I am in beautiful Portland, Orgeon. I arrived yesterday morning and had an amazing 3 hour meeting with Candice about developing the HoopGirl Workout program. She is such a spectacular consultant and somatic dance whiz! We are so on the same page about hooping being a tool for vibrant health, happiness and wellbeing, and not neccesarily the destination in and of itself. Delicious synchronicity in our approaches!

I showed her my material for the new intermediate and advanced programs. Why did it take me so long to birth these programs!? Meanwhile brand new hoopers have thrown out beginner, intermediate and advanced programs within months of teaching... it took me 5 years I guess because I wanted it to be an honest flow from my own insights. Now, I am finally ready to put it out there! So more work on that while we are together. I am loving the integration of gratitude, radiance, delight and so many other passionate ways of feeling into this dance cirriculum.

Then I hooped it up with Candice and Jasmine..... what a fun playtime! I was so inspired by all the moves we played with:

Butt bump (one person lays down on the floor and a second person rolls a hoop which the first person bounces up off their butt and back and then catches)

Holly Tree (one person stands with their arms up in the air while each person takes turns whirling a hoop around their body)

Spin and Jump (flick the hoop out in front of you and then squeal while you jump completely over it with spread legs as it zips back towards you .. but of course you need someone behind you to grasp it and then continue dancing with it).

Double fisted weave (as from poi spinning)

Double handed under arm toss

I also got into this complete trance state linking my two hoops together and dancing while holding the matrix in one hand as a large orb. The newer lighter hoops allow my to whirl the orb like matrix all around my body with grace and ease. I can also toss the entire orb, one hoop held in the other entirely by pressure, high in the air, and then catch it and continue swinging it around. Also, it was fun to hop into the orb and hold it sort of between my legs so it was like wings coming out from my pelvis surrounding my entire body. I also discovered that I can spin the matrix orb around my body like atomic twirl which makes for a stunning rush like feeling as the air makes sound around you.

The ladies mentioned that they have been working with move flash cards! I had always thought this would be an excellent tool to use with dancers, allowing you to weave together new dance stories with moves in combinations you would never have imagined before. Jasmine said the magic word -- delegate! Get some help making them. So perhaps, another join project on the way...

Then took a Nia class with Carlos... great fun!

Then this morning I took Baxter's Hoop Path seminar. I have to say that I can't remember the last time I took such a transformational class. Actually, I can say that it is the most inspirational hoop class I have ever taken! It felt so amazing to be able to walk into a class as the student with a teacher who welcomed me (some teachers have insecurities about advanced hoopers coming to class). It was a wondeerful experience to just be a student and absorb from this MASTER teacher. His philosophy is incredibly profound, in depth and unique. His deep practice, which emphasizes, "flight time", the concept of working both currents and honoring the parts of ourself which are not as strong by working them directly with exercises is spectacular.

I finally got hooping on my second current (weaker direction) in the limbo position (which he calls sky). It was awesome. I also grasped for the first time how to do "paddling" and reversals both inside and outside the hoop. It is addictive once you get a taste of it! I was never able to do it comfortably with my 160psi hoops. But when you use a 100psi one, it becomes possible!

It was like a whole new world of possibility cracked open for me. It is not every day that I get to have this gift, so I savored it! Thank you!

Also inspiring was that Baxter taught through myth and re-claiming familliar words so that they were re-energized. I cannot wait to put these new gems into practice. I am on fire with delight and look forward to more.

His level of schwag afterwards was also inspiring! It is amazing how just having tee shirts with a company name on it lends to one's degree of professionality. Of course I got one in bright orange... note to self...I've got to get myself together in that way and get some new HoopGirl tees together.

After that awe inspiring experience, I had a meeting with Candice and Jasmine about designing our new, long awaited performance training program. It was so juicey and vibrant! I wish I could share our ripe ideas here... but they need more form and shape befoe we put it out to the public. All I can say, is that this work is the work.

Now, I've got to get ready... Candice and Jasmine are hosting a new event they have created called a Hoop Trance ... a facilitated hoop journey which has more structure than a jam, but more freedom than a class...

Meanwhile, all this is happening at the gorgeous Nia temple, also known as headquarters, here in Portland. A sophisticated, gorgeous, spacious temple-like dance studio beyond anything I have ever experienced. What a treat.

These are exciting times!

Thank you!