One Woman on a Mission to Get a Hoop Around Every Child’s Hip

In the fall of 2008 I loaded 100 handmade and padded-collapsible hoops into my car to meet Melody Moezzi, an accomplished author, to co- host Hoop4Peace workshops, in Denver CO.

I started Hoop4Peace in 2001 upon my move back to NYC 1 month after 9/11. I felt that through a safe hula hoop and program, adults could feel youthful again and kids could become empowered. Due to the many events going on that weekend, we changed our structured location in a big park, to the whole downtown area.

Together with some great local hoopers, we had anywhere from 10-40 people hooping for the whole day and through the night. I took them through the 4Rhythms to get them grounded and clear. I guided some through an easy dance meditation to instill strength, grace, passion and stillness into their mind and body. I taught the fancy tricks to others. We hooped from about 8am until 1 am that day. I had been told of Michelle commenting on how she enjoyed hooping but we did not see her. Working on a grassroots level all the time puts me out of the media frame of mind. I would have liked to hoop with her and hope to get the chance to work with her to have my Kids Hoop Warriors program into many schools throughout America.

Hoops in Schools Initiative

From just 5 minutes of moving one’s body, people can transform. Listeners become interactive, and tired minds wake up and become interested. Judgments, opinions and reservations dissolve. People start to connect as humans. Once connected, we become proactive.

Unless one has a personal interest to the information being shared, they will probably not participate. How can we raise awareness, interest and participation in others? How can we dissolve the socio-economic and religious barriers to unite a nation, the world and the connection we have within ourselves? And how can a hula hoop help?

The simple act of dancing instills awareness, mindfulness and enthusiasm. Betty has been promoting health through her hoops and programs since 1998. Her mission is to supply her hoops and program to as many schools and communities as possible.

Benefits of the Hoop Warriors Program

• Instills physical, mental and emotional health.
• Non-competitive. It challenges and supports children to express themselves.
• A fun and easy way to lose weight and strengthen the immune system.
• Develops concentration of mind-body functions.
• Inspires children to interact with each other and participate in life.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 at 2:02 am and is filed under Hoop News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.