Body, Mind Align

In Ki Mary Wagar’s aerial yoga class, students learn more than yoga poses and acrobatics, they absorb lessons in character and mental strength.

"Like any physical activity, they’re learning to face new challenges, face fears and develop determination in overcoming that," she said. "It’s important to see that something is challenging, and be able to look at it and say, you know what, I’m going to try anyways and see what happens."

The class, open to children ages 6 to 12 Sunday mornings at the Still & Moving Center in Kakaako, incorporates the same focus on breathing and movement as floor yoga, but incorporates a low-hanging hammock of thick fabric suspended from the ceiling.

Class usually begins with a discussion of a selected theme — such as respect or compassion — then moves into breathing and warm-up stretches on the floor. Then students learn how to climb in and out of the hammocks, as well as body alignment.

As the children twist, turn and balance, they learn strength, coordination and body awareness, eventually learning to flip upside-down.

Wagar says she hopes to teach children to feel confident in their bodies as well as in movement.

"There are so many kids that aren’t comfortable moving because they spend so much time sitting at school, sitting and playing video games," she said.

Though Wagar says the greatest challenge of teaching aerial yoga to children is getting them not to spin the whole time. "Just learning to be still," she said.

The class concludes with a savasana (resting pose), usually the last pose done in yoga. This deeply relaxing pose is an opportunity for students to learn to be still, nestled cocoon-style inside the hammock.

While aerial yoga teaches basics using a hammock, aerial dance for kids on Friday afternoons starting March 7, will focus on work using two pieces of silk that hang from the ceiling.

Students with back, neck or other health conditions should obtain doctor approval before attending aerial classes. It’s best to dress in comfortable clothes without zippers, sequins or jewelry that could snag on the fabric.

Aerial yoga classes take place from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Sundays at the Still & Moving Center. Drop-ins are welcome, although the start of the next five-week session is March 9. Call 397-7678 for more information.

These classes put keiki in action 

Whether it’s hula, martial arts or performance, kids have plenty of ways to engage in creative movement at the Still & Moving Center in Kakaako.

The center offers seated baby hula for moms and their infants, and a hula and craft class for kids ages 3 to 5. Other keiki classes include aikido, Li’l Stars Song & Dance and Li’l Stars The Actors classes.

Introductory 14-day membership for first-time students are $49 to $79. Regular memberships range from $145 to $189 a month. Some classes are available on a drop-in basis, as well as in five-class and 10-class packs.

The Still & Moving Center is at 1024 Queen St. Call 397-7678 or visit www.stillandmovingcenter.com for more information.

Nina Wu, Star-Advertiser

Get your groove on

Ready, set, go!

Go-karts will be ready to go when the doors to a new family fun park called The Groove Hawaii open at 9 a.m. Saturday at 805 Ala Moana Blvd.

Expect to race along a one-third-mile outdoor track with a series of turns, straightaways and banked corners. 

Other offerings include a 30-foot climbing wall ($14.95), Segway rides ($74.95-$174.95), arcade games and carnival-style children’s rides, including a carousel and miniature Ferris wheel, for keiki ages 4 to 10 ($19.95 for unlimited rides).

"It’s a place to bring the entire family, with something for everyone to do," said The Groove’s marketing manager Alex Kite. "It’s a fun and safe environment, in town, and accessible to the entire family."

The name The Groove comes from a racing term used to describe the best route around a racetrack, according to Kite, and also refers to getting into a musical groove.

What once was an empty warehouse on a 3-acre industrial site leased from Kamehameha Schools has been transformed into an air-conditioned arcade and billiards room, open to all ages.

There will be 50 arcade games, according to Kite, alongside four billiard tables ($1 a game), a shuffleboard, an air hockey table and dartboards.

In the evenings, the warehouse will become a sort of nightclub, Kite said, with a venue that can host concerts and will have party rooms available for rent. 

The Paradise Pedals Party Bike, which will be headquartered at The Groove, is a group bike seating up to 15 passengers on stools with pedals (but steered by one driver). The bike offers trips to Point Panic ($14.95, 30 minutes) and a Honolulu bar crawl ($39.95, 2 hours).

The project, headed by local extreme sports athlete Billy Balding, has been in the works for more than a year, and won approval from the Hawaii Community Development Authority last March. 

Before driving the gas-powered go-karts, which can go up to 60 miles per hour, participants must go through a safety briefing and be outfitted with head socks and helmets. A training clinic is also available.

Children must be at least 8 years old and 46 inches tall to operate the go-karts, but two tandem go-karts will be available for adults with children who don’t quite meet the height requirement.

 A Tag Heuer Timing system will track each driver on every lap and update a daily leader board.

Prices for go-kart racing are $29.95 for children and adults. Children under 8 can ride tandem with an adult racer for an additional $7.95. A three-race package is available for $69.95. 

When patrons get hungry, there is an outdoor food truck, brick oven-fired pizza and a fresh-fruit smoothie bar. Plans for an outdoor bar and grill are in the works.

Nina Wu, Star-Advertiser

Introduce youngsters to ‘Peter Rabbit’ tale 

Many generations of American kids have grown up with Beatrix Potter’s gentle, beautifully illustrated stories about Peter Rabbit, his sisters, Flopsy, Mopsy and Cotton-tail, and their cousin, Benjamin Bunny.

If you have children in preschool through first grade, who haven’t met Peter yet, Honolulu Theatre for Youth’s production of "Peter Rabbit and the Garden" is an excellent opportunity for them to make his acquaintance.

The show is an HTY adaptation of two stories about Peter’s potentially fatal adventures in Mr. McGregor’s garden.

McGregor grows many types of tasty, tempting vegetables and has a fence around the garden to keep rabbits out, and Mrs. McGregor is known to bake rabbit pie.

The mischievous Peter loses his jacket and shoes during one exciting visit to the garden and Benjamin joins him on a return trip to retrieve them.

HTY company actors Maile Holck and Junior Tesoro play multiple roles in a new version of those stories that shows an impulsive young rabbit learning about the importance of balancing curiosity with responsibility.

A free study guide with suggestions for story-related activities is available at www.htyweb.org.

John Berger, Star-Advertiser