When it comes to the hula hoop, like yoga, kids are naturals. They pick it up fast and if they practice for just an hour total they will have more tricks than most adults who have been practicing for hours for a month.
My children watched me as I taught myself to hoop dance from Youtube videos. They have seen me bang up my face, bruise my arms, chest, legs and mark up the walls of our house. One day at least six months after I started my hula hooping adventure my son who was seven at the time said, “mom you got good”. At that moment I knew I had accomplished something and it was more than teaching my self to hoop dance. I was demonstrating right in our living room the “growth mindset” in action. Carol Dweck author of” Mindset – the psychology of success” says in her book; “The passion for stretching yourself and sticking to it, even (or especially) when it’s not going well, is the hallmark of the growth mindset.” When I first picked up the hoop I could not even spin it around my waist for more than three spins without it falling. Dweck also writes, “You have to apply your self each day to become a little better. By applying your self to the task of becoming a little better each and every day over a period of time you will become a lot better”. I did and now I can dance with my hoop for hours.
For me hula hooping is a fantastically fun way to move while developing my, “growth mind set” muscle. It just so happens to be a super fun activity to do with my kids. Giggles and hula hoops what could be better?
How does being pregnant affect the hooping experience? Is it a good idea to hoop while pregnant and what benefits, if any, will a hooper receive from continuing her hoop practice while growing another hooper in her body?
If a hooper falls pregnant some challenges that she may need to overcome to continue the hooping life are morning sickness(all day sickness), fatigue, growing abdomen, and loosening of ligaments (a normal occurrence in pregnancy that can make injuries easier and soreness more prevalent). Most physical activity is safe for pregnant women who have done that activity for a while before pregnancy, but it is always important for a pregnant woman to consult her doctor when participating in any physical activity when pregnant and for the 6 weeks following birth.
In my research of this topic and in my own experience as a pregnant hooper I have found that challenges presented when hooping pregnant are easily solved by:
1. Listening to the pregnant body by going at a pace that suits it best in its pregnancy state.
It is unanimous among pregnant hoopers that stamina is less than it was before pregnancy, and there is no use getting upset about it. Listen and adjust to your muscles especially when they are screaming at you. Forget about how it was to hoop before pregnancy and focus on hooping in the now. The reward to listening to your body and going at a pregnancy pace will be yours and your little hooper.
2. Using a lighter hoop and practicing more off the body tricks
Practicing with a smaller hoop can help with stamina, reduce muscle soreness and make for a more pleasant hooping experience while pregnant. I found pregnancy was the time for me to learn the Three Beat Weave with dual small hoops, to practice more off the body tricks and get really good with chest hooping reversals. Hoop practice is different while pregnant, I dont enjoy hooping in public as much in my pregnant state and I hoop for shorter sessions.
I am biased towards yoga, as a yoga practitioner and teacher. For me yoga helps me use my breath to open, release and strengthen over all while improving balance and physical awareness. If prenatal yoga is not your thing,a substantial session of educated stretching before hooping is just as good to prepare the body for the maneuvers it is about to endure. I have discovered the hard way, through three pregnancies, that the days of exercising cold must be suspended while in the pregnant condition or injuries will occur, especially in the second and in the third trimester.
Doctors encourage exercise throughout a normal pregnancy. It is well-known in this day and age that exercise during pregnancy is beneficial to mother and baby. According to the American Collegeof Obstetricians and Gynecologists:
”Exercise during pregnancy helps reduce backaches, constipation, bloating, and swelling, may help prevent or treat gestational diabetes, increases your energy, improves your mood, improves your posture, promotes muscle tone, strength, endurance, and helps you sleep better. Best of all exercise during pregnancy can help prepare you for labor and childbirth. Exercising afterward can help get you back in shape.” To me this is motivating information, but the greatest benefit is the positive mood exercise and hooping puts me in along with the rewards my body pays me from my investment.
Hoop dance can be a creative awakening of gyrations and innovative moves that unlock a sexy creative energy that may not have been known before picking up the hoop. Releasing our creative potential is exhilarating and a great desire to hoop any moment possible arises. We carry our hoops with us on vacation to parties, parks, to friends’ houses. We hope at some point in our day–every day, we will encounter a clear open space with music and maybe mirrors where we can practice our latest trick or just get some good hooping vibes moving. The love affair with having a strong sexy body from a fun the hoop practice does not have to stop while pregnant; it just might need to be modified a bit but the rewards are well worth it for you and your little hooper.
Hoopspiration 