FARMINGTON — Fun is the key word for participants in an adult education class called Hooping to Heal.

With a slight rock or sway of the body, a large, colorful hula hoop circles over tightened core muscles and often brings on a good belly laugh.

“It may be thought of as a children’s toy, but it can be very healing. Everyone can use it,” said Carol Turner of Turner, a certified hooping instructor known as “Hoop Sistah.”

During the last night of a six-week class offered through Mt. Blue Regional School District Adult and Community Education and held at the Mallett School, a group of women ages 20s to 60s spent an hour twirling the hoop around their waists, thighs, knees and hands. Mostly, they spent the hour laughing.

“It’s lots of fun and good exercise, but fun is the key word,” Joanne Lesperance of Industry said. She joined with four lifelong friends.

The fun has kept them coming back to the class, she said, as they jested and encouraged one another.

Although the use of hoops dates back thousands of years, many remember the small plastic hula hoops of the 1950s and the often frustrating, futile attempts to keep the hoop going.

Over the past decade, hooping has re-surged as a popular and beneficial form of exercise. It’s one that provides the benefits of a strong cardiovascular session with less strain on the body — making it easy for anyone in any condition to do.

“It heals the mind, body and soul,” Turner said. “It builds core strength, reduces stress, brings joy and laughter and helps clear the mind.”

A larger, heavier hoop is used, making it easier to keep twirling. Some hoopers use weighted hoops for more muscle toning.

When Turner was given a hoop a couple of years ago, she couldn’t keep it going and let it sit idle. After some traumatic changes in her life, she said she needed to feel better, so she gave it a try and kept going from there.

“It became a healing tool,” she said.

She lost 50 pounds and became more confident and grounded.

“At 49, I’m in the best shape of my life,” she said.

She watches others make the same journey as they work through the classes she teaches in four local adult education programs, including Lewiston. She’s about to start a class at L.L. Bean, she said.

Most participants start class feeling awkward and not sure they’ll ever master the moves, but by the last class they’ve become empowered, she said. The empowerment stretches beyond use of the hoop, initiating feelings of confidence and control.

“The belly laughs are also healing,” she said. “The giggles are effusive.”

But it’s the giggles that bring people back and keep them exercising.

When Lisa Donald of the Mt. Blue RSD staff saw a hooping program in Portland, she looked for an instructor to teach a class here. Turner was the closest, she said.

Donald signed up for the class, along with 10 other women. Now she rises at 4 a.m. to practice the moves before heading to work.

“It’s very active and gives me the energy to go do something,” she said.

Turner has developed a program, Hooping for Heroes, that she intends to teach at veterans’ homes across the state.

abryant@sunjournal.com

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