Hooping in Tokyo

Last weekend we went traditional and found some unique hooping spots in Kichijoji park!

Masao was being bitten by hungry mosquitoes while I posed!
Good clean Tokyo fun
xx

Juciness

It is no secret that fresh fruits and vegetables are filled with all the gorgeous nutrients we need to keep our insides and outer bits healthy and full of energy. Google the benefits of juicing and you will be overwhelmed with sites offering up juicy goodness.

Not only is juicing fun, the results are freakin delicious!
Last week we were on a mango kick but this morning was all about a splash of citrus.

Today's juicy recipe
4 grapefruits
4 oranges
1 lemon
A chunk of fresh ginger
Dollop of pure honey
mmmmmm spicy!!

Here are some other yummy mixes

Power Punch

Sorrel -- 6 Leaves
Apples -- 2 Large Granny Smith,
Unpeeled, Uncored and Quartered
Lime -- 1 Peeled
Mint -- 1 Sprig with Stems
Parsley -- 1 Handful with Stems

Take this on an empty stomach.
Don't eat or drink anything else for half
an hour.
Any dessert apple can be substituted.

Lemon~Lime Ginger Ale

handful of grapes
1 apple, cored and sliced
½ inch fresh ginger (less if you find the taste too strong)
1/2 lime
1/4 lemon
sparkling mineral water

The Pain Remover from Freedom You

1 lemon
1 orange
3 hard pears
3 apples

Bruises, aches and sprains can be irritated by a toxic bloodstream and a high-protein diet. But a low-protein, natural diet, lessens irritation and reduces inflammation. Not only does this juice taste delightful, it assists in the healing process. Perfect food sustaining perfect bodies.



Juicing Tips
The basics of juicing
Juicing
Juicing for Great Skin

Hooping in the Park

I posted these over at sushi zume but I thought I would put them here too as they are hoop related. Taken after a sweaty hoop a thon in Kichijoji on Tuesday afternoon.

Masao looks so serious and I look slightly exhausted.


Hoop from Hoop Store Tokyo
Pink Star Headphones from Village Vanguard

Hooping Under the Influence - Food for Life

Hooping has become a major part of our lives. In many ways it has given us so much energy and vitality, has changed our body shape and the way our brain works but has also called on us to inject our diets with more power foods than ever before.


As vegetarians we generally have no difficulty gaining energy and nutrients from the food we love , if we select it carefully that is. For us working full time, running TOKYOMADE, enjoying time with our friends, meetings, home stuff, shopping, hooping and relaxation time can be tricky to fit into one day. This kind of lifestyle can add to quick hunger fixes, without fail these have long term negative effects on our body, moods and hooping.

In an attempt to save time last week Masao made up a huge pot of Vegetable curry, a Japanese delicacy, very sweet of him. Packed with vegetables and coupled with brown rice we thought this would give us a good start to the week, nutrients, energy and power. What I found was quite the opposite. The hearty meal was so delicious, definitely filling but when it came to our night time hooping practice I just did not have the energy that I needed after a very full schedule during the day. This really upset me and filtered into other things. I came to the realization that a fluid and energy packed hooping session each day requires equal parts of fluid and energy to be in our diets.

This weekend is a long one in Tokyo so on Friday night still with a heavy tummy and heart we headed to our local veggie store just as it was shutting. We were so excited to pick up two huge bags of fruit and veg for exactly ¥2000. This included 6 gorgeous mangoes, in Tokyo that is almost unheard of.

Friday night's dinner - mango and avocado salsa on soy bagels with our fav soft and curly leaf lettuce, bean paste, tofu dumpling with sesame sauce and a huge glass of Hawaii Water.
A perfect start to the long weekend and a weekend filled with fun hoopiness, as our bodies soaked up the nutrients of the light and fresh meals and transferred this to our hoop practice over the next three days.


Masao working on his core strength (which alien hands!)


Me working on not hitting myself in the face!

New Inspiration

Step To It from Groovehoops on Vimeo.

This week has been filled with chilled hoop sessions, concentrating on perfecting moves and meshing grooves together!

Loving the moves and grooves put together by the New York hoop troupe Groove Hoops. Check out the vid of the Groove Hoop team doing their thing at New York's Dance Theater Workshop.

Happy hooping
xx

SAIAS - LADE and TOKYOMADE Collaboration Event

EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT

We have joined forces with the ever so hip LADE clothing boys and will be putting on a very special Sunday afternoon show right here in Tokyo.

You simply must come!

When? Sunday October 21, 2007
1pm - 9pm

Where? And Zone (lounge/bar/cafe) Shinjuku Tokyo

What? A fabulous Sunday afternoon showcasing some of Japan's coolest and most talented indepedent artists and designers.

¥1500 gets you in the door with a free drink and rumor has it that there may even be some hoopalicious entertainment not to be missed! Special guest DJ mixing up the grooves and LIVE painting by LADE's TiFdyL! Of course the focus will be on the amazing creations on display and for sale. Your chance to fondle the goods that we usually keep safely tucked away on TOKYOMADE. Save your pennies, buy some original art and fashion pieces and consider your Chrissie shopping done!

We are super excited about this. The space is gorgeous, check out the And Zone blog (in Japanese) for a sneak peek at the lush surroundings. This event is a funky collaboration of some truly unique independent artists and creators based here in Japan.

For one afternoon only as a warm up to the biggie - Tokyo Design Festa in November. Look forward to seeing you there.

A Whole Lotta Hooping

(A shot of the mikoshi procession making it's way through our neighborhood of Nishi Ogikubo, Tokyo on the weekend)

A stunning (yet super sweaty) long weekend in Tokyo meant a whole lotta hooping.

We practice every night in a small community park very close to our house. We are usually there between 10 and 12 each night. Perfect time for hooping under the stars and moon.

On Monday we decided to venture out after our Hoop Class in Shinjuku and set up a little spot on the juicy green grass in Yoyogi Park, between Harajuku and Yoyogi Station.

To feel the yummy grass between our toes and hoop it up with our friends in the park was the ideal way to wrap up a gorgeous weekend.

Miss Lindsey packed the practice poi. Boy has that girl got co-ordination.

昨日のレッスン。

昨日のレッスンはjustinかと思いきや、スパーMARIO先生でした。
前回のクラスで教えてもらったトリックがなかなか出来ないでかなりふて腐れていたが、何とか前日に出来る様になり、かなりHAPPYな気分でレッスンを受ける事が出来ました。B型だから立ち直りもかなり早い！！
昨日は主に手を使うトリックでした。何となくフープらしくなってきた感じ。
その後は、代々木公園に行って友達とまったりしながら、ちょっとフープを練習しました。
やっぱり芝生の上でのフープはいい感じ。今は気分的にフープな感じだからもっともっと色々おぼえていきたい。

フープは最高の健康法かも。

フープを始めてから約１ヶ月半が経ちました。最近気づいたのが、筋肉が以前に比べて付いた事です。
身体が引き締まり、良い感じです。ジムに通っていた頃と一番違うのは、フープは筋肉もついて、さらに有酸素運動だという事です。僕は結構健康オタクですが、有酸素運動ほど身体に良い物はありません。
良くエアロビクスをやっている人で痩せない人がいますが、あれって身体が疲れ過ぎていて、ブドウ糖だけ燃やしているんですよね。身体は脂肪を燃やすのに絶対に酸素が必要です。だから呼吸法って凄い大事！！
いつもフープをやっている時には呼吸の仕方に気を付けていますが、もっともっと気をつけないと。
しかも有酸素運動は最低、一日３０分、週で３日以上しないと身体の機能が働かなくて意味が有りません。
良く週末だけジムに行く人がいますが、あれは効果が無いですよね。
また次の機会に健康のお話をしたいと思います。

The Hoop Path

Focused on the spiritual rather than the material, The Hoop Path is a hooping instruction course taught at Balanced Movement Studio in Carrboro, North Carolina.

Breathtaking! I can and do watch this devine display of flow over and over! Pure beauty.


A quote from Baxter, The Hoop Path master

"I say to you, my tribe, that at any point when Despair over takes you, that you must ask yourself this question, "Do I live or die here today?" You will die one day. It is inevitable. What is not inevitable is that you will enjoy your remaining days here. Pe*A*ce is found, not given. Search out life's beauties. Do not wait for others to carry you toward happiness. In the end, you are all you truly have. If you do care for yourself and your well being, than who will?

Be courageous. Do not confuse caution with Fear. Holiness is a Path, not a title."

I think we can all take strength from these words. A strong reminder to fight our own peaceful fight and live life with positive power and beautiful happiness each day, every minute!

Hoop Classes in Tokyo

Want to know more about hoop classes in Tokyo? Check out the new English blog written by Justin, the loopy hoopy half of Hoop Store Tokyo. Their website has also been updated to offer English info.

Mario and Justin are the first men ever to be trained and licensed as teachers of the Hoop Girl Workout and also the very first to bring professional hoop dance classes to Japan. We are super lucky to have found them!

雨の日にする事。

最近はずーとぐずついた天気が続いていて、なかなか練習が出来ない。
昨日の夜も準備ができて今からっていう時に雨が降って来た。
そんな時は、上手い人のビデオを見て、イメトレするしかないでしょう。
そこでこの映像を見つけました。これ位は出来る様になりたいな。

日曜日のレッスン

日曜日のレッスンは３回目でした。多分基本動作の中でも一番難しく、一番役に立つ所だと思います。今回も前回同様に、Justinからのアテンションも沢山あり、かなり充実したレッスンでした。Justinありがとう！！
まだまだ身体の動きが硬くて、なかなか頭で思っているイメージと、実際に身体が動いてるイメージが違いすぎるため、なかなかフープを上げ下げが出来なく、かなりイライラしました。
これが出来ないと次のステップにいってもかっこ良く見えないと思うので、次回のレッスン迄には何とかクリアしたい！！　毎日、少しずつがポイント！！

Finding Our Way

As always we came out of our Hoop Class yesterday with a whole lot of energy (and a huge appetite!). The connections that are made in the brain when a new hoop combination is introduced and practiced are so powerful they induce a sense of euphoria. It really gets the brain buzzing which must send pulses everywhere because our hooping is really having a positive effect on our creativity, our productivity and our general well being.

One thing we have found is a huge hoop up before bedtime can work either way. It can exhaust us to a point that we have an intensely deep sleep - this is usually the case recently. Or if we are still firing, the energy can keep me awake and thinking up a creative storm (much, much longer than I would like).


Happy, healthy hooping
xx

Hooping on a Sunday

(This pic has nothing to do with hooping or Tokyo but we just rediscovered a photo file of pics we took in Paris last year. Parisian mags on the street! WOW they are hooping hips!)



After a day of no hooping but lots of dancing at the Brazilian Festival here in Tokyo our hips and spirit are very ready for a great hoop dance class this afternoon. Our gorgeous friend Lindsey is taking up the challenge of a two hour hoop marathon with us today. We are super excited!

Right now space is limited in the Tokyo classes, we are really looking forward to a time when we can hoop together with a huge bunch of our friends. We are working our hardest to learn the moves, feel the motions and gain more experience and qualifications so that we can start up some super hoop classes. It is a long way off yet but our goals are strong so it will happen sooner than later. Look forward to having you at our hoopy fun classes!

For now if you are interested, curious or rocked to the core about the thought of hooping please, please get in touch with us or Justin and Mario @ the Hoop Store Tokyo. Classes fill up SO quickly, with the Sat/Sun classes the only ones in Tokyo right now.

Biggest challenge right now: Finding an inexpensive way to get black poly pipe shipped to Japan so that we can make and take a whole pile of hoops to the park and hoop with our friends! ANY SUGGESTIONS??

This vid is titled "Sunday Hooping"
Inspirational

The Science of Hooping

Two whole days of no outdoor hooping worked me into a frenzy, so tonight's practice sesh in the park was so awesome, I was so full of energy and I felt a completely new connection with my sparkley hoop. I am not being all spiritual and at one with the hoop I am literally saying I made new contact. I watched this while trapped inside during the typhoon. The physics of flow toys by Natasha really tweaked something in my mind. Maybe I do have a science brain after all. My fight against gravity, now that I have the power of centrifugal force on my side, is a lot less of a struggle. (Now if I can only get the same theory and method to apply to my boobs and butt cheeks!)

A Note from the Universe

My note from the universe yesterday;

Go way out, deanne.

Think beyond your present dreams, to the dreams you will have once they've already come true.

And when you can clearly see that life and those dreams in your mind's eye; how confident you will walk and how proud you will feel--Start walking and feeling like that today.

Far out,
The Universe

I love my little universal messages each day. They seriously make me giggle with delight because they often tell me exactly what I had been thinking and dreaming about all day. Mike Dooley is pure genius, more than a "reminder service", he is a dream shaker and quaker!

I clearly see my hoopy future dreams and I am choosing to walk them now. I also accept that everyday is not going to be filled with hooptastic flow. Yesterday I felt a stall in my practice progress. Think it was my bodies way of telling me to take a little break! So we did! We wandered for a while around our neighbourhood, the humidity was intense with the typhoon making it's presence felt, made for a perfect icecream date. YUM

We did work on some hoop isolation for a bit, but a relaxing night indeed!

世界タイ記録達成？？

モーニング娘がギネスタイ記録に挑戦して、達成した映像。
１２mのフープを３０秒間というもの。凄いのかどうかは分からないが、ギネスタイということ。なんで３０秒で止めてるのか分からない、もう少しやって世界新記録作っちゃえばいいのに！！　以外と簡単そうだから自分もやって世界新だして、ギネスに載りたいな。
でもフープを作れないし、保管する場所もないかー。
きっと、フープストアさんなら作ってくれるかも、値段は高そうだなー。

Choosing Direction

On of the most uplifting elements of hoop practice for me is how it is strongly reinforcing how much my choices make things happen. After a biking accident about 5 years ago in which I broke my left shoulder I have overused my right side. Naturally my right side took the full force of my hooping and I neglected my left, believing it to be weak and unable to give me the control I needed. Already in a short amount of time I could see an imbalance in my hoop style. Last night Masao and I had a long practice session working mainly on hoop isolation. Mastering the techniques with my right side was a challenge to begin with but we continued together. Masao being a leftie was working on both his left and right side. I held back for a while, holding onto my 'left is weak thought' as I started to practice with my left side I even heard myself saying things like "I can't do it on this side" "My left side is so weak" I realised how my words, thoughts and actions were reinforcing my poor leftie performance.

I made a conscious decision to realign my body, my thoughts and my words. I talked my way through each step on my left side just as I did to my right. I rearranged my thinking, I heard myself saying "My left and right side are equally as strong" "My left shoulder is strong and flexible"

As a result, my motions became smoother, my hoop thoughts became clearer and I began to ease into moves with my left side like I never had before.

I can choose my thoughts, my beliefs and my moves.

I love this photo of Masao at our last hoop class in Tokyo. The Tokyo skyline in the background, the afternoon sun and beautiful Masao enjoying the success of his hoopiness. I adore that we enjoy hoop dance together.

International Hooping

As you can see our blog is written in Japanese and English. Tokyo Hoop Stars is a chance for us to both express our hoopy feelings in our own language. We are studying and practicing hoop dance in Tokyo with the guys from Hoop Store Tokyo but the classes are bi-lingual (thank goodness). Mario and Justin are amazing, so full of energy and vigor yet precision and patience.

I am super lucky to be learning hooping in an international setting. I bring my own Aussie gusto to my practice, I soak up international inspiration from the net and videos and I have the support of a smooth and more calm Japanese class to balance out my practice.

Would love to hear from others who have hooped away from home or have gained strength from international influences.

Inspiration

We grab a huge amount of inspiration from other hoopers! Thank you to all the gorgeous hoopers that put their greatness on youtube for everyone to share!

Some pure hoop inspiration that we are into right now...

Danceaholic has got some super funky moves going on, love the tunes too! Very much our style.


This may just be her casual practice but Hoopalicious rocks the hoop like no other.


Maybe it is the song, maybe it is the super smoothness or perhaps it is the glamorous hotness of the whole atmosphere but this has been my all time fav vid. I have watched this possibly 50 times. This amazing hooper is in my mind whenever I hoop she is what keeps me going when I am running out of hoopy batteries!


In other hoop news, I taught two classes of children hooping today. Each class had 40 kids and by the end of the 40 mins we had for the class I don't know who was more tired but excited, them or me. As I totally predicted, hoop play time was so much fun. After an action packed lesson we had some time for freestyle play I was really looking forward to seeing how they would put the moved together but more importantly what little hoopy tricks they already had up their sleeves. They really were putting me to the test, they had me laying on the gym floor with both my legs in the air twirling that hoop with all my might!
It was so uplifting to watch them realise their hoop talents and perform them for each other, all this in just 40 minutes.

Sweet hoop dreams
d
xx

昨日のレッスン

昨日は一周間ぶりのレッスン。最初はなかなか感覚がつかめなかったが、次第に身体が動いてきて良い感じ。昨日もかなり沢山の生徒がいて、フープストアさん上手くやっているなと思いました。（笑）昨日は２回目のクラスで、僕ともう一人の男性だけでしたので、先生のJUSTINが終始見てくれて、かなり満足でした。あっという間の２時間でした。
僕は結構スポーツが得意な方だと思いますが、フープはまた別の種目！！全ての動きが違うので脳に信号が行くのが遅くまだまだこれからという感じ。今はやっとフープが身体につくようになってきて、これからがもっと大変そう！！
それと、少し前に買ったフープが少しサイズが大きく、ちょっとご立腹でしたが、（笑）MARIO先生に相談したところ、すぐに直して頂き、フープストアさんのカスタマーサービスにもビックリ。
その夜は、DEANNEと公園に行き、猛特訓！！今日習ったところをもう一度練習。性格上、一度始めたら止められないタイプ！！
そしたら、なんと！！今迄上手く出来なかったトリックが簡単に出来る様になり満足。
そして寝る前にもう一度イメージトレーニング。
これ一番大事！！
また明日も夜練習。習慣が大事ですね。