As you probably know, Nia is my first love. I love the mix of dance, martial arts, and healing that occurs in every class I teach and take.  I love the way it feels in my body, and I love sharing it with others.  But this past week I met something new while I was visiting my mom in Houston, and now I am having an affair.  With Hooping. Yes, hula hooping.  But not with the hoop you played with as a child.

Hooping has grown up.  Now it is done with adult-sized, weighted hoops that are decorated in a dizzying amount of ways.  In my first class I picked up the technique easily and by the end was actually doing a few tricks!  It was exhilarating to feel successful, and to feel the hoop working my mid-section – like Pilates results with Zumba fun.   I had so much fun that I returned for another class before I left.  Then I began to watch the YouTube videos of what is possible with the hoop and I was hooked!  Just watching these amazing moves and dances inspired me to keep doing this.

So now that I am home, I have started making my own hoops, which is a blast!  I am practicing almost daily, learning new tricks and just having a ball.  I am instantly transported back in time, to the little girl who laughed and played.  And I have discovered that these tricks are teachable and that most people can learn them as easily as I did.  So…..

I am going to begin offering Hooping as a fitness class starting in May!  I know, it sounds crazy, but I did not have this strong of a response to Nia even, so I am going with it!  I am going to go to Detroit to get certified to teach with Hoopnotica (a sign from the universe that they are in town in May?), and am SO excited for you to try this perfect complement to Nia.  Your Nia moves will aid you greatly in picking up hooping, so don’t worry.  In both classes I took, there wasn’t a single person who couldn’t keep their hoop up by the end of class.

It’s time to GET YOUR HOOP ON!  Stay tuned for more details later this week on an intro class to try it out and see if you like it….