Today, our Valletta bag makes its way to Dubai. When most people think of this desert city, images of ultramodern architecture, luxury shopping and lively nightlife come to mind. What probably doesn’t come to mind is hula hooping, but one dynamic female founder is trying to change that.

Teeba Alkhudairi founded flowground in 2014 to reintroduce child’s play into adult lives through the use of hula hoops. Inspired by a trip to Burning Man in 2011 where she witnessed her first real hoop dance, Teeba became enchanted by the dancer’s happiness and joy, and began taking hooping lessons when she returned home. Through hooping, she found freedom, laughter, and play, as well as an outlet for creativity and fitness. Teeba had realized a few years earlier while attending Harvard Business School that she wanted to be a positive influence for people in her community. Hooping gave her a way to do this.

After moving back to Dubai, Teeba founded flowground with the aim of sharing her joy and love for hooping with the world. Together with her husband, Basel, she leads Dubai’s first and only flow arts center, where she brings the magic of hoop and poi flow to the UAE through classes, workshops and communal jams.

In less than two years, flowground has grown from one enthusiastic hooper to over 300 devoted followers. She believes the rewards of hooping are much greater than what is experienced in the classroom: “What is learned inside the hoop is applicable even outside of it, in everyday life. It allows for openness of truth, purity of voice and, frees us from self-judgment, often a bigger barrier than the judgment of others.” As for the key to her success? Tiba says, “We are all unstoppable. We just have to tune in to our own purpose!”

Teeba shared a few words with the Sisterhood on inspiration, entrepreneurship and P.MAI in Dubai.

Where do you go for inspiration?

I get my inspiration from my hula hoop. Whenever I feel stuck, I go into my hoop and as it helped unleash a part of me I did not know existed. I always believed I had a playful and free spirit, however, the hoop allowed me to express myself even more freely, creatively, and achieve a state of inner peace like never before, and that in itself inspires me. I also LOVE Ted talks.

Any advice for women interested in starting their own business? Don’t let the fear of failure stand in your way of taking the plunge. Entrepreneurship is an emotional journey and the fear of failure can make that journey all the more emotional. “Failure” in itself is a harsh word and the best way is to think about it as another obstacle that you need to overcome. There will be setbacks and you need to find a new way to get over them. You can call them failures, but in reality, they are a part of everyone’s journey and you just need to get used to them and be tough in the face of them!

A good quote that I always fall back upon: “I failed my way to success” - Thomas Edison.

You’re an incredibly well-traveled lady. How do you carry on, beautifully? I LOVE my P.MAI bag!!!!! As I mentioned, I have scoliosis and move around the city quite often for meetings, classes or even to work from different coffee shops, and carrying my laptop on a handbag kills me. I would use this bag everyday to put what I need on a daily basis to be able to be comfortable to move around with and not ending up with a bad backache. I would also use it as part my carry on for when I travel. To be honest, it’s suited for anyone who wants to still look stylish and feel comfortable. It’s like the stylish comfortable flats or heels that we use for work, but instead is a backpack.

To learn more about flow arts visit her website at: flowground.com

Today, our Valletta bag makes its way to Dubai. When most people think of this desert city, images of ultramodern architecture, luxury shopping and lively nightlife come to mind. What probably doesn’t come to mind is hula hooping, but one dynamic female founder is trying to change that.

Teeba Alkhudairi founded flowground in 2014 to reintroduce child’s play into adult lives through the use of hula hoops. Inspired by a trip to Burning Man in 2011 where she witnessed her first real hoop dance, Teeba became enchanted by the dancer’s happiness and joy, and began taking hooping lessons when she returned home. Through hooping, she found freedom, laughter, and play, as well as an outlet for creativity and fitness. Teeba had realized a few years earlier while attending Harvard Business School that she wanted to be a positive influence for people in her community. Hooping gave her a way to do this.

After moving back to Dubai, Teeba founded flowground with the aim of sharing her joy and love for hooping with the world. Together with her husband, Basel, she leads Dubai’s first and only flow arts center, where she brings the magic of hoop and poi flow to the UAE through classes, workshops and communal jams.

In less than two years, flowground has grown from one enthusiastic hooper to over 300 devoted followers. She believes the rewards of hooping are much greater than what is experienced in the classroom: “What is learned inside the hoop is applicable even outside of it, in everyday life. It allows for openness of truth, purity of voice and, frees us from self-judgment, often a bigger barrier than the judgment of others.” As for the key to her success? Tiba says, “We are all unstoppable. We just have to tune in to our own purpose!”

Teeba shared a few words with the Sisterhood on inspiration, entrepreneurship and P.MAI in Dubai.

Where do you go for inspiration?

I get my inspiration from my hula hoop. Whenever I feel stuck, I go into my hoop and as it helped unleash a part of me I did not know existed. I always believed I had a playful and free spirit, however, the hoop allowed me to express myself even more freely, creatively, and achieve a state of inner peace like never before, and that in itself inspires me. I also LOVE Ted talks.

Any advice for women interested in starting their own business? Don’t let the fear of failure stand in your way of taking the plunge. Entrepreneurship is an emotional journey and the fear of failure can make that journey all the more emotional. “Failure” in itself is a harsh word and the best way is to think about it as another obstacle that you need to overcome. There will be setbacks and you need to find a new way to get over them. You can call them failures, but in reality, they are a part of everyone’s journey and you just need to get used to them and be tough in the face of them!

A good quote that I always fall back upon: “I failed my way to success” - Thomas Edison.

You’re an incredibly well-traveled lady. How do you carry on, beautifully? I LOVE my P.MAI bag!!!!! As I mentioned, I have scoliosis and move around the city quite often for meetings, classes or even to work from different coffee shops, and carrying my laptop on a handbag kills me. I would use this bag everyday to put what I need on a daily basis to be able to be comfortable to move around with and not ending up with a bad backache. I would also use it as part my carry on for when I travel. To be honest, it’s suited for anyone who wants to still look stylish and feel comfortable. It’s like the stylish comfortable flats or heels that we use for work, but instead is a backpack.

To learn more about flow arts visit her website at: flowground.com