Celebrating Magnificence in our ‘Ohana: Challenge Winner Loan Le

Celebrating Magnificence in our ‘Ohana: Challenge winner, Loan Le 

By Loan Le

Overall, my biggest hurdle in taking Still and Moving Center’s Over the Rainbow Challenge was in my timing. I work all day and I have to cook and do many other things.

During the Challenge, I found out that if I got more organized and planned ahead of time, I could take at least one class a day, and sometimes two or three. I just picked any class that matched my availability. It was fun. It helped that I could take classes both in person and online.

I used to take many hula classes, but when it began to conflict with my schedule I dropped out. Then during the Challenge, I found that Mālia teaches a noon hula class, and I could take it on my lunch break.

My daughter and my son supported me in doing this Summer Challenge. They understood the importance of it. Actually, before the Challenge I was also a member of another yoga studio. I found out through this that Still & Moving offers so many skilled, varied yoga teachers and classes. Turns out, It’s the only membership I need. That allows me to save more money for my son who is in college.

Even when I was traveling to New York the final week of the Challenge, I took one class before my flight, and then one class the next day, after I checked in my hotel in New York. Thanks to the studio’s online scheduling and many class options, I did not miss my daily class commitment. And on Labor Day when we were celebrating the end of the Challenge, I was able to tune in online from New York at 9 pm.

I’m the kind of person who likes to try new things. And there’s always something new happening at Still & Moving. Some of the new offerings I tried during the Challenge were Satsang conversation and potluck, and Feldenkrais with Alice Boyd. That class is so convenient to take online as a work break.

And I liked the animal totem cards collage workshop with Dayl Workman. You always have something new happening at Still & Moving Center.

I like being colorful, so I planned my class times in a way that when I colored in my boxes on the Over the Rainbow chart on the wall, I had no 2 consecutive days of the same color! Yoga was green, hula purple, and other clases other colors.

I’ve chosen to use my “Pot of Gold” prize of a $200 gift certificate for my favorite restaurant to go to Gyu-kaku. It’s a well-known Japanese restaurant located in both Hawaii and New York. This way I can support a restaurant where my son works while he’s attending college in New York!

When people saw me during the Challenge coloring in boxes on the chart and wondered why I was doing that, I said it was a great way for me to stay active and healthy, and also a great way to help others. I told them Still & Moving Center was going to contribute $1 for every class I took in order to help the homeless.

And now I’m going to donate double matching funds – $2 for every class I took during the Challenge. That’s 77 classes to keep me fit, and $154 to help others!

Still & Moving Center is very unique in the opportunities it provides for people to interact with each other and to share reflections. Teachers give us the chance to tell a story from daily life, and we all have the chance to share feedback about our classes and what more we’d like to learn.

This center is about interaction and reflection. It’s like a family. I really love it.