Vanessa
Hazzard-Tillman teaches hula hooping in East Falls, entertains at parties and
at the Public Eye: Artists Animals July 4^th Vegan Potluck picnic in Harper’s
Meadow in Chestnut Hill, she showed off some of her stuff.  A former clown and currently involved
with the vibrant Philadelphia circus arts community, Hazzard-Tillman is also a
massage therapist and yoga instructor.

She
especially likes to combine yoga and hooping. While being distracted by her
young son, Phoenix, she nevertheless managed to twirl a hoop smoothly around one
rotating foot in the air while switching from one yoga pose lying on the ground
on her side to an inverted pose.

Hooping
is good for muscle toning, she explains while demonstrating some “off-body” exercises
that can be easier than “on-body” exercises.

Hazzard-Tillman
often studies online videos and is now training to do fire hooping.

The
circus community likes to give back, she says, introducing one of her ambitions.
In addition to being President of the United States and a rock star according
to her online profile, she hopes to successfully audition with a troupe that
instructs youngsters in circus arts in one of the refugee camps in northern
Thailand. The two-month program in which the children learn juggling, clowning,
poi spinning, silks and hooping culminates with the refugee children mounting
their own performance.

Hazzard-Tillman
makes her own hoops out of black polyethylene tubing, covers them fun tape like Batman or Hello Kitty themed patterns and also sells them online through Amazon and
her own website nirvanalandessentials.com where she also sells jewelry,
gemstones and African soap.

Her
business card also lists her profession as “Reiki Master/Teacher.” Had
my interview with her continued further, I definitely would have asked how she
manages to juggle it all!

Watch video here.

See other photos here.