, lessen the amount of skipping or spinning around in circles they do, or altogether feel a lack of embodiment, and rather numb to the world around and within themselves. If we are adults of any age & have found somewhere along the line we lost connection to playful movement, we must take active steps to re-engage our physical selves in novel and silly ways. One way of reconnecting with your inner, joyful, child-like, and body-positive self is to develop a hoop practice and play.
Hooping provides not only opportunities for great body wellness, but also wellness and growth in the mind-emotion-thought center or brain, and thirdly- the combination of the body, brain, and the core/torso areas, or what I’ve recently been calling the Soul entity. When we become in tune with the third entity or the Soul, there is a natural ability to more clearly hear it’s voice and follow it’s light in a confident and satisfied direction. Aligning and following our own unique Soul Path, there is a greater experience of clarity, and less of confusion or uncertainty (please note: I was inspired recently to think a lot on aligning with one’s soul purpose by a few different folks, including the amazing Candice Schutter of Portland’s HoopShine). In order to keep the hoop spinning around one’s core, we must remain in alignment with it’s angle~ wherever we choose to let that angle take us. Sometimes it’s easy, painful, laborious, total brand new, or outside of one’s comfort zone; but if our core energy center does not stay in the middle of that ring as much as possible in the gray & oft messy area that is Life- we’ll fast get off course and lose sight of our connection with one’s Soul path. The more we stay in the center or the grey zone, the more we have true clarity of our path. Inevitably, we stray from our path and notice it feels not quite right, or even very wrong. And, it’s completely okay when that happens- we simply lift up the hoop or the pieces or our chins, take a deep breath, and get on again~ using BOTH our inner circle-soul strength, and our outer circle community and resources, to do just that: re-source~
As we are guided and touched by the hoop’s movement, a favorite feel-good notable of mine about torso/core hooping, is that (with it’s bi-lateral brain and body stimulation back and forth until you stop) you are constantly getting hugged! Over and over and over again- tens of times a minute! How often do we get to experience hugs in a day? The majority of folks around may feel like they could benefit from more hugs- so consider this about picking up the hoop…you will guarantee yourself one hug even if it drops instantly, but in due time, or perhaps in no time, you will be receiving tens to hundreds to even thousands of hugs more a day than you are currently receiving. What a blessing. Not to mention a sure-fire mood elevator. When we feel the power of touch (even in the form of a plastic ring) encircling our core and Soul, on the left and right sides of our body back and forth, it allows us to feel hugged, self-loved, and safe enough to creatively express ourselves through our body’s movement… This in turn motivates new neural circuitry, which helps activate several feel-good chemicals in the brain, causing us to feel even better than we thought we could~ naturally & healthily, through the joyful revolution of one’s own HOOPING POWERS~
Hoopgirl Goodness
Saturday, March 21st, 2009
This past month us Baltimorans had the great fortune of having the Hoopgirl team (led by the incredible Candice Schutter and JennaLuna) grace us with their presence for the first-ever East Coast Teacher Training. It was truly an inspirational weekend full of positivity and LOVE for all. When I was still living in Seattle and had first discovered the neo-hooping movement around 2005, it was (pictured) Christabel “Hoopgirl” Zamor’s presence online that planted the seed of what would later become my current Mid-Atlantic hooping enterprise. One of the many things that stood out as exciting during the training was the emphasis on cooperation, collaboration, and community-building amongst different hoopers and hooping professionals over the less-than-desirable trait of competitiveness. It is, of course, open and smiling hearts that build bridges and collaborative creations and help more and more folks experience all the goodness within the revolution of the hoop. In addition, it’s also always just fascinating to see how other folks approach sharing their hooping knowledge, style & gifts with others- both the similarities and differences to one’s self. I am pleased to have Hoopgirl to add to my ever-growing list of sweet, sassy, & smart hooper-influences within our global hooping community~
Summer Youth Hooping Camps 2009!
Tuesday, February 17th, 2009
Sign your hooping-curious children up now for exciting revolutionary camps happening in both Baltimore and Mount Rainier, MD this summer! The Baltimore-specific information is as follows:
WHAT: Two 1-week camps (1.5 hours each morning) of Hooping Fun, hoop decoration, and HoopDANCE!
WHOM: Ages 7-11. Both girls AND BOYS are encouraged to join!
WHERE: Roland Park Country School, B’more 21210~ part of the Kaleidoscope Program
WHEN: Monday through Friday, July 6-10 AND August 17-21, 9:00am to 10:30pm
HOW MUCH: $120. Plus a $25 materials fee payable to instructor first day of camp.
WHAT ELSE: Besides learning a load of fun & exciting skills & dance moves with the hoola hoop, you get to decorate your very own hoop that’s yours to keep & take home with you!
Please email noelle at hoopingpowers dot com for more detailed information or with any questions. Visit the Kaleidoscope camp’s homepage here. The Mount Rainier summer camp information will be posted as soon as details and dates are solidified. Summer is the most perfect season for hooping~ and camps will likely fill up fast, therefore sign your youngster up soon to guarantee a spot!
Class Reading Excerpts
Monday, September 15th, 2008
We just wrapped up week three of our new & delightful Mindful Hooping class creation. During our class we’ve been incorporating quotations of writers who inspire us how to be more mindful, intentional, and joyful in our practice. What follows are the names and/or books of the people whose words we’ve been celebrating within the context of our Hooping class. I highly recommend all of these authors & titles if you are looking for a new something to read: anything by June Jordan~ one of the most brave and eloquent writers of our time, Tim Seibles’ “Who,” published within the Af-Am poetry collection: In Search of Color Everywhere, Toni Cade Bambara quoted in bell hooks’ talking back, and Andrea Olsen (with Caryn McHose) in BodyStories: A Guide to Experiential Anatomy. This last title is perhaps the most directly applicable one for our Mindful Hooping Class~ a must read & do program for anyone that fancies moving & learning about their body through individual awareness & bodily exploration~
Hoopnotica Love
Tuesday, May 20th, 2008
This month I was fortunate to meet and hoop with the lovely Rayna McInturf of Los Angeles’ Hoopnotica fame in my home city of Baltimore. It was awesome to get to spend time with such flowing and renowned hoopdancer as Rayna. Beginning this Thursday at Studio Edge in Mount Washington, I will be combining my own hooping curriculum and style with that of Hoopnotica’s in a new series of classes. Check back soon or email me for more details!
New Year Class Series
Wednesday, December 26th, 2007
For lucky aspiring hoopers in and around Baltimore, Maryland, I am pleased to announce my next beginner adult-oriented hooping class being offered on Monday evenings for six weeks this coming January-February. This class series will cover a number of topics, including basic waist and torso hooping, neck hooping, limb hooping, simple traveling, transitions, hoopdance, beginner levels, angles, tricks, and overall fluidity of movement. Using hoops that are larger and heavier than the drug-store variety, people of all sizes, ages, and skill levels can and do easily pick up the spinning movement. Hooping is a fantastic mood-maker, work-out, meditation tool, and peace-promoter. It not only exercises your body but your brain as well, with it’s constant bilateral hemisphere stimulation. Give it a whirl and experience the joy that is taking over so many peoples’ lives. Here are the details:
What: Beginner Adult Hooping Classes
With Whom: Noelle Powers, a.k.a. Strange Powers
When: Monday eves, 5:15-6:30pm, Jan.7- Feb.11, ‘08
Where: 2640 St. Paul Street, C’ Village, see picture
How & how much: RSVP your interest to hoopingpowers@gmail.com to ensure a spot. $12/class. Drop-in’s permitted, but full registration preferred for optimal learning and class flow.
Why: Because hooping is all the rage these days! It’s a super-fun way to work out, highly crowd-pleasing, party-starting, and a guaranteed smile-generator.
Upcoming Classes & Hoopmaking Workshop…
Wednesday, November 28th, 2007Hey beginner hoopers and hoopers-to-be: getchur hoop on this holiday season and new year! I am currently lining up my next six-week series of adult classes for January. Classes will either be a late-morning weekend time, or an early-evening weekday time. Feel free to email me at hoopingpowers@gmail.com with your preference, as I will take all feedback into consideration before finalizing the dates. Also, I hope to hold a hoop-making workshop around the 2nd week of December, just in time for handmade holiday gift hoops! Giving the gift of a hoola hoop is one of the most positive, peaceful, healthful and fun gifts around, and crafting it yourself makes it that much more special. Please email me if you are interested in the hoop-making workshop, and I will get back to you with further details~