All I can say is that I am in complete awe. Every HoopGirl teacher training raises the bar to another level. What emerges from Candice and I as facilitators becomes more seamless and fluid, and insights from students become more rich and insightful!

Who is our latest crew? San Francisco's HoopGirl studio is quite small, so we have squeezed in tight with our 10 students, Candice and I facilitating, and Natasha assisting and in training to become a master trainer.

Shawna is a San Francisco resident who has an interest in the tantric aspects of hoopdance and seeks to enrich her own personal coaching practice with the HoopGirl philosophy

Julie is from Utah and is here to build confidence and skills in hooping.

Shiela is from Santa Cruz and took a class with me several years ago and is here to bring more hoopdance to her home town.

Allison is from UC Davis and wants to bring hooping to Sacramento.

Susan is a Pilates instructor from Seattle who wants to bring the HoopGirl Workout to her city. She is also interested in using the class for corporate teambuilding and consulting.

Ashley is from Denver, and in her words, is here to "hoop her way to higher consciousness"!

Maria is from Belicam, Washington and here for skill building.

Sadie came all the way from Toronto, Canada. She has been holding freestyle jams for a year and half and is ready to push it to the next level and make hooping a part time career.

Anna is from Texas (although emphatically a Boulder native) and wants to integrate the HoopGirl Workout into her bootcamp classes.

Ashley (yes, we have two this time!) has been a resident of Costa Rica for the last three years and is here to learn hoop teaching skills to bring back and use at resorts and spas where she lives in Nosara.

The group was very vocal in sharing from their areas of expertise and it had a true forum atmosphere. They were very receptive and curious about many things and asked brilliant questions. The overall feeling I got was one of ripeness... women ready to push their lives to the next level of mastery, confidence and abundance.

I have to say that there is always a sense of being in the perfect place at the perfect time with these trainings. I feel in total flow and honored to be able to share tools of manifestation and the art of teaching with such inquisitive and enthusiastic women. I think this is really one of the most favorite things I get to do related to hooping! I look forward to what will unfold tomarrow.

Day two! The day was packed with reviews of the HoopGirl Workout class format, training in the HoopGirl Philosophy, hooping drills and teaching practicums where students started taking on the role of teaching all of us. This is always my favorite part of the weekend because we get to see the creative genius and unique personality of each new teacher emerge! I love how distinctive each teacher's method of communicating is. Of course, at first, some are nervous and fumble a bit, but the best part is watching them use the resources we provide to come back to center faster and step forward with confidence. I really appreciate how much courage it takes to stand up before a group of people they hardly know and start teaching material they still in the process of learning...

Day 3 always feels SO good because we get to watch all the trainees put it all together and teach us! It is a remarkable experience, especially witnessing each student so clearly articulate what worked during each student's sample class, and what could be improved. We ALL learn from eachother, without personalizing, and each one really begins to discern the true art of teaching. Also wonderful was watching how this group organically began to teach eachother hoop moves which could be improved during jam sessions. Their questions during the business training portion were insightful and they were full of ideas and resources about building the HoopGirl brand, which was really wonderful. I feel so blessed to be able to hold space and share the work with so many wonderful women! Thank you!

Today was the first day of the first Level 2 HoopGirl Certified Instructor Training.. what an amazing gathering of hoop leaders! I feel so honored and excited that every single one of these women came all the way to San Francisco to study with me and share their brilliance.

Everything flowed as if I had done it dozens of times before and it was quite remarkable to watch each teacher refine their skills and absorb so effortlessly. I am so glad.

Today was a gift. A day that showed me I am on the right path! Just watching the radiance and excitement of every teacher move to the next level was such a joy. I love teaching and I specifically LOVE teaching teachers! With attendees from Utah, Washington, Canada, Oregon, and all over California, I really see how our community is growing. Thank you!

It's monday morning and I still feel caught up in the training which took place over this past weekend. Wow! It feels amazing to have an inspiration to do something, and then to take a risk by going out on a limb to see it through.... and have it succeed! Thank you! What I really loved about the training was...

Magical. That is the only word which comes to mind. Absolutely magical. The energy of this land in Santa Barbara entered our event, with the miraculous constellation of attendees, and transformed it in many ways. I am so grateful! Thank you for the honor of sharing hoopdance teacher knowledge with these amazing women...

WOW! I arrived with no expectations and I was completely blown away by the place, the people and the experience. First of all, the weather was warm and mysterious compared to San Francisco... warm in the high 80s and 90s and muggy -- which I loved! I spend the first day after the media appearance on the beach with Abby and Taylor, munching on grilled shrimp and salad, then swimming in clear blue waves as warm as bathwater... then soaking in the sunbeams. Ahhh! What a sweet way to begin a training...

Continental airlines still serves food! Plus they haven't discontinued pillows and blankets, like some other airlines. I was struck my there being a formal room in Newark airport alongside the "Continual Elite Club" called, Meditation Room. Amazing. Took my life into my hands with some airport sushi, which was just fine, and then prowled the gate area for an outlet to charge my computer.

I've never seen anything like it! No plugs anywhere, and around the occassional one, groups of people camped out on the floor gorging on the electric current, surrounded by Starbucks cups, food wrappers and travel bags.

Met up with my co-teacher, Candice of www.hoopshine.com. Amazing to connect with her brilliance. Can you imagine how wonderful it is to have a best friend is a phenomenal life coach? On we went together...

The plane ride from San Francisco to Newark, then to Birmingham, UK was mellow. Watched Catch Me If You Can and Penelope, which were both entertaining.

Gas here in Birmingham, UK, is the equivalent of $10.60 per gallon! Hello Smart Car~ I am *so* downsizing when I get back to San Francisco. I wish there was an electric option that was as cheap, but I suppose that will have to wait. The only problem will be... how will I shlep my hoops around? I'll need some kind of special hoop rack.

Upon arriving in Birmingham, I was stopped at customs and pulled aside for extensive investigation. I tried to be calm but my mind was slightly racing. Was there some kind of paperwork I had needed and never knew about? I had come in previously for work saying it was to teach hooping and was always waived through. They asked me all kinds of questions about how much I was getting paid, how many students and, where was this happening, etc. Listen up international hoop teachers! It seems that we could have gotten in a load of trouble if we were here to teach students hoopdance directly. However, because we were training teachers who were local who would in turn be teaching students here (and because they could get online and verify it on my website) they waived us on through. Phew!

John, our enthusiastic host, swept us up from the airport and drove us to our hotel, the historic Longshoot (http://www.thelongshoothotel.co.uk/). We stayed there for a day, but after it was apparent there was no internet there and no much to eat but meat, and not much around but wheat fields, a supermarket and a gas station, we took matters into our own hands. Candice and I bussed into town and beyond to a Day's Inn, which we decided was much more our speed, especially since there was a movie theatre, resturants and a fitness center nearby. Not as historic and pretty, but more suited to our needs with printing and most importantly... internet!!! So we bussed back to the first in, packed our bags, and bussed back to the new inn with bags in tow, bumping and skipping with the rollies on brick surfaces all the way. Phew! We were soooo pleased to finally feel connected to the world. Later that day, our lovely host John also gave us a cell phone with an international sim card, completing our sense of connection. So wonderful. Amazing how accustomed to these devices one can become...

Phew... just winding down from a long yet wonderful day here in Nuneaton, a small burb on the outskirts of Birmingham. So much confidence and experience in this group of trainees. Today we hooped all day long, delivering essential skills. Power points, green tea, drills, and review.

The endurance of this group is amazing... their attentiveness and presence is inspiring. Always eager, on the edge of their seats and soaking in every detail. No matter how long or little they have hooped before, they have vision and clarity that hoopdance teaching is the path for them.

It is a glorious type of personality who tends to be attracted to these events -- generally women who are fiercely independent, creative, extremely artistic, insightful, compassionate and devoted to making a difference in the world. Visionaries. Pioneers. What a joy to be able to be in such a focused environment!

Tomorrow each student becomes the teacher... embodying the skills we have shared over the last 16 hours of training. I can't wait to experience all their personalities and gifts in this new role!

Off to sleep...

In gratitude...

*pictured here is Ingrid from our class, connecting~

Is it actually possible to overdose on gratitude? If so, I'm there! I spent three days surrounded by amazing women (and one man) stepping into their absolute magnificence. It is a beautiful and precious gift to be able to live the life that I do.

So onwards about the brillance I got to play with... a few words about each attendee...

A new day... Level 2 of the HoopGirl training here in England and a new exploration of the connection between body-mind and emotion. We have four new students who have joined some of those from the last group to make 14 total... Diana from London who is an expert fitness instructor... Jessica, a spritely, beautiful dancer... Sharna, a phenomenal leading hoopdance pioneer showing the way for all of the UK and Karin from the Netherlands who is an experienced teacher and circus artist. While we did loose the vitality and expert insights of some of our previous students, I have to say, every single one of our new additions has been an prolific contributor to our conversations and a radiant talent in the room to share skills.

Considering the bus never showed up to pick Candice and I up in the morning, our phone went dead and the printer broke, I think today was a miraculous unfolding of perfection. Everything proceeded to occur magically -- easy, fun, and in total flow. Lots of master classes, active conversations, spirited exercises and more... it is such a pleasure to be here, sharing this material.

Thank you!

*Pictured here is Juanita breaking through

Today was day two of the HoopGirl Dance Teacher Training for Level 1 here in San Francisco. Amazing! What a phenomenal group of women from so many backgrounds and interests! Annie and I held space for the teachings and all unfolded in beauty.

There was time for seated learning, lecture presentation, shopping at the hoopbooth, professional photography of all our participants, and hours of hooping on the dancefloor working through the material, moves and class structure. Sweaty bodies, breathless smiles and lots of laughter! What an honor it is to be able to hold space for this event. Lots of networking and community building... I have a feeling this group will be staying in touch for a long time to come!

What I loved sharing most today was...

Hello gorgeous UK hoopers~
Due to all the email requests, I'm coming back to Birmingham (Nuneaton area) to provide more HoopGirl teacher trainings! This time, I will also debut the Level 3 Training for the first time in the UK, which explores the spirit in the body-mind-spirit continuum explored in the HoopGirl Workout series. Like Level 2, Level 3 will be heavily move-based, actually teaching you all the hoop moves in the program. Each training is 24 hours in length, divided up over three days. I am so excited to share this material with you!! Since this will be a *very* busy year for me, this will be the only time I visit the UK in 2009...

Yesterday was day one of the level 2 HoopGirl teacher training in San Francisco! I felt honored that so many remarkable women created time and set aside resources in their lives to join me! Beautiful, laughing, brilliant hooping businesswomen!

As it was level 2, a big part of our focus focus is on learning the 40 new moves of the intermediate HoopGirl Workout program along with hoopdance principles and an mind/emotion focus for each day of class. The moves are very challenging and allow teachers to meet the needs of even the most skilled students who show up to their classes. I was so impressed that everyone just rolled up their sleeves and jumped into the back-to-back master classes. This will actually be the last class who takes the training without the benefit of seeing the instructional DVDs beforehand....

Yesterday was day two of the level two HoopGirl Teacher Training program here in San Francisco and it was amazing! I taught the girls about 5 hours of master classes on the dancefloor and we had lots of forum and lectures on further developing facilitation skills and the intermediate HoopGirl Workout class format. It was intense, focused and very physical, but also very rewarding.

Despite the tremendous amount of information being downloaded to them in such a short time, all the participants are fresh, eager and excited for more! It is so thrilling to be surrounded by so many women who are passionate to go to the next level in their skills and their businesses. I am reminded of what I love most about my work! working with women on-fire with inspiration to re-invent and enrich themselves.

This past weekend I had the honor of training 10 phenomenal hoop teachers in the first Level Three HoopGirl Teacher Training. I am overflowing with inspiration. It was a hit!

Beautiful women who were here: Natasha, Jenna Luna, Julie, Mollie, Allison, Diana, Cassandra, Heather, Lisa, and Krissana... and of course my fellow master trainer Candice, along with assistants Jenny and Susan. What a brilliant assembly.

The material in the Level three revolves around spirit and hoopdance. We teach over 60 new moves in a holistic format which evolves the level 1 and 2 material to the next level. It is the next frontier in establishing hoopdance as an authentic movement meditation practice... so many new exercises, elements and explorations. It was a place to re-ignite the passion for what is possible! Within myself as a trainer and in students seeking new material to teach their students.

Words that came to mind while witnessing teachers doing their practical exams: Stunning, spiritual, authentic, awe-inspiring, generous, bliss, precise, insightful, professional, surrendering, uplifting, creative, connected, original, soulful, supportive, enchanting, gifted ...

It was a powerful experience to hand out the 100 page manuals and share the culmination of almost a decade of spiritual hoopdance insights with the women in attendance.The Zoom moves, especially, were a cherished addition to the program. A wonderful philosophical exploration of Yin energy, receptivity and the power of allowing and intrinsic muscular activation. I feel like I could write volumes upon volumes about the revelations I have received in these tiny portals in such a short time... but this needs to wait.

The spirit of HoopGirl -- beyond my personality -- as a body of ever expanding material and a global community of leading edge hoopdance educators -- was present and surging through all of us in waves of insight, personal growth, joy and creativity.

For now, I will leave it at that. Off to an amazing night of well deserved sleep.... I am so grateful for this amazing life I live!

I am thrilled to present guest blogger, Candice Schutter, HoopGirl Master Trainer. Candice and JennaLuna are superstars on the HoopGirl educational team! Together, they facilitated the recent Level 1 HoopGirl Dance Teacher Training in Baltimore. This was a hallmark event. Here are her reflections...

I am settling in at home in Portland, Oregon relaxing after three glorious days in Baltimore, Maryland! I was there co-facilitating a HoopGirl Level One Teacher Training. Although I had taught the course material alongside Christabel on numerous occasions over the past 3 years (and even helped co-author many of the concepts), it was a new dawn for me and for HoopGirl. This was the first training in which the material would be presented without Christabel as a facilitator. My intention going into the weekend: to trust that I would be able to channel her wisdom - along with my own - and deliver 100% on the promise. And I am so pleased to announce that we did just that...

Our most recent HoopGirl Teacher Training weekend was a brilliant whirlwind! Talented hoopers from all over the country (and Canada!), focused presence and fun! We had an amazing crew of women...

Jessica: A Marin resident from over the Golden Gate Bridge who started hooping 6 month ago and is excited to be a part of the growing movement! Jessica also assists us in the HoopGirl office part time.

Marcy: From British Columbia, a trainer and gym owner who is passionate about healing and women's fitness!

Julie G.: A firecracker! A local Bay Area student who lives in Palo Alto who has been a runner for the past 17 years and loves hooping because it keeps her in one place while keeping her fit and helping her have fun.

Courtney: An artistic and witty experienced hooper from Squamish British Columbia, who has been whirling in the ring since 2006.

Gina: A young woman with a radiant smile from Mono Bay who knows how to rock the short shorts and tube socks. She loves to hoop!

Julie M.: Another short-short and tube sock rockin' hooper who arrived fresh from Hawaii and now lives in Paso Robles. She loves the hoop and is a close friend of Gina's.

Julie: A stunningly powerful yogini from Santa Fe, New Mexico who loves hooping and finds it beautiful to watch.

Mary: An amazonian hooper from Bend, OR who's confidence and presence was tangible... she will bringing hooping to her new residence which she restarts her life in Sun Valley, Idaho.

Danielle: A gem from Golden, Colorado who was wrapped up in a fashionable silver body string for much of the training! She loves the hoop and started her practice 1 year ago. She has since experienced significant physical and mental benefits.

Carrie: Another experienced yoga instructor from Cerrita, Arizona, yogini who is passionate about hooping.

Marely: A rollerskater from Portland, Oregon who loves the sacred geometry of spinning practices. She is passionate about hooping and inspired that her brother lost 80 pounds from hooping!

The latest Level 1 HoopGirl Teacher Training just took place September 11-13 in Mill Valley, California! It was an epic weekend packed with amazing hoop leaders from all over the world! Meet the ladies...

Annette is a bellydance and pilates teacher from Maryland wanting to add hoopdance to her repetoire.

Gina is an island goddess from the Virgin Islands who wants to take over the her tropical sanctuary with hooping.

Linna is from Singapore and arrived having never even touched a hoop, but determined to master the skills and teach to her pole dancing students.

Leona also came from Singapore and runs the whole dance studio where Linna teaches.

Tammy hails from British Columbia where she is leading an emerging hoop movement.

Estafania is from Ecuador and is one of only two hoopers in her whole country! She is excited to share the love of hooping from a spiritual perspective.

Rachel is from Hercules, CA and excited to bring hooping to her community of elders to whom she already teaches yoga.

Tristan is from Santa Rosa, a bad ass hooper, gorgeous goddess, mama of two and hoping to start a super crazy hooping movement in her town.

Hayley is from Los Angeles and is a martial arts expert who is excited to add start up hoopdance classes in her area!

Jodi is from San Ramon, CA and is excited to bring hooping to her family and friends.

Kelsie is from San Francisco and runs the HoopGirl headquarters!

Summer is from San Francisco, is passionate about hooping, and excited about joining the HoopGirl teaching team!

Thumbs up, as well, to Julie Grecius, our amazing teaching assistant! She really held space in an nurturing way for the whole group.

What was most remarkable about this training was how gung-ho everyone was to master skills. Most of the women who attended were in the very beginning stages of hooping and just starting to feel confident as leaders in the circle...

Hello beautiful hoopers! Thank you for all you do and for your love of hoopdance! This month ONLY, I would like to offer you an enrollment special on all upcoming HoopGirl Teacher and Performance Trainings... Save $200 by using coupon code "gratitude"! This is the biggest discount available all year long, so take advantage of it before it is too late! I love you and can't wait to share all I know with you... click here to sign up now!

Love,
Christabel

this offer is valid until December 31, 2009