[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0)” custom_margin=”-30px||||false|false” custom_margin_tablet=”-6px||||false|false” custom_margin_phone=”0vw||||false|false” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|desktop” custom_padding=”10px||||false|false” da_disable_devices=”off|off|off” global_colors_info=”{}” da_is_popup=”off” da_exit_intent=”off” da_has_close=”on” da_alt_close=”off” da_dark_close=”off” da_not_modal=”on” da_is_singular=”off” da_with_loader=”off” da_has_shadow=”on”][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|tablet” admin_label=”Header” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_color=”#f9f6f5″ background_image=”https:\/\/stillandmovingcenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/trans-shiva.png” background_size=”contain” background_position=”top_right” custom_margin=”-43px||||false|false” custom_padding=”100px||0px|||” custom_padding_tablet=”60px||||false|false” custom_padding_phone=”” da_disable_devices=”off|off|off” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” da_is_popup=”off” da_exit_intent=”off” da_has_close=”on” da_alt_close=”off” da_dark_close=”off” da_not_modal=”on” da_is_singular=”off” da_with_loader=”off” da_has_shadow=”on”][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_5,2_5″ use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”2″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”4.17.4″ width=”100%” max_width=”1706px” custom_margin=”-80px||||false|false” custom_padding=”0px|60px|0px|60px|true|true” custom_padding_tablet=”30px|20px|30px|20px|true|true” custom_padding_phone=”” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_text_color=”#000000″ text_line_height=”2.4em” header_3_font=”santana||||||||” header_3_font_size=”32px” width=”95.5%” custom_margin=”3px|-685px|1px||false|false” custom_padding=”1px|0px||||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
By Doris Morisaki<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n <\/i><\/p>\n Sandra Moreland heard about Still & Moving Center before it even had a name! Before it had a place to live. When it was just a seed idea in Ren\u00e9e Tillotson\u2019s mind.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHow did you first meet Ren\u00e9e,\u201d I ask Sandra, \u201csince it wasn\u2019t at Still & Moving Center?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Sandra and a friend were taking classes and working out at the Honolulu Club. \u201cOne morning as we walked by this big glass exercise room, we saw about twenty women inside completely rocking out, just dancing with so much energy. My friend didn\u2019t even ask me, she just opened the door and said, \u2018Let\u2019s go.\u2019 She went straight in and started dancing with everyone, so I did, too. That was my first introduction to Nia!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Sandra started attending Ren\u00e9e\u2019s Nia classes at both the Honolulu Club and at the YMCA. \u201cIt was New Year\u2019s time of maybe 2008, and Ren\u00e9e was starting class by saying, \u2018If you don\u2019t like something in your life, change it. That\u2019s why we\u2019re dancing.\u2019 I thought, <\/span>I love this woman.<\/span><\/i> We ended up going to lunch together, talking and sharing stories, and we became fast friends from that point on.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Before moving toward her current, slower pace of life, Sandra spent much of her career working in public relations. Eventually the company she worked for was acquired by a global firm,<\/span> after which<\/span> she went into independent consulting.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBut the more time I spent in Hawaii, the less interested I was in working!\u201d laughs Sandra. \u201cI just fell in love with the island and being here. I love the concept of \u02bb<\/span>ohana<\/span><\/i>, extended family, and the deeper meaning behind words like <\/span>aloha<\/span><\/i>. It\u2019s about sharing breath, sharing life. The spirit of connection here on the islands is special.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n In 2010, Ren\u00e9e invited Sandra to be part of the First Circle – the first group of people to whom she introduced her idea of opening a studio for Nia and other forms of moving meditation. When Sandra first heard about Ren\u00e9e\u2019s plans for the Still & Moving Center, she was amazed.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI had been part of gyms and yoga studios in Atlanta, but nothing as comprehensive as what Ren\u00e9e envisioned. She wanted to include all kinds of mindful movement practices under one roof.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Ren\u00e9e took Sandra to see the building she and her husband were leasing at 1024 Queen Street in Honolulu while it was in its demolition phase, before anything new had been built.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt was completely empty,\u201d Sandra recalls. \u201cJust rafters. I remember walking up the stairs, there wasn\u2019t even a railing yet, just boards. Ren\u00e9e walked me through the space and painted this incredible vision of what it would become. She described where everything would be, the Barefoot Ballroom, all of it. There was nothing there yet, but she could already see it so clearly.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n For Ren\u00e9e Sandra has always been an anchor of stable support, encouraging her onward through rough waters and celebrating the peak times.<\/span><\/p>\n For Sandra, the center has always felt like a second home.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhen I returned home to Georgia, I would really miss it. But during the pandemic, when the center moved online, that became a silver lining for me. I could reconnect and be part of the community again through the online classes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n She smiles while recalling one practical detail from when she finally made the move to Honolulu for good in 2023. \u201cWhen I was looking for an apartment, my main criteria was simple: it had to be close enough for a walk or a short drive to the Still & Moving Center.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAll the offerings keep evolving. There are new teachers alongside longtime ones like Ren\u00e9e. For example, Robin Shepard\u2019s functional yoga is amazing, I can\u2019t get enough of it. Dance offerings like belly dance, tango, and hula, and all the performances bring so much beauty into the space.<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019ve brought many friends over the years, and they\u2019re always amazed. Watching new people discover the magic of the center for the first time reminds me how special it is.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As the conversation concluded, Sandra reflected once more on what the Still & Moving Center has meant to her.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been a guiding light for me for nearly a quarter of my life. Whenever I walk in, people greet me like family, like walking into a place where everyone knows your name. Still & Moving Center offers not only movement and wellness practices, but also that sense of belonging.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cTo think about everything that has been created in these 15 years \u2013 even more than Ren\u00e9e imagined \u2013 it\u2019s phenomenal. The number of people she\u2019s impacted, and the ripple effect of that, has touched so many lives. Local people, visitors, and now people around the world who connect with the center online.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAnd now she\u2019s entering this next phase of creating a legacy so the Still & Moving COMMUNITY Center can continue serving as a nonprofit into the future. I just feel privileged to have been part of it from the beginning.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u2014—<\/span><\/p>\n P.S. When I ask Sandra about the most famous person she has ever met, she shares a memorable story of the late President Jimmy Carter.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI met him in the early 1980s when I was managing public relations for Callaway Gardens resort in Georgia. We hosted an outdoor symphony concert series, and one evening we learned that he and Rosalynn would be attending.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI coordinated with the Secret Service and his staff to plan everything. At the end of the event, someone introduced me to him as the person who had organized it. He gave me the biggest smile and hug, and a photographer captured the moment. It\u2019s one of my favorite memories from long ago. He dedicated his life to helping others –\u00a0 from global health initiatives to Habitat for Humanity. He was truly a man of principle.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/stillandmovingcenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/DSC6411.jpg” title_text=”sandra” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”0px||-2px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/stillandmovingcenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Screen-Shot-2015-09-20-at-1.26.01-PM-1024×570.jpeg” title_text=”Screen Shot 2015-09-20 at 1.26.01 PM” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||-1px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/stillandmovingcenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/sandra-renee-leis.jpg” title_text=”sandra renee leis” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”0px||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/stillandmovingcenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/871B0C51-4E7B-4036-B9A8-4C5F4843C648Screen-Shot-2023-04-12-at-1.51.43-PM-scaled.jpeg” title_text=”871B0C51-4E7B-4036-B9A8-4C5F4843C648Screen Shot 2023-04-12 at 1.51.43 PM” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/stillandmovingcenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/sandra11.jpg” title_text=”sandra11″ _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||-3px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/stillandmovingcenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/R4A3099-scaled.jpeg” title_text=”_R4A3099″ _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”0px||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/stillandmovingcenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/DSC_0062-scaled.jpeg” title_text=”sandra” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”0px||-9px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/stillandmovingcenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/unnamed.jpg” title_text=”sandra” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”7px||25px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/stillandmovingcenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/sandra-family.jpg” title_text=”sandra family” _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-35px||26px|-1px|false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/stillandmovingcenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4928-scaled.jpeg” title_text=”IMG_4928″ _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-26px||-17px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/stillandmovingcenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_3813.jpg” title_text=”sandra” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”5px||1px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/stillandmovingcenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/sandra3.jpg” title_text=”sandra3″ _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”0px||-2px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/stillandmovingcenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_2470-1024×1024.jpeg” title_text=”IMG_2470″ _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”2px|1px|-3px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/stillandmovingcenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/sandra.jpg” title_text=”sandra” _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”|||-1px||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding=”||2px|||”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/stillandmovingcenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/sandra7.jpg” title_text=”sandra7″ _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-13px||49px|-46px|false|false” custom_padding=”0px||2px|45px||” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sandra Moreland – From the Beginning By Doris Morisaki Sandra Moreland heard about Still & Moving Center before it even had a name! 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