Hoop Exploration 3 day workshop

http://www.facebook.com/events/128421917272635/ 

Finally a Hoop Retreat in Thailand!!! YES you read correctly!!! Jan. 3~6 ~ 2011~ 

11:am till 6:pm

Location Koh Phangan Haad Wynam...Thailand

Heads up Lovelies!! We are offering an early bird special and you can now get the whole workshop for 6300 THB, $201.00 US.... if you register now* ~ go to www.paypal.com send the deposit to snapdragonz@gmail.com. Remember to click the personal tab and gift- to avoid having to pay any additional fees.

all you need to know is on the flier above....The photos below is the location of the hoop workshop...AMAZING VIEW!!!! Location Location Location!!!!

I will post the registration link soon!!! hope to see all you Hooper's there!!!

 

Meet me on the Beach lets get your Hoop on!!!

Class Description:
Sharing the transformational art of Hoopnotica hoop dance to enhance health, creativity and well-being. I infuse each session with effective instructional language, a joyous and non-judgemental presence, and energy work.

Hula hooping is just child’s play. HUGE misconception! It’s now the latest fitness craze, with proven weight-loss results!

Come everyday at sunset from 5:30~7pm come and join me on the beach for the best workout EVER! I have many hoops so come and try it...they sell these at all the store's in Koh Samui, but the ones they sell are way too small for adults and they add water so it makes it much harder to learn..use one of mine, try before you buy..I can teach you it is so easy once you get it going...everyday I will be at the beach or at a local beach front restaurant weather permitting ...with great music..

contact me at Thehoopgoddess@me.com or call me at 086-270-6934 and I can tell you how to get where I'm at that day...and if I'm available.

I'm also available for private lessons, groups,resort spa's and more...

ck out the video below it will give you an idea of the exercise...you will love it!!!

you will burn 400~ 600 calories an hour!!!

also watch this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ethGHFjTReY

How to Exercise with a Hula Hoop

Once you've purchased the right size hoop, it's time to start the fun. If you used a hoop as a kid, it might not come back quite as easily as riding a bike, but with a little practice you'll get the hang of it.

Waist

The key is to put one foot in front of the other instead of standing with your feet side-by-side. Start with the hoop against your back at your waist. Give it a gentle push to start the rotation around your waist and shift your weight back and forth between your front and back foot to keep the hula hoop moving. Don't move your hips in a circle to keep it rotating because the opposite will happen. As you shift your weight back and forth, your hips make more of a rocking motion than a circular movement. Keeping the hoop twirling around your waist is the most important of the hula hoop exercises. In fact, if you're strictly using the hula hoop for exercise and don't have a lot of time, this is the only exercise that's needed. It can be used anywhere and your waistline will really show improvement as the unwanted fat burns off the midriff and the stomach muscles tighten.

Arms

To use the hula hoop to tone muscles in the arms, extend your arm to the side and roll the hoop around your arm in a circular motion. The idea is to keep the hoop moving around your arm. This exertion works to firm and melt body fat.

Hips

Stand in a standard position, but instead of spinning the hoop around your waist, work it around your hips. However, the standard around-the-waist position will help you lose off your hips, too.

Have Fun while burning calories!!!

 

Using a Hoopnotica hoop is a little different than the classic hula hoops you may remember as a child. These Adult hoops weigh around 1 pounds and because of the heavier weight, they rotate around the body more slowly, so even if you struggled to keep your hoop rotating as a kid, it should be easier with this heavier, larger version. At least that's what the manufacturers have to say; according to them, there are no worries about a lack of rhythm or being clumsy.

Benefits of Exercising With a Hoopnotica Hoop

Not only do the larger hoops give you a good cardiovascular workout, but using these hoops also:

• Massages your intestines and organs as it circles your waist
• Allows for meditative time
• Gets your heart rate up
• Increases the fitness level of the entire body
• Increases the flow of blood to the brain
• Increases energy level
• Improves coordination
• Strengthens torso muscles
• Enhances spinal flexibility

Dancing With Dopamine and Spinning to Serotonin

Dancing With Dopamine and Spinning to Serotonin

by Hooping.org columnist Lara Eastburn

The new hooper can’t bring themselves to put their hoop down. It can feel like falling in love for the first time all over again. For some, the euphoric feelings hooping provides will settle into a happy rhythm. Others discover that these feelings deepen intensely or gradually lessen over time. Every hooper is at least marginally aware of the uplifting effects hooping has on our moods. But perhaps fewer of us know why hooping makes us feel so good. And even fewer may understand how to keep those hooping-highs coming over the years. This week’s Hooposophy article offers 1) A layman’s guide to the science and sense behind what hooping does to and for your brain, and 2) Easy, practical tips for managing your mood from within the hoop.



The Science Behind the Practice

Many of us already know that our moods are produced by, and vacillate according to, a complex combination of neurochemicals in our brains. There are four big ones – for our purposes, we’ll call them the SEEDs – Serotonin, Epinephrine, Endorphins, and Dopamine. Each of these mood-determining neurochemicals comes into play when we exercise in any way at all. I’ll run through them quickly for the neuro-curious, but keep reading for my suspicions as to why hooping may deliver them in a near-perfect prescription!

Serotonin and Dopamine appear to be deeply connected. Serotonin provides feelings of satisfaction and comfort (after a good meal, a good workout, or time spent with good friends, for example). Dopamine is linked to the brain’s reward system. It tells you to do that feel-good thing again. These two will generally be produced together when you do something that feels awesome. They are also both decreased by chronic stress, anxiety, poor diet, substance abuse, or inactivity. Epinephrine manages your “flight-or-fight” response. Triggered during bursts of intense activity, it can be greatly depleted by our fast-paced, multi-tasking culture. But in healthy doses, it helps us keep going when we think we can’t. Endorphins, our body’s natural pain killer, are produced by regular, moderate activity, and are credited with the reduction of chronic physical pain when we are regularly active. They make us feel good by helping to heal our physical woes.

So, if all of these SEEDs for “feeling good” are produced when we are active and moving, does it matter what kind of movement we’re involved in? My research says it does! In order to mix the optimal (most balanced and longest lasting) neurochemical cocktail for happiness, the recipe seems to be: 30 minutes to an hour engaged in an activity of moderate intensity that you are likely to do often.

Now keep the science in mind while we throw in a dash or two of common sense and good-ol’ logic. Technically, if I walk on a treadmill at a good pace for 45 minutes most days of the week, I am fulfilling the neuro-requirements for a good mood. But if I take that 45 minute walk outside, or with a friend, I feel even better. And I don’t need a scientist to tell me that. So what gives? My guess … engaging with my surroundings and/or another human while getting my dopamine-serotonin fix on only amps up the feel-good efforts of my brain.

But wait, there’s more! Let’s say that to my 30-60 minutes of regular, moderate-intensity activity, I add my own deeply personal and unique creativity and expression, or play. If that’s true, then I’m either jogging while painting, writing music while doing jumping jacks, OR … baby, I’m dancing.

And let’s say I add to that neurochemical, engaged, and creative dancing frenzy … the most ancient, spiritual, and encompassing symbol of all time. Let’s imagine that I’m dancing inside, outside, within, without, and with … a circle. Aren’t I pouring the best of what my brain can chemically produce into a feedback loop that, across cultures and time, universally reflects unity, wholeness, and return to self? My magic 8 ball says “All signs point to YES!”



Getting the most out of your brain’s cocktail for happiness while hooping

So, if we can count hooping among the absolute best activities we can possibly do to maintain a stellar mood, then why do so many of us experience ups and downs with our hoops over the years? What can we do to keep the stream of hoopy feel-goodness coming strong and steady? The short answer is: keep doing it. And it may be the difference between folks who talk about their “hooping” and those who refer to their “practice.” If we listen to the wisest of our hooping elders, we learn that the biggest emotional, spiritual, and physical benefits to be gained from our dance come from making a commitment to show up and engage with it on a regular basis.

We all reach plateaus in hooping, right? Sometimes we feel we’ve learned all we can, and the magic seems to dwindle. Others get wrapped up in performing or teaching. And some just get frustrated with a movement or impatient with their progress. Sticking with it can sometimes just seem too hard or not worth it. For one reason or another, hoopers, like runners, inevitably hit a “wall.” But as runners can tell you, if you push through that wall, there’s a “high” like no other on the other side.

So what’s this hooper’s prescription for long-term hooping bliss? Develop a practice. Make a commitment to your hooping – whether it’s seven, 30 minute sessions a week or one – and show up for it. Every time. It doesn’t matter if you free-style, work on a routine, or spend the afternoon waist hooping. The science says that if you hoop consistently, you will consistently feel good.

In eight years, my own practice has gone from 4 hours a day to three sessions a week. My best hooping invariably comes (eventually) on the days when I really, really did not want to hoop, but did it anyway. What can you do when you’re sad, stressed, or lonely? Hoop, of course! Your brain doesn’t care so much if you nail that trick today. It just likes it when you hoop. And when you keep your promise to your practice … you remember that, oh yeah, you do, too.

Happy Hooping, family!

A Healing HoopDance Retreat at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health June 3-5, 2011

Holistic Hooping: A Healing HoopDance Retreat
at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health

June 3-5, 2011
-the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts

"Awaken your Divine Potential through HoopDance"
A spirit-centered 3-day journey of exploration, discovery and cultivation!

-Stretch, exercise, meditate, breathe, sweat and have fun!
-Raise your vibration, cultivate harmonic resonance, synchronize your being.
-Discover the spiral dynamics of a Spiritual Hoop Practice!

For More Information and To Register:
http://www.kripalu.org/program/view/HH-112/holistic_hooping_a_fusion_of_meditation_yoga_and

Sacred Cirularities Retreat in Bali March 12-20

I'm so excited about my first trip to Bali to attend a Hooping retreat!! offered by Sacred Circularities..Read all about it below!!! come join us!! I'm amazed at how all this happened with such synchronicity..I heard a cry out to hoop a few years ago and ignored the call, I have heard it now loud and clear and I'll be there with open heart and mind and hooping soul to surrender to the goddess within me to embrace all that this retreat has in stored for me...there are no coincidences ... I was meant to be here...are you? what a journey I'm on and having a blast!!

Sacred Circularities is a series of global projects which include movement retreats, workshops, and films designed to promote the return of ritual and sacred living to individuals and communities through the sacred art of hoop dance and other spiritual tools. Our mission is to assist in amplifying the energy of love needed to heal our lives and deepen our relationship and responsibility to our planet.

The Spiraling Universe
Circles and circular motions are a huge part of our lives. All the waves that occur in nature; sound waves, light waves, ocean waves, have their never-ending ebb and flow. Sacred Circularities celebrates this cycle by honoring and empowering our interconnections. Our gatherings create communities that through intention, practice, and love, offer another space where we can feel supported on our individual journeys. Where ever we gather, we bring with us the potential to activate and energize the power of our hearts for our own healing and the healing of the Earth. We believe that the willingness to commune and recognize our deep soul relationships motivates all of creation to assist us in our healing. Using the art of hoop dance as a sacred tool, we spin, dance and play replicating the ancient movement of planets and stars. We visit Earth Temples to acknowledge our roots. We pray together in gratitude for the sacred opportunity to be embodied and to experience the brilliance of life. We are Breath. We are Ocean. We are Earth. We are the Fire of Transformation in the interplay of life and death. We rejoice, understanding that the Eternal Spin is what we're in. Flow is the new Change.

Jaguar Mary, Primary Creatrix of Sacred Circularities

Jaguar Mary

Jaguar Mary (Possessor of Many Talents) is a hoop dancer, filmmaker, internet artist, healer, Conscious Creator, Shapeshifter, and Earthwalker from Washington, DC. She has been studying a variety of dance and movement forms for over 25 years. Her short films have shown at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the Havana and Johannesburg Biennials of Contemporary Art and other film venues throughout the world. Jaguar Mary co-produced poi artist's Nick Woolsey's DVD, "Adventures in Poi" and is currently co-producing a short film with the ETH Zurich about the Cortona Week project, a yearly residency for natural scientists, artists, and spiritual leaders. She has initiated and developed several internet-based projects including The Era of Change, which focuses on political change through human evolution, and The DC Hoop Collective, an on-line presence for Washington, DC's growing hoop and flow art community.

In the astral, Jaguar Mary enjoys moving between realms, gathering and supplying information that will support our ascension process. On paper, she has a Masters in Fine Art from the California Institute of the Arts and is certified in massage therapy and Reiki healing techniques. She is also a certified Hoop Dance instructor.

Free tutorials, Area Teacher Registry, Hoop News in the DC Area - www.dchoopcollective.com
Jaguar Mary on Facebook
Sacred Circularities on Facebook
Jaguar Mary on YouTube

Interview with Diana Defries by Janine Haynes

Diana Defries from Hoopswhirled is one of the UK's most prominent members of the hooping community and is known internationally for her involvement in the hoop dance industry and wants hooping to bring happiness to the world. She is the woman who organises amazing hoop dance based social events in fair old London town and is extremely sassy with her hoop dance skills! How lucky we are that she agreed to take the time to answer my Spirit Hoop Cake questions! You’re in for a treat, enjoy…







Diana, thank you for agreeing to answer some of my questions. Can you tell me about your introduction to hoop dance?

Following an accident in the gym when I injured my foot, I was working at home and concerned at the weight I was gaining through lack of exercise (I could just about hobble between my computer and the kitchen…!) One day I was searching the net and found an ad for a hoop. I believed that using a hoop might help me lose some of the excess pounds which had lodged firmly on my behind!

When I bought my first hoop, I had no idea what hoopdance was and I struggled just to keep the thing moving! Eventually (after lots of searching) I began to find a few videos showing various hoop moves and people dancing with their hoops, although nothing like the information that is available today! So my introduction to hoopdance was a virtual one.



What was it about hoop dance that attracted you to it?

From the outset, the spiralling vortices and flowing movement of hooping were surprisingly compelling. My rudimentary forays into hooping suggested it may offer more than just an alternative route to weight loss. Each tantalising glimpse of possibilities – just here and there - kept me coming back to the hoop. The more I find, the more there is to explore. The journey seems far more important than the destination – if indeed there is one.



How was your learning process initially? Were you self-taught, did you seek learning from others?

Self-taught at the outset, my initial learning process was solitary and sometimes frustrating. I learned slowly and gradually made discoveries about the relationship between me and my rainbow circle, long before I found videos and other information online. However the pace of learning did not matter to me as I was having so much fun! It was a process of rediscovering playful movement. Although I tried to find other hoopers in the UK, my initial searches were fruitless – it seemed that all the hoopers offering guidance were in the US. It was during those searches that I found out about Hoopgirl and her (then very new) teacher training program.



You have an interesting background relating to movement, dance and body conditioning, can you tell me about that and how your background aided your relationship with hoop dance?

My background includes ballet, tap and modern dance, as well as ice skating – which I took very seriously for a while, martial arts and bodybuilding. I was a competitive bodybuilder and also trained as a competition judge. During my bodybuilding years I was also a performer, actress and dancer.

All this experience has become a rich and varied resource for my own hoop practice and for my classes.



I’m also intrigued to have learned that you had no preference to the direction in which you hoop. If you can, can you explain how you’ve successfully managed to learn hooping in both directions with such ease and grace? What factors/ways of thinking/attitudes contributed to this?

You are very kind to describe me as hooping with ease and grace - it doesn’t always feel that way! Keeping the body balanced for optimum function has become very important to me and I was concerned that using a heavier hoop in one direction could create muscular imbalance. I also assumed that everyone hooped in both directions! So I learned to do each move in both directions, practicing as many permutations as I could find. While it seldom felt easy, and in many ways slowed the learning process, the net result is that I don’t really have a dominant direction, although it would be fair to say that my initial preference was to hoop clockwise and I sometimes default to that when I am tired or learning something new and challenging, although this is not always the case.



Did you master a new trick hooping in both directions from the outset, or did you learn a few moves in one direction before learning it in the other direction? Was your rate of learning in both directions equal or was one direction easier to negotiate than the other?

When I try (or discover) something new, I’ll most likely repeat it on whichever side I found/tried it until it makes sense and can be repeated. Once I can repeat it with some degree of consistency, I’ll switch to the other side / hand / opposite direction and try the move ‘the other way around’. While this may not work for everyone, I have found that this kind of switching between sides / directions helps embed a move or sequence more effectively. This was my approach from the start. Some moves remain stubbornly smoother one way than the other, although I’m working on that!



Can you offer any advice or tips to hoopers who struggle to hoop in their opposite direction?

Using hooping on the waist as an example, I guess the best thing is to remind yourself that, you are using the same muscles, the same bones, and the same brain – only the hoop direction has changed! To get used to a move in the less familiar direction, start by exploring the move in your stronger direction (dominant / inflow / first current). Focus on your breathing (are you holding your breath?) and notice whether you are tense and how you are holding your body. Become aware of your posture, the position of your head, where your hands are. Notice which foot is forward, see if you can feel your spine and pelvis and how they are moving. Familiar is outflow,e yourself with all your movements (and then take a moment to congratulate yourself on doing the move successfully). When you feel ready to try your non-dominant direction (non-dominant / outflow / second current), the key is to notice what changes as you explore the other direction and how those changes have affected the move. Are you leaning forward? Have you changed the way you are pushing the hoop? Do you need to change the position of your feet? Are you looking down and watching the hoop? Awareness of nuances of movement, and any postural changes you have made, will help you compare the two directions and make adjustments until they ‘match’. You can apply these principles to ‘off the body’ moves, too. Awareness is the key. Repetition with awareness will teach your body what it needs to know.



Do you have any particular hoop dance move that you like the most? What is it about that move that you like so much?

If I have to choose, then I’d pick hooping around the shoulders. It was very hard for me to learn and makes me smile every time I do it now!



I know that you’ve forged amazing relationships with some of the worlds best known hoop dancers like Diana Lopez and Christabel Zamor for example, how has both Christabel and Diana’s influence impacted on your outlook and approach to hoop dance teaching, performing and your own journey with the hoop?

Both Christabel and Diana are powerful women with a great deal to offer the world. Each of these teachers has helped me in different ways. Different teachers offer different perspectives which can be very helpful.

Hooping has changed my life in so many ways that it would take too long to go into all the details here, suffice to say that each of these teachers has given their time and knowledge very generously and provided inspiration and support for my own hoop journey. I am very grateful to them for their help and support along the way.



Hoop dance has had a huge profile in America, do you think the UK is ready to embrace hoop dance in the way that it has been in the States? If not, why not? What is it about hoop dance that sometimes causes reticence to those unfamiliar to it? How can hoop dance be more digestible to the mainstream market in the UK?

Traditionally, we Brits are often up to 10 years behind the States in taking up trends, so hoopdance is doing quite well, really! People need to experience hooping and hoopdance in order to understand the appeal and change their perception that hoops are only for children. Perhaps thinking of hoops as toys is what puts some people off. It is up to us, as hoopdancers, to show those with reservations just how much fun they are missing. No-one should be forced to do anything they don’t want to do, but folks can sometimes be encouraged to try something new if it looks like fun. To that end ‘taster’ hoop events and similar occasions can offer an opportunity to entice others into the joy of the hoop. Whether it will ever become ‘mainstream’ is difficult to say.



How do the attitudes towards hooping in the USA differ from that of the UK?

We sometimes get the impression that ‘everyone’ in the USA is hooping, but I don’t think that is generally true. Hoopers are in the minority. People are still discovering hoopdance on both sides of the Atlantic. Hooping will probably remain a minority activity, so it is difficult for me to give a definitive reason for variations in attitudes to hooping either here or across the pond... Perhaps we simply need to acknowledge that each of us is unique and accept those differences we encounter as part of life’s rich tapestry!



Hoop dance sits in two camps predominantly both as a dance/movement form and as an exercise practice. In my limited experience some gym members find it too much of a low impact sport, can you detail how hoop dance is a viable exercise approach? How does it aid body conditioning and specifically how does it function as a cardiovascular exercise?

Exercise aficionados often want to ‘feel the burn’ as an indicator that they have worked hard. Hooping is a low-impact activity for a beginner and, as such, less likely to release sufficient lactic acid to produce a ‘burn’. However, the benefits of hooping as an effective cardio-vascular fitness builder should not be underestimated. Waist hooping works very specifically on the core by tightening and conditioning those areas which support our day to day health and function. Additional benefits from hoopdance (on and of the body moves and flowing between the two) include improved coordination and balance, a more flexible spine, better reflexes and enhanced spatial awareness. Hand hooping can exercise the shoulders, arms and back muscles and passing the hoop under each leg and around the body helps energise the limbs and improve circulation. Hooping can be as intense as your body will allow.



It is worth remembering, however, that anything practiced regularly will have an effect on the body, whether that activity is yoga, stretching, rock climbing or hooping.



How has hoop dance impacted on your life? What benefits has hoop dance had on your physique?

Hooping/hoopdance has changed my life. What began as rehabilitation has become a regular discipline that provides a place of salvation, a source of joy and a means to combat those moments when life can be intensely challenging. My hoop is a tool for personal growth and change, as well as being a companion in the dance of life. Aside from the considerable psychological and emotional benefits, I have found my way back to being nearly as fit as I was before the injury. I have lost a good percentage of the excess weight I gained, become more flexible, and reconnected with a profound sense of physical self-awareness and the joy of being alive and expressing that joy through movement.



You successfully run one of the best hoop dance social events at your Sunday Hoop Club and I’ve forged many friendships and had so much fun from having attended, what gave you the idea to run the monthly hoop club and over the period of time it’s been in existence how have you seen it grow and develop?

The Hoop Club began as an idea to help hoopers connect. There had been a few attempts at outdoor gatherings during 2007, but the excessively wet weather soon put the kibosh on any grandiose plans. Jackson’s Lane had been closed for major refurbishment since the end of 2006, and I booked space for the very first Hoop Club as soon as I realised it had reopened. At first I thought it would be difficult to find hoopers who would be interested, but more and more people have appeared each month. People have met at the Sunday Hoop Club and become good friends. It has been a joyful privilege to offer a special space for hooping and watch this event take on a life of its own. I’m very grateful to the hoopers who have supported the event, enabling my initial concept to grow into a regular event people enjoy and look forward to. I’m excited to see what it will become during the coming year.



I know that you inspire other hoopers with your skills as a hoop dancer and as a teacher. Who inspires you and is there any performance of hoop dance that particularly took your breath away?

Thank you - I am inspired by all kind of hoopers: those who are well known and loved who hoop with style and grace, as well as those who are innovative and energetic showing exuberance and flexibility.

I am also inspired by those who struggle to achieve the most basic moves – the sense of joy when a new hooper ‘gets’ a move for the first time is incredible. There are more and more amazing performances being posted online and I’m reluctant to single out just one – hoopers inspire one another.



There is a lot of hula aerobics about at the moment too, in your opinion what separates hoop dance from hula aerobics? How are the benefits different?

Hmmm….My understanding of hula aerobics is that it comprises mainly ‘on the body’ hooping, while hoopdance is a broad flow of moves both on an off the body. The first is more about burning calories and trimming the waist. The second offers the same benefits combined with a sense of flow and being present ‘in the moment’. Ultimately the benefits could be seen as being broadly similar, but hula aerobics lacks the complexity of hoopdance and is probably better suited to gym classes.



I’ve noticed that there’s a big difference between teaching children and adults. Children seem a lot more fearless than adults in their approach to learning, do you think there is any reason for this?

We learn to be afraid as we grow up. You have only to watch an infant learning to walk to recognise utter single-minded, fearless determination. Small children don’t care about making mistakes. They have no concept of ‘failure’ - they just keep trying to walk until they can do it. This is the purest form of learning – just keep doing it… until you are ‘doing it’! On the other hand, adult learners want to be perfect immediately. They fear ridicule and being ‘not good enough’. This ‘adult learner syndrome’ varies from one learner to another. It seems we adults have forgotten how often we tumbled as we learned to walk. Remembering how we each successfully overcame that early challenge can be a useful way to combat the tendency to give up when perfection is not achieved on the first attempt.



Music is the back drop to hoop dance, what tunes excite your hoop dance experience at the moment?

My musical tastes are best described as eclectic. I’m always looking for new music for classes and often listen to music with the hoop in mind. The best pace for classes seems to be around 130-135bpm, but this is by no means the only pace that works. I love hooping to music by different artists – anything from Leftfield to Annie Lennox, System 7, Massive Attack or Moby, to name but a few. As with many things, the mood I am in prior to hooping dictates what I play when I practise. I prefer music with layered complexity rather than more simplistic pop tunes.



I’ve been a big fan of your website and really love the section about world hoop day, I didn’t know about it to attend this year, can you tell me what I missed out on and how the popularity of this event is growing? Do you think we’ll succeed in the vision of world hoop day which is to have the “Whole World Hooping” by 2012?

World Hoop Day provides a broad umbrella for the altruistic sharing of hoop ideals and activities throughout the globe. The challenge we face in the UK is usually wet or windy weather, so ideally we need to find somewhere large enough to accommodate lots of hoopers but sufficiently weatherproof to withstand the changeable climate. It would be wonderful to have the whole world hooping on 121212 and collective effort is probably the only way! Next WHD is on 090909 and the sooner we put the plans together, the more likely we are to make it a success here in the UK.



I really enjoy your themed hoop events like your Halloween party and your Xmas themed hoop club, what exciting Hoopswhirled things have you got up your sleeve for 2009 that you can tempt us with?

Hooping brings out the child in each of us and children love dressing up, which is why I like themed events (any excuse to dress up!!) I have some ideas for events in 2009 and will let everyone know when they take shape – details will appear online (Tribe, Facebook etc) and, of course, on my website: www.hoopswhirled.com

Tutorial: Ann Humphreys takes us to “Outer Space”!

Tutorial: Ann Humphreys takes us to “Outer Space”!

When you’re hooping, do you ever feel like you’re just doing the same movements over and over again? You’re doing the things that you’re comfortable with, but you get this feeling like you’re stuck….

For me, that seems to be somewhat of a persistent feeling this time of year. Bitter cold temperatures (not to mention the disheartening ice and snow that I’m soooo sick of!), plus the limited space and time to hoop have been fighting against my hoop dance creativity.

So when I’m in a rut, I try to look for inspiring videos to perk me up.

I came across this video awhile ago, and I’ll be honest, I didn’t think it was inspiring. I watched it for like a minute and then I passed it up. But I’ll tell you my thoughts on why I personally and initially passed it up. No. 1: It’s 12 minutes long. Do I really have 12 minutes to watch a YouTube video? That’s a pretty long video in YouTube world. No. 2: This is probably going to be about meditating or something. Maybe I’ll get there someday, but I just don’t consider myself a meditative hooper right now. Thus, why I thought it wasn’t for me.

But I came across it again, on a day where I just felt like I needed to watch a video about hooping process.

And I gave it a shot. What changed here is I hooped while I watched the video. For this tutorial, I didn’t need to have a lot of space in order to experience, so I didn’t have to wait for a hoop jam night to try it out (gone was the fear of breaking something or annoying someone with my loud banging noises). So it was kind of more meaningful to go thru it while I watched the video.

Ann guides you through the process of exploring your “outer space”; the negative space outside the hoop.

It was a good little workshop. It actually heightened my awareness and challenged me…following the current of the hoop or letting the hoop just spin around me, I was thinking how can I stretch, flow, capture, bend in the space outside the hoop. I dunno, it’s kind of hard to explain what was going on there, but it was refreshing.

And I also learned that I REALLY need to work on my outflow. Or right current…or whatever anybody calls it. The opposite direction of your dominant flow, is what it comes down to.

So, if you’re in a funk and just need a lil something to challenge you hoop-wise, I recommend this “tutorial”. I say tutorial only because that’s what the video is labeled as, but I like to think of it as a mini workshop.

I challenge you to blast off into your “outer space”! It’ll be stellar! Maybe you’ll come up with a move called the big dipper?!I promise you won’t get mercury poisoning! Okay enough with the space puns. They are bad.

I went to the planetarium on Friday. It sort of stuck with me in a weird way, I guess.



Well, Happy Hooping! I’d love to hear about your adventures in “outer space”!

(I will be attending the Sacred Circularities and I can't wait to meet Ann, Jocelyn, Jaguar Mary....Donna)

by Rachel from http://www.hooppretty.com/

Holistic Hoopology

Holistic Hoopology is the study of the hoop, incorporating a holistic approach to physical, emotional and spiritual health.

We would like to share some of the basic concepts integrated in Holistic Hoopology, introducing some of the theories and terminology that are fundamental in understanding its' principles.

Holistic Health- is an approach to how treatment should be applied. Holistic concepts of health and fitness view achieving and maintaining good health as requiring more than just taking care of the various singular components that make up the physical body, additionally incorporating aspects such as emotional and spiritual well-being. The goal is a wellness that encompasses the entire person. -Wikipedia

Healing- to make whole or balanced, by removing obstructions in energy, balancing energy, and channeling universal healing energy.

Wholeness- a unified entity or system; a complete organism, including spiritual, emotional, physical and mental bodies.

Holistic (Therapeutic) Hooping- the use of one's own localized energy field, along with a holistic hoop as an instrument to balance areas within one's own field that are obstructed or disordered, through the use of conscious intent; one can become a grouded, focused conduit for universal healing energy, resulting in an increase in one's own wellbeing.

Body, mind and spirit are not separate entities, but different energy frequencies that are continually interacting. For the purpose of explaining some of the philosophies of Holistic Hoopology, let us explore each aspect of the whole.

BODY:
Holistic Hoopology recognizes hooping for its' physical health benefits. One can utilize the hoop as an exercise tool for various purposes.

It can be used as a yoga prop to do hoop yoga. Along with intentional breath we can stretch and elongate muscles. Slow moving poses held for an extended period of time can bring the same benefits that traditional yoga does. Kara Spencer from Mandala Hoops tells us that, "movement and breath coordinate to nurture the flexibility of the spine, strengthen the core musculature of the torso, and promote integral function of the organs. Just as yoga can nurture improved flexibility, strength and posture- so too can hooping."

Hooping speeds up your heart rate, increasing cardiovascular activity and promoting healthy circulation throughout the body. Through isolated movements of the neck, chest, belly, hips, thighs, legs and arms, you flex and contract entire muscle groups: strengthening and toning them; working out your entire body. It also helps you improve your balance and coordination. Hooping massages internal organs, revitalizing them, while releasing toxins to be flushed away.

The rhythmically undulating motion of the body within the hoop returns us to a state of fluid motion, reminiscent of the womb. Spreading a sense of relaxation throughout the body, calming the nervous system, loosening tight muscles caused by tension, stress and anxiety. It is said that you can burn 100 calories for every 10-minutes of hooping- it also increases your metabolic rate, which aids in the break down fat deposits and promotes regular digestion. Hooping facilitates an increase in physical energy as well by releasing crucial endorphins into the body during exercise.
All of the physical benefits of hooping contribute to an overall sense of well being.

MIND:
Utilizing your personal spiraling vortex for increasing psychological health is another element of Holistic Hoopology.

With hooping, one can naturally reach Alpha-Theta level brainwaves, which support inspired and creative meditative states. Therefore, hooping can be a meditation- one in which we can set positive intentions for what we want to manifest in our lives. The hoop creates a 'sacred space' for us to journey within, connecting us more deeply with our higher self and divine purpose in life. If we can think it, and believe it, it will manifest!

We can use our hoop practice as a time for personal reflection- where we can make the conscious decision to release what is no longer serving our higher purpose, creating room to invite new positive thought processes and actions in to our being. Using the hoop as a funnel, we can channel positive Universal Healing Energy in to our mind, body and spirit. With clear intentions set, one can benefit in a number of ways- relaxing/clearing the mind, relieving anxiety/tension, reducing headaches/fatigue and enhancing mental focus, contributing to an overall sense of well being.

SPIRIT:
Holistic Hoopology acknowledges that there are also metaphysical benefits of hooping as well. Our spirits are greatly affected by positive experiences, and what is one of the most positive experiences one can have? An ecstatic experience, filled with joy and laughter.

"In the American Journal of Medicine it is found that laughter increases secretion of catecholamine and endorphins, which, in turn increases oxygenation of the blood, relaxes the arteries, speeds up the heart, decreases blood pressure, which has a positive effect on
all cardiovascular and respiratory ailments, as well as overall increasing the immune system response." -Patch Adams

The hoop can bring the positive energy of laughter in to your life. A well-known aphrodisiac, laughter can be very healing for the body, mind and spirit. It rejuvenates us in the most amazing ways, radiating joy from every cell increases vitality and euphoria.

When you are laughing, you are expressing happiness and let's face it- happiness is the ultimate/end goal of life- the result of love, abundance, prosperity, joy, compassion, faith and more.

Hooping unites breath and movement synergistically, allowing your chi (life force) energy to flow more freely. You can ground, center and harmonize your energy to become more balanced, focused and clear. The hoop can be used as a catalyst for moving your Kundalini energy, aligning your charkas and cleansing your aura. Opening your channel to the divine healing energy of the Universe and connecting you more deeply to your own inner rhythms.

Increasing consciousness and illuminating the spirit- you may find yourself doing what the knowledgeable Ghandi says, "be the change you want to see in the world". And this is an important intention because an individual's personal/spiritual transformation brings us all one-step closer to Global transformation.

Body, Mind & Spirit:
Holistic Hoopology focuses on the healthy aspects and healing benefits of hooping. Taking into consideration all three frequencies of human beings- the mind, body and spirit. Striking a balance between them all is what holistic health is all about. Hooping can help you find that balance on your path. Transformation is possible!


Although the healing powers of the hoop are apparent for almost anyone that picks one up and gives it a whirl. We wanted to go one-step further- to generate a way to increase the healing potential of the hoopdancer, the first Holistic Hoop was crafted. Infusing the hoop with healing ingredients- crushed crystals/stones/minerals, essential oils/herbs/essences and hand-written positive affirmations- producing a mini altar or medicine wheel, thereby increasing the positive energy within the hoop vortex. Our trademark Holistic Hoops have been said to amplify one's intentions, resulting in an elevated experience that fosters health, happiness, wellbeing and wholeness. Hence, from our study of the Holistic Hoop, incorporating a holistic approach to physical, emotional and spiritual health; Holistic Hoopology was born.
And it continues to transform and expand with each passing year.

Thank you for allowing me to share a tiny bit of the vision, and I look forward to sharing more with you in the future!

Hoop all is well in your whirled!

Here's to your Health and Happiness,
Kandice Korves-Kaus
Founder, Holistic Hoopologist

and The Holistic Hooping Team
HOLISTIC HOOPOLOGY 101
(Revised article written by Kandice
for The Ray Magazine in 2003.)
http://holistichooping.com/

Is hula hooping a good cardio workout?

I am trying to get a flatter stomach and I have a planner telling me what to do each day and for today it said 30 mins. of cardio and I heard hula hooping was a good cardio workout for your abs is that true?

Hoopdance is an energizing, fat burning cardio and core building hula hoop workout that is effective, fun and encourages creative self-expression! You will be introduced to the skill of spinning a specialised weighted fitness hoop and blending hula hooping with elements of dance and fitness. Hoopdance is easy to learn, empowering and promises a strong sculpted body.

Benefits of Learning to Hoop:
boosts cardiovascular endurance
speeds weight loss | strengthens abdominal
sculpts thighs, buttocks and arms
increases energy | boosts libido
builds core strength | relieves stress
enhances flexibility | develops balance and coordination
saturates the body with energy | quiets the mind
enhances creativity | instills confidence
burns up to 600 calories per hour
& its fun!!

The Good Vibe Hoop Tribe

I love this so much what great costumes...I would love to design them and sell them...

HOOP video sketchbook

Dance is an art form often discussed in terms of its complexity and mystery. “How can we know the dancer from the dance?” W.B. Yeats famously asked. One wonders, then, what he would make of dance film. For when you add a second layer—the dance of a director’s eye and viewfinder around the dancer—you get an even more elaborate set of artistic relationships. It’s in this genre that Canadian filmmaker Marites Carino is gaining national and international attention.

• In Canadian film’s small world, creators and critics are too close for comfort
• How film festivals like TIFF can end up hurting indie movies
• Mainstream success threatens cult cinema’s sleazy charm

Also known as dance for camera, dance film “is two choreographies in one,” Carino explains by phone from Montreal’s Mile End, where she runs the production company Video Signatures. For example, in her most recent dance film, HOOP, which explores the relationship of a single performer with a seemingly simple child’s toy, dancer Rebecca Halls choreographed her steps while Carino’s task was to choreograph the camera’s movement around her, creating the composition of shots and the film’s overall structure. “HOOP isn’t a normal kind of dance film compared to anything else I’ve seen,” Carino admits. “Let’s face it—contemporary dance, it ain’t accessible to the average Joe. I want to appeal to people not just with a dance background. I have a dance background, but I’m also trained to tell stories through journalism, and I’m interested in creating a more photographic kind of environment.” As a result, you could pull out any of HOOP’s frames and hang it on your wall, yet the film as a whole remains fluid and expressive.
Carino’s camerawork communicates the themes— disorientation, fragmentation, suspension, perception, progression—in how it reveals the dancer’s interaction with space, with the hoops, and with her own body within those elements. The film is playful, tender, sensual, ecstatic. Many scenes, like a suspended hoop tunnel or the dancer’s legs floating in mid-air, leave you wondering how the effect was achieved.
“I felt like a magician working backwards,” Carino says of the intense planning, noting it is something you could never replicate in a live show.
All of Carino’s experience comes to bear behind her cinematic composition. Trained in ballet and contemporary dance, she has a postgraduate degree in broadcast journalism and several documentary films, in addition to the dance films, under her belt.
Carino’s unique blend of talents has the Canadian and international dance film communities taking notice. Commissioned by Canada’s Bravo!FACT program in 2009, HOOP earned Carino an artist residency last year as part of the DANCE MOViES Commission at the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC) in Troy, New York. It screened at the Cinedans festival in Amsterdam late last year, and will be at the Dance on Camera Festival at New York’s Lincoln Center this month. Heady stuff for a self-described ballet “bunhead” from Saskatoon.
“I feel like I’m finally going somewhere,” Carino says. “Doing this on your own can be very lonely, but at the residency I felt like an artistic princess!” Her experience of what’s possible with professional resources means she’s now hoping for a HOOP follow up. She’s shy with the details, but hints it will have to do with fire hoops and Iceland.
In the meantime, however, it’s a life of pitching and proposals, and waiting. “I want to do more,” Carino sighs, “but there are so many hoops to go through.” Pause. “I didn’t even mean to make that pun.”

By Amy Reiswig

Gotta Hoop

I love this video because everyone has had days that they count the min till they leave work...and I love the freedom the Hoop gives you to forget about taking the bus home and just walking it home....and to top it off it is a man hooping all his tricks going home listening to his music and having a ball...loved it!!!