This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Susan Whitney Makes 'Hoop Dreams' Come True

Discover the joys of 'Suela Hooping.'

Hoop dreams

In the summer of 2006 Susan Whitney attended a Rhythm and Roots concert. She saw a womanhula hooping to the music and became mesmerized.

Whitney was so enthralled by the hoops that she spoke with the woman, Jessie Newton of Washington, D.C., and Newton ended up selling her one.

Find out what's happening in Portsmouthwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

That night, Whitney dreamed about hula hooping.

In the morning, Whitney got right up and started hooping.

Find out what's happening in Portsmouthwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

She hooped for five hours taking just one break. 

By the end of that time she was black and blue, but she had mastered the hoop.

Whitney is still in touch with Newton to this day.

Soon her sister Roxanne Dorey-Flanders stopped by and saw Whitney practicing in the backyard of her Middletown home. “Roxy,” as they call her, fell in love with hooping too. People in the neighborhood would walk or drive by and see Whitney in the yard practicing and asked to join in. Whitney was soon giving lessons in her backyard. She quickly outgrew that.

As Whitney practiced, she and friends and family came up with names for all of the moves that they did.

She soon discovered from online research that there was a whole world of hula hooping out there. 

And, unfortunately, that all of those moves already had been given names and called something different.

Give me a beat

Whitney’s brother-in-law is a member of the Portsmouth-based band 

While hooping at her sister’s home one day, Whitney started hooping to the beat of Abbey Rhode’s music. That was the way to teach her class, she decided right then and there.

To music.

“It forces you to have rhythm even when you don’t think you have it,” Whitney said.

“Suela Hooping” was born.

A class act

Now Whitney rents out space in the Portsmouth Middle School and gives lessons there. Whitney said her students in class range from ages 8 to 80. At a birthday party recently, she had 5-year-old kids hula hooping and the little ones just loved it.

“I have learned that hooping is not just a hoop going around your waist but a total body/mind/spirit workout,” said Whitney. “It is a connection with your family, friends, and people I have never even met. Hooping works your cardio, balance, and strengthens your core and more. It is heart pumping from your head to toe with laughter as your base. How great is that?”

In the five years that Whitney said has been teaching, she has yet to find a student that could not learn to hoop.

Whitney’s spirit and passion are infectious; she refuses to hear the word ‘can’t.’   

‘The great equalizer’

Now that the word is out, Whitney teaches hula hooping at the elementary schools under an initiative that First Lady Michelle Obama started to get the kids moving in the schools.

The craze is now moving to the middle schools.

“The hula hoop is a great equalizer,” said Whitney.

“Suela Hooping” also has been invited to business seminars where by during the breaks Whitney teaches hooping as a stress reliever or as a way to move after sitting for long periods of time.

Some businesses have Whitney in for team building or offer her class as a way to unwind.

Get your hoop on

To take a class, call Whitney at 401-575-7651 or visit her website.

Don’t worry, Whitney provides hoops for class.

She also offers custom made hoops for $45 each. The hoops come in all sizes and colors.

 

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?