What do you do when you drop your hoop? I saw this as a Facebook post from Hoop Girl a while ago. She posted the question and her response was something to do with spanking her own behind while covering her mouth with her other hand…..I know at least one guy who would love this.
If you want to be a good hoop dancer than you better be dropping your hoop, a lot. Taking risks and perfecting difficult moves means dropping the hoop. The only mistake you can make is not picking your hoop again. I was hooping at muscle beach in LA one sunny Sunday afternoon in the summer. I was on the green filled with acrobats practicing their craft. My hoop was a – flying and not on purpose, I even hit a few people, which I don’t recommend. What I remember from that day was how much fun I had and how much better I got from that hoop practice. That experience took my hooping to the next level because I was not afraid to mess up.
Like my yoga practice I call my hula hooping sessions “hoop practice” because that’s what I am doing, practicing , (unless I am performing). Hoop practice allows me a humble approach to perfecting the living art of hula hoop dancing. When I drop my hoop in a performance or in hoop practice I pick it up and I keep smiling and hooping.
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.
How can you be in the best physical condition for hooping?
Physically hooping makes the body stronger, muscles and joints are strengthened by the actions of hoop dancing. Mentally hoping helps peripheral vision, balance, focus, and the ability to learn new things. In my experience hooping is a great exercise and is even better when combined with other physical activities such as yoga and cardiovascular training. Setting our bodies up to be in perfect condition for hooping creates an even more euphoric hooping experience and for me a more beautiful hoop dance.
As a long time yoga practitioner and teacher I have noticed my daily yoga practice has evolved to aid my hooping practice. Many days I will include my hoop in every pose just to stay connected to my hoop instrument. I have heard from many of my yoga teachers over the years than a 20 minute daily yoga practice is better than going to a 1 ½ hour yoga class three times a week.
Bunny Hoop Star so eloquently put it ” .. hooping and yoga go hand in hand. It’s about anchoring into your core strength, finding balance, powerful and free-flowing breath and that space of peaceful ease that allows you to explore the full realm of the practice”.
Balance, muscle strength, focus, breath control, flexibility all receive a tune up from yoga practice. Make it consistent and daily, even just twenty minutes, and receive even more benefits.
If yoga is new to you try a very beginner class to get acquainted with some of the stretched. When conditioning our bodies and minds with yoga it is best to listen closely to the body and only stretch to what feel like your edge. I always tell my yoga students to go at their pace and move with their breath. The breath is an important component in lengthening and strengthen the body.
If you spend a lot of time learning new hoop tricks you might be surprised what 20 minutes as day of stretching will offer your hoop practice.
Hoopspiration 