Beginner Tips

So while you're hooping move your body. Get loose. Don't allow yourself to hold tension in your upper body. Shake it out. All kinds of ways. Lift up your arms. Circle them around. Twirl your wrists in circles. Doing circles with your hands and arms echoes the circularity of the hoops motion and informs fluidity. Circular motion that inspires those new neuropathways you are initiating and building.

Try spinning suddenly in the hoop. Its called a stall. See how the body grabs the hoop and moves along with it and the hoop seems to suspend. COOL! Do it again and again. That grab is the "flick" or the "swipe" as I call it. That is another way to drive the hoop. You turn your body just enough to grab and move it on its way. You'll notice one of the constants is how we hoopers turn or spin while hooping.
So try to rotate inside the hoop (while hooping). Do it in the same direction as the hoop is going and maybe start in baby steps. Now turn the other way - into or against the hoop motion. Notice the difference.

Another drill - get once you get your flow hold your arms out straight to either side. Now slowly rotate your upper torso in the direction the hoop is going. Keep your feet planted and your hips steady and unturning. Turn back to center. Then carefully turn the other way, against the hoop's direction. Do you feel what's happening there?

Whenever you do or feel something surprising see if you can find it again. Try to feel it again dont try to understand it just go for the feeling. If you cant do it now you'll notice it next time it happens. THat's neuroplasticity at work.

New Hooper Practice Tips

I'm trying to add a video here but somethings broken on the editor so until I get that answered I'll add something daily. You can ask questions and I'll put up suggestions and ideas and drills etc.
Happy Hoopin!
Try to feel from where on your body you might be driving the hoop.
There is no right answer here. In the beginning it might feel ambiguous. And it changes. Or it SHOULD change. You should try different driving points. Common point of drive are the stomach, and at the hip on the side where the hoop is first crossing to the front of your body. It changes of course when you change hoop directions - you know, hooping in the "opposite direction". You'll probably find that you are using the opposite hip.
So try to drive or contact or push the hoop from different points around your waist or hips just see what you get.

Often people ask -"WHy is the hoop going around at an angle?"
One hint is - if you are really pushing the hoop from one point on your body, say, your stomach that can be the high point on the hoop. What I mean here is...the hoop can go around your body evenly and parallel to the floor or it can revolve at more of an angle. So the high point in the angle of the revolution can often be the spot you are pushing it from.
If you push push push the hoop at each revolution from your stomach, the hoop tips up at that point. You are actually gradually nudging it along to the angle you want. You can use this technique to bring the hoop up your chest. Or to do the BootyBump.

A New Source of Energy

The ACE MV intro to Hooping meets this Thursday November 12th. Due to a cancellation we have room for one more. This is a two hour class that gives us time to get familiar with the wide range of benefits that the hoop will give you if you learn to listen to the hoop. Listening to the hoop is feeling the hoop. Why not look at it this way to get the most out of your practice. Circular motion is the engine that drives the universe and the spiral is the expanding of that motion. You're in the middle of a Chi generator.

Sign ups soon for the next round at ACE MV. This will be a 4 lesson package. Dates to be announced soon. Sign up is limited so get on it!

Go to ACE to find out about all the classes being offered.