Still & Moving Center Focuses on Mindful Movement for All Ages

2024 SmallBiz Editor’s Choice Award winner: Renee Tillotson opened her Kaka‘ako studio after falling in love with Nia, a holistic fitness practice.

Still & Moving Center in Kaka‘ako balances its devotion to mental and physical well-being in equal measure.

Owner Renee Tillotson founded the studio in 2011 after falling in love with Nia, a holistic fitness practice that she says “includes moves from the dance arts, the martial arts and the healing arts.”

While sports provide great exercise, they can strain the body and elevate your risk for injury, Tillotson says. In contrast, the activities taught at Still & Moving Center are designed to promote longevity and alleviate pain.

“I started out as a gymnast, so I was a very high-performance kind of athlete,” says Tillotson, “but gymnastics isn’t a particularly sustainable activity in later years of life. Whereas Nia, with its emphasis on moving the body in a way that is quite sustainable, is great at any age.”

Nia’s goal is not for participants to perfectly mimic the instructor’s movements, she says. It’s about moving the body in ways that feel good and purposeful.

“I will often congratulate someone for doing a move differently or for sitting down during the middle of a practice because that’s what their body is telling them they need to do.”

Still & Moving Center also offers a variety of classes that draw on traditions from different parts of the world, all intended to strengthen the mind and body connection through mindful movement. Mindful movement involves being fully present and attuned to your body, allowing you to experience the here and now, in all of its glory.

Some activities are well-known, such as yoga, Pilates and hula. Others are less known, like Feldenkrais and the ELDOA method. “ELDOA was commissioned by the French government because they were spending so much of their time and money on national medical plans for people’s back pain,” explains Tillotson.

ELDOA was the government’s way of helping people to avoid and alleviate that pain, while saving itself time and money, she says.

One reason patrons love coming to the center is the community they find there. “We’ve seen so many strong friendships develop, cultivated by us coming together and having fun,” says Tillotson.

“Several women this past year moved to the island from afar, and they knew nobody when they arrived. Then they found Still & Moving Center, which welcomed them with open arms, and they made all these friends and had activities to do with them. They’ve been getting healthier and more fit together.”