POST Natal Hooping!

Ask most hoopers, they will tell you the benefits of hooping: inexplicable feelings of bliss! and oh yeah, that trimmer waistline, more sculpted arms.... It's one of those sneaky workouts where you don't limp out of a gym fitness class or lose buckets of water weight in sweat. But consistently, over time, hooping has helped me maintain my muscle tone that I've developed through rock climbing, surfing, and guiding backpacks around California. Yeah, Hooping has actually stood up to all of that. No joke.

So, after having my daughter last year via C-section, I wasn't too sure how the body was going to bounce back. Especially my core. I did hoop during my pregnancy, which you can see here... As I make consistent playdates with my hoop, it doesn't fail to give back as I see my abs reemerging. I'm not in any rush. I embrace my new momma curves, but it's nice to know I've got a great, round friend to embrace me when I need to de-stress, to take some time for myself, and to not think about anything or anyone else for a few minutes. Oh yeah, and knowing that each hooping session gets me closer to those abs I know are in there!

Study shows that yoga does help soothe fibromyalgia pain!

here's the link: yoga sooths fibromyalgia

Hoopdance Workshop in March!

Hooping Workshop with Steph

Sunday, March 11 - 12-1:15pm Do you need to clear your mind of that monkey chatter and clutter? Hooping can shift you out of your old way of thinking into something new and exciting. Life is all about fun, play and doing something energetic now and then! Give Hooping a Try and come laugh with us!

Price: $10 or use your class card

http://www.yogavista.net

New prenatal series starting this Sunday!

Prenatal Yoga Workshop (5 Series) - A workshop designed in 5 parts especially for expectant mothers to restore vital energy resources and nurture the bond with their babies. In each 90 minute session we will learn breathing techniques that help calm the body and mind, easing the stress sometimes experienced during this time. We move through a very soothing and grounding sequence of supported asanas (postures) to help relieve the pain and fatigue associated with pregnancy. Connect deeper with your baby and enjoy the community of like-minded moms-to-be as you strengthen and prepare your body for childbirth. Workshop is suitable for all levels. Five sessions: Sunday Feb 12 and 26 10:30am-Noon; Saturday March 3, 10, & 17 4:30-6pm. Early Bird saves you $25 when you register by 2-5-12; after February 5, price is $125.

Yoga for fibromyalgia

 Recently, my private yoga sessions have been geared toward individuals with low back pain, hip pain, and fibromyalgia.

I have heard many, many times how much yoga helps bring relieve to these conditions.


If you are new to yoga, or your doctor or chiropractor has prescribed yoga to help you, you are welcome to connect with me to set up a private session in your home. You deserve to find relief from pain!

The link below provides some excellent information if you are dealing with fibromyalgia.

http://www.fibromyalgiahope.com/fibromyalgia-and-yoga.html

 You deserve to find relieve from pain!

Embrace your anger or irritations with loving kindness

With Valentine's Day right around the corner, our thoughts this month can turn to matters of the heart and of love. In the spirit of satva yoga, or service, any action, when done with intention, can be an act of love. For instance, a smile at a stranger passing on the street can mean more to that person that you might ever know.  On a personal note, we love our home and are so grateful to live by the ocean. However, seeing cigarette butts on the sidewalk or trash on the beach can really bum me out sometimes and feel that fire of anger rising up that someone might be hurting our earth through litter. But, in the spirit of loving kindness, I've been practicing looking at that litter as an opportunity: an opportunity to show love to this beautiful beach town just by simply picking up that piece of plastic or cigarette with an attitude of love. It makes a huge difference to how I feel. So, in instances where you may feel anger or frustration at a loved one or a situation out of your control, try shifting your thinking to a mindset of love. As individuals, as we embrace more and more actions with love, we have a cumulative effect on those around us, subtly helping others to do the same.

Prenatal Yoga starting October

Introducing Prenatal Yoga classes

starting Tuesdays this Fall, 2010.

This 5 week series begins
October 17th through November 16th.
$75 for the series.

at Bliss Yoga
312 N Coast Highway 101
Encinitas, CA 92024
(760) 632-8330




Come study with Stephanie Zito, RYT. I am also on my own journey through pregnancy and look forward to sharing in this special time along with you.

This 5 week series is for all levels of yogis, from beginner through advanced. In this flowing class, we will connect to the wisdom of your body. Moving through the chakras, we will develop personal mantras to help you access your inner strength and wisdom.

In this series, you will connect to your inner strength and wisdom as a woman. Through breathing practices, you will learn how to enter a state of deep relaxation as you prepare for giving birth.

Pregnancy can be a powerful and empowering experience. We will explore mechanisms for coping with pain, so that we develop courage and confidence in our body's natural ability to embrace the birthing process.

We will condition muscles essential for the birthing process and help strengthen upper body muscles helpful after giving birth for maintaining good spinal posture when caring for your baby.


I look forward to sharing in the journey with you.

Please RSVP by Tuesday, Oct 12th to reserve your spot.
Call Stephanie Zito @ 949-485-0727
or email steph@hoopify.com

Blessings,

Stephanie

Hoopdance in Costa Mesa at Stiletto Shimmy

Starting this week, 5 class series for hoopdancers.
Mondays: 11 - 12 p.m.
7:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Stiletto Shimmy Dance and Fitness Studio
1779 Newport Blvd., Upstairs
Costa Mesa, CA
949-287-7273

Hula Hoops: From Child's Play to Real Exercise

Hula Hoops: From Child\'s Play to Real Exercise

Hoopdance workshop October 1st

Start your October by learning to Hoopdance!

Anyone can hoop!

Add variety and fun to your fitness routine!
And get results!

HOOPDANCE WORKSHOP
LOCATION: ASANA FIT
204 AVENIDA GRANADA, SAN CLEMENTE
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1ST, 6:00 – 7:30 P.M.
COST: $15 PRE-REGISTERED, $20 AT THE DOOR
SPACE IS LIMITED TO 12 PARTICIPANTS
Call 949-485-0727 or email steph@hoopify.com for details.


This “Introduction to Hoopdance” Workshop blends mind,
body, and spirit in a fun, flowing, full-body workout. Learn to
hoop on your torso, arms, and off your body in fluid spins
and arcs. Using Hoopify! weighted Hoops, you’ll strengthen your
core, find rhythm, and connect with yourself.

Stephanie owns Hoopify! A Hoopdance company creating change
through joyful movement. As a Wellness Consultant, she helps people
find purpose and passion through movement education, nutrition, and
emotional wellness. After training teachers in the Peace Corps,
Uganda, and studying yoga in India, Stephanie worked as an
Adventure Guide in the U.S., Canada, and Hawaii, guiding rock
climbing, backpacking, and kayaking expeditions. Now rooted in
San Clemente, Stephanie consults in wellness, teaches yoga,
hoopdance, and spreads circles of joy wherever she can.
M.S. Conflict Analysis and Resolution,
RYT-200 hr.


Benefits:
• Burn 600 – 700 kcal/hr
• Increase core strength
• Sculpt the body
• Speed weight loss
• Relieve stress
• Develop balance and
coordination

Letting go of fear

Since I started my hoopdance company last month, hoopers have been coming out of living rooms, hallways, bedrooms... there are 'closet' hoopers all over the place who surface to meet me when I'm out hooping. They tell me how they have their own hoop and practice at home, or know a neice in a 'hoop troupe' in some city making a living off of this awesome dance/movement art. I'm inspired and motivated. Especially when I meet the people who want to hoop and who are afraid.

That's what this blog is about: facing fear. When I first started really hooping last year, I had to face my own monkey mind of fear of how I looked to others; I wanted to practice outside under the beautiful sunshine by the ocean and felt awkward dancing around with this big thing spiralling around me. With a sparkly hoop of course people would notice. Coming from a dance background, this self-consciousness was a strange feeling because I used to feel great moving in my own skin, never giving a second through to what other people thought when I was on stage or in a club. I had somehow lost that state of flow.

So I get those negative self-thoughts, those doubts, those judgements. Whatever I felt in my own mind, I took a deep breath and walked down the road to the beach and got my hoop on. Instead of laughter and pointing, I'd get thumbs up and smiles, still deflecting them as if they really weren't for me.

I meet people who want come out and hoop, saying they can't do it, or that they also fear looking stupid. Feeling it myself, I realize how powerful a tool the hoop is to face our own fears and to do what we love. If we can be held back by our fears in our own minds, with something as fun and freeing as hooping, what bigger dreams and aspirations do we hold ourselves back from?

I want to help people become comfortable in their own skin, to gain self-confidence, to connect to their bodies, and to truly live their passions authentically in life. The hoop makes me face my own fears, and I realize that the more I let go, the more beautiful and authentic the dance becomes. Perhaps that's the real message: that we're not really in control anyway. Life is short. Who cares what people think. Dance! Be yourself. Have fun! That, to me, is the magic of the hoop.