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Dancing in the Sea of Life Hula Newsletter                    
                                                                                                                               Photo by Matthias Scheffler

Mai ka piko o ke po'o a ka poli o ka wawae, a la'a ma na kihi 'eha o ke ke kino.
From the crown of the head to the soles of the feet, and the four corners of the body.
An expression used in prayers of healing. 
The four corners at shoulders and hips; between them are the vital organs of the body.
 
'Olelo No'eau - Hawaiian Proverbs & Poetical Sayings #2066            
Collected, translated and annotated by Mary Kawena Pukui   
   
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In This Issue
Gigi Oppenheimer
Classes Begin 
Week of January 4, 2016

8-WEEK TAHITIAN CLASSES
with Lori Murphy begins January 14th!

Join Lori Murphy
for 8 Classes of 
Beginner Tahitian Dance Classes
Thursdays 7 - 8 pm
Starts January 14th - March 3rd

No experience necessary - just be prepared to have fun!!!

Watch this video of Lori's recent fabulous
Intro to Tahitian Workshop 
at Purdue University

$15/class or $100 for 8-class series

MAHALO NUI LOA
THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!
Poliahu Shawls

Poliahu Shawls Available 
as Holiday Gifts  :)


We have a wonderful array of Poliahu shawls hand-screened in Waimea in different colors. Also on hand are gray and black beanies.

Poliahu is the snow goddess of Mauna Kea. 
The mountain is Poliahu. 
Poliahu is the mountain. 
We are Mauna Kea,
Mauna Kea is us.

Shawls are $35, Beanies are $18  and go to support the effort of protecting Mauna Kea.


 
NEW Poliahu Scarves 
are gorgeous gifts too!

December 14, 2015
 
Photo by Ed Leinartas 
For me, Hula is inseparable from the beauty and spirit of Hawaii and it's people as expressed in words such as mauna (mountains), pu'u (hills), kai (sea),  pohaku (rocks), 'aina (land), ma'ukele (rainforest), lani (sky), la'au (trees, medicinal plants), different pua (flowers), manu (birds).  Of course this list goes on.

I've adapted to living in Chicago -  listening to traffic, rattling trains, piercing sirens and walking on cement sidewalks or asphalt roads.  It's winter now so not many birds gift me with their songs.  And most of the trees have let go of their leaves and face the season of winter bare.  The skies are still beautiful in the cold air - especially at early morning or at dusk.  Mostly I stay indoors in winter.

Hula sustains me during this time and keeps my body and mind supple.  I'm grateful to be part of a living hula lineage of kumu hula (teachers) that goes back hundreds of years.  The kupuna (ancestors) whisper to me when I meditate, pule (pray) or oli (chant). When I pay attention they are part of my dreams and in everyday life.   And what would I do without my hula brothers and sisters here on the mainland and in Hawaii?  They support and nourish me through their understanding and practice of the discipline of hula.

As a Zen teacher, I also see Hula as an embodied mindfulness practice.  When you dance, you have to be fully in your body. If you are thinking about what you need to pick up at the grocery store while dancing, the intention and narrative of the story is lost.  When distractions occur we practice mindfulness by noticing the thoughts, letting them go and simply bringing our focus back wholeheartedly to the dance (or whatever we are doing). 

Hula is a mindfulness practice because you have to be aware of the hula steps and the simultaneous hand motions.  In the beginning, it always surprised me to see that sometimes I thought my body was doing one thing - but it was really doing something else.  Hula strengthens the mind-body connection and the brain-body coordination gets better with practice.  

The next step is to feel the emotion of the story the hula is telling and then project it through the gestures of the arms, hands and torso.  In order to do this, one must understand what the hula is about.  If in Hawaiian, translations are needed to get a literal idea of the story behind the dance.



The energy of the place where you are dancing can also affect the dance.  You can be inspired by the la (sun), mahina (moon), makani (wind), kai (ocean) and the 'aina (earth) under your feet.  The plants and trees also play a part.  I remember dancing - on the edge of a bay where spinner dolphins cavorted - in wide open pastures while facing Mauna Kea in the uplands of Waimea.  Each time, I felt no separation between Nature and me.

Sometimes we're not in tune with life's energy or ourselves.  We're off somehow - can't focus, can't get a step right, can't stay on beat, and can't make the hand motions at the right time.  These mistakes are all part of the process.  Hula is a heart-felt spiritual discipline. Hula people keep going even when things are tough.  Our hearts keep us moving when our minds say stop.  We balance and rest when we need to.  And we laugh a lot.  



We've had an amazing year.  We were honored to have my kumu hula Michael Pili Pang and his men perform in Chicago and help us with a wonderful fundraiser.  

The students of Halau i Ka Pono focused, practiced and studied this year.  We made leis as a meditation, did thoughtful research and homework, and shared much laughter.  I am grateful to all of my hula students who worked so hard.  I also send warm mahalos to everyone who has played a role in supporting Halau i Ka Pono in our sixth year.  

May your life be blessed from the crown of your head to the soles of your feet and to the four corners of your body now and in the New Year!  

Malama pono (take care of your body, mind and heart),

June Kaililani Tanoue
Kumu Hula and Sensei


Gigi Oppenheimer
 
Gigi Oppenheimer has been studying hula with Kumu June via Skype for the past year.  She was born in Connecticut and raised in Millbrook, New York. 

Gigi spent 7 years in her late teens and early 20s living in a Vaishnava temple and traveled the world on pilgrimage. She has a 10 year old son, Jaya Bala, who she calls an extraordinarily vibrant old soul and self-directed homeschooler.
 
Gigi told us this about herself.
 
Gigi:  Dance has been the canvas of my life since I was 3. My background is in ballet, with training and performance experience up to the professional level. Jazz, modern, and classical Indian dance have also enhanced my repertoire of studies and styles.

Like you, I have two sister companies: White Lotus Ballet - Moving Beyond, through which I offer dance instruction, and White Lotus Grace: Spiritual Healing Arts & Dance, through which I've combined my God-given gifts of dance, devotion, and intuitive healing energy to facilitate a powerful method of re-patterning on the mental, emotional, spiritual, cellular, and relational levels through transformative movement.

I work from home, offering instruction or healing in private, semi-private or small group sessions in my dance sanctuary, or globally via Skype.
 
June: What called you to hula?
 
Gigi:  My heart called me to hula! I've felt an attraction to Hawai'i throughout my life, like an affinity carried in my soul for ages. My son and I spent four winters on O'ahu, and I continuously treasure it as a second home, ever nearly and dearly within meditation's reach. With that relationship to Hawai'i, as well as to dance, spirituality, and healing, hula appeared as an obvious path I was being guided to by the voice of God within my heart.
 
June:  You've been studying with me for a year now by Skype.  How did you find me and what have you gotten from our sessions?
 
In the midst of a period of stagnation and depression, I was searching for a fresh well of inspiration to revitalize me. First my mind went to Hawai'i as that is my happy place.  Then it was drawn to research its spirituality as that is my source of nourishment.  Then the light was shed on hula awakening the desire to become learned in its ways.  It lead me to you through a Google search for a kumu hula who would teach by Skype. Looking through your website, reading about you and your vision of hula and healing, I was instantly drawn to contact you!
 
I am so glad and so grateful I did! Through our sessions I've received joy, inspiration, and renewed vitality, with increasing attraction to and appreciation for the beauty and grace of hula. I may be standing on the hard wood floor of my studio/sanctuary in Millbrook, New York on a cold day in winter in front of my laptop, but the music, the dance, and the mood transport me to the celestial 'aina (land) and atmosphere of Hawai'i.

For me, hula is a certain conduit of the aloha spirit. I can feel it ground me in the compassionate energy of Mother Earth, and function like an antenna to receive the blessings and support of Spirit in Nature all around.
About Us
Successful Halau Fundraiser with Hawaiians Kumu Michael Pili Pang, Keikilani Curnan, Davin, Al, Ryan

Halau i Ka Pono - the Hula School of Chicago is a sister program of the Zen Life & Meditation Center of Chicago located in Oak Park, IL.  Kumu Hula June Kaililani Tanoue established the school in 2009 and has been teaching hula since 2003.

 

Halau i Ka Pono means School that Cultivates the Goodness.  We teach Hula which is defined as the art of Hawaiian dance expressing all that we see, hear, taste, touch, and feel.

 

Hula and healing go hand in hand in our Halau. The dance connects us to the grounding energy of the earth and opens us to the warm spirit of Aloha (love). 

 

 

Come join us!  We have wonderful introductory classes for adult beginners!  No experience necessary.

 

Contact Kumu June at [email protected] for more information.  May your lives be full of aloha blessings!