If there’s a “hoop studio”look and personality, Chloe Evans must be the prototype. The thin and welcoming co-owner of Co-Motion Studio in crosstown floats through space with a bohemian-chic style, talking about and showing off the benefits of hooping as exercise, and wellness as a complete state of being.

 

“We approach wellness as a whole mind body and spirit type of thing,” Evans said. “Any exercise helps your body, and hooping is part of that, but you have to treat all three aspects to be truly healthy.”

For the body, the hooping exercise provides a low-impact, repetitive core workout that provides cardio stimulation while strengthening key muscle groups. It’s done slowly, over time, and with low-risk. It’s designed to be as fun and accessible as it is physically beneficial.

 

“We get calls from prospective students concerned our hooping classes will be filled with only skinny, young girls, but it’s really a good place to start for anyone,” Evans said. “We even have men coming in for classes, as well as seniors, who enjoy the low-impact and fun nature of what we do.”

Concerning benefits to the mind and spirit, Evans, 39, pointed to therapeutic benefits of this type of non-traditional exercise.

 

“So you’re doing a repetitive motion, which can be soothing,” Evans said. “And in that motion, you’re using a circle. It’s a nice, symbol that we see everywhere, and you put that in motion.”

Evans also mentioned that to be successful in hooping, there’s a certain push-pull dynamic that is essential.

 

“You control the hoop, but you also have to go with the flow,” she said. “It’s kind of like life that way. You dictate where it goes, but you have to accept that physics and gravity will have it kind of doing its own thing, too.”

 

Co-Motion studio offers hoop classes for various levels, as well as Parkour classes and other offerings. Full schedule available at comotionmemphis.com