The Hoop to Health Story
Leyla Barretto, founder of Hoop to Health, has been dancing since she was a child growing up in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood. “Disco, soul, house music – whatever was on the radio, I was dancing to it”, she recalls. By her teenage years, Leyla discovered tango, belly dancing, and her lifelong passion, flamenco dancing.
After returning to school as an adult and working as a community organizer at Harlem Children’s Zone, Leyla gravitated toward developing learning and recreational programs for children. Then, while shopping at the Salvation Army Thrift Shop with her daughter, Selma, she discovered her first hula hoop. Soon, she was hooping everywhere – at home, at work, on the street – enjoying a life-changing combination of dance, fun, and fitness. Leyla quickly made believers of her co-workers and the young people she worked with.
But five years ago, with no warning, Leyla’s life trajectory took an unexpected turn: she was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder – Graves’ Disease, along with fibromyalgia. “My whole life went full stop”, she says “and all my energy had to go towards recovery”.
Unable to work, dance, or engage in any of her usual activities, Leyla’s life centered around medical visits, adopting a more healthy diet and lifestyle, and maintaining a strong belief in resiliency instilled in her by her mother, author Soledad Santiago. As soon as she was physically able to, she picked up her hoops and, little by little, allowed the hooping to help her focus on restoring her health and mental wellbeing.
Today, Leyla has regained a good deal of her former health and energy, thanks in large part to her ever-present custom hoops, which she designs and fabricates herself. Not long ago, after being invited to a neighborhood block party, Leyla brought along her hoops and was amazed at the reaction. “Everyone wanted to hoop with me – young children, adults, seniors”, she says, “and I knew that this was a magical way to engage people!”
In the past year, Leyla has taken her hoops throughout the city, to public school classrooms, street fairs, organizational events, and hospitals. Especially rewarding are her visits with adults and children facing physical and mental health challenges, with whom Leyla shares a special connection. “My personal hoop journey has helped me so much, and it’s gratifying to share the fun and health benefits of hooping with others.” Leyla may not be able to dance the night away just yet, but she’s always ready to teach people how to “hoop to health”!