Valentine’s Day 2012 @ The Birchmere
Join the world famous Pontani Sisters, the Maine Attraction, Strange Powers, and more special guests for a romantic holiday evening set to sultry jazz favorites with a beauteous burlesque bent. Hooping like you’ve never seen sexy hooping before: set to live jazz music! At the Birchmere Music Hall. Show details: 7:30 pm on 14 February, 2012, Alexandria, VA. Click here for purchasing tickets, and we’ll see you on V-Day for Burlesque-A-Pades delight!
Get a Hoop or Two for the Holidays!
Contact the Hooping Powers team from our CONTACT page TODAY to order your hoop for the holidays or in time for the super pop New Year’s Resolution of more exercise (read: PLAY!). Hoops for tots to elders are available in many colors, weights, and designs. Mini hoops start around $12/each for a set of two, and large & in charge heavy hoops are up to $40. Generally adult-friendly variety hoops are $30-$35. You can also purchase untaped rings and decorate it yourself for a fun solo or intergenerational project during the school vacay days. Untaped rings are $4 to $10, depending on the size & weight of material. Hooping makes EVERYTHING better. Try it and see for yourself! <3
Ottobar Show This Saturday: 12.10.11
Friends! Hoop-Lovers! Holiday-Lovers! Burlesque-Lovers! Come out to Baltimore’s Ottobar club this coming Saturday for a rare B’more treat: The World Famous Pontani Sisters from NYC will be gracing the stage in all of their foxy adorableness. The italian stallionettes will present their seasonal revue: BURLESQUE-A-PADES, HOLIDAY INN! And, in addition to the reigning queen of burlesque & real deal beauty herself: Miss Angie Pontani, joining the fun will be the tres talented tap dancin tornado: Helen Pontani, the great deceiver from Ripley’s Believe it or Not: Albert Cadabra, Baltimore’s boylesque starlet: Paco Fish, and yours truly, Strange Powers, holding it down and all around in the sexy circle… In sum, a veritable cavalcade of gifted hotness upon which to feast your eyes and ring your bells. Doors open at 8pm, show is at 9pm, 18+ years of age & $15 to enter. Get your tickets here and see you THERE!
Foto~Circular #8- Las ‘Upas,’ Las Gaviotas, y La Luna
A beautiful, striking shot my friend Ricardo captured during my stay in Valdivia, southern Chile, a couple of years ago. The seagulls (las gaviotas) were migrating and can be seen as a wispy shadow above my hoops (mi palabra= upas) held high, with the moon (la luna) prettily peering out, too. <3
Hooping for Social Justice
The revolution may or may not be televised, but it will most definitely be social-networkified, and it will ONE HUNDRED PERCENT be hoola hooped! Hooping was, is, and will always will be for me a true act of revolution~ not only of the physical variety (which is so infinitely cool) but also for the plight of oppressed peoples who need a lift, a jolt of joy, and a big boost of community momentum. Real and large-scale social change is taking place in our country, the colonizing capital of our planet~ having begun a month ago in New York City with the tremendous Occupy Wall Street movement. Masses of people are rising up in frustration, desperation, compassion, and all in the spirit of non-violent, loving-kindness with a vision of major paradigm shifting. Hoopers are among the many brave ones taking to the streets and inundating social media networks with coverage of what’s actually happening. It’s so easy to get stuck in our analytical, overwhelmed heads these days, amidst the traumatic events, economic crises, and environmental disasters taking place across the world. A hoop can help with this worrisome tendency. Hooping is an immediate source of grounding into ourselves, flexing & strengthening our muscles, and feeling the full range of motion our bodies will allow. Hooping also quickly unblocks stagnant energy channels and returns them to their natural states of flow. It is no wonder that so many hoopers are hip (pun noted) to the greater socio-economic revolution taking place right here, right now. As a general truth, hoopers are community-oriented, justice-centered, optimistic, super flexible, and (as an added bonus:) truly in our bodies. A superb recipe for a revolutionist, I do believe. AND HOOPING IS FUN! Super fun! Plus it keeps you well & feeling frisky. Consider organizing groups of hoopers to take to the streets, not only amongst all of the awesome ‘OCCUPY’ movements happening across the country and planet, but just to walk the walk and spin the circle in united communal fashion wherever you may find yourself, and in doing so draw magnetic attention to this overarching concept of REVOLUTION. There are groups sprouting up all over to hoop for peace and social justice. Tisha Marina, pictured above, has been holding it down with the hoop in LA for a number of years, successfully using our beloved circle as a means for social change. As my dear hooper friend Jaguar Mary likes to say: “Flow is the new Change.” Today I think we can safely add that: “Change is the new Flow.” Welcome to the age of Aquarius and the return to human decency. And let us all hoopdance to celebrate!
Spin Art is Hooptastic Fun!
I cannot believe that I did not know about spin art until this week of my life. Not only am I a hooper (so naturally obsessed with mandalas and all things that orbit) but I had never set mine eyes on a spin art machine, much less even heard of it until I got a chance to see one in action at a camp where I taught hoopdance last week. After we’d wrapped up our hooping, I saw all the youth bustling in a far corner of the retreat space, and when I followed them over I found several gorgeous, bright-colored, circular-blasted paintings hanging to dry and a sweet older fellow helping folks one by one, affix their paper canvases to the inside of the spin machine and go to town on creating their prize paintings. Apparently this man had found an heavy-duty grade spin art machine at an estate sale and took time to clean it up and get it running well, and then volunteered his time to spread the spin art love with these young campers. What a splendid combination of activities for a youth (or any age!) camp~ hooping AND spin art… when I mentioned the natural association, people said they hadn’t until then thought of them being related. Well I’ll be! I want to spin more art! Pictured is the one I did very quickly just before departing… I shall name it ‘Spin Rising.’ : )
Musically-Inspired HoopDance
Over the last few months, no doubt thanks in large part to the incredible musical offerings of the MXP drum circle players on Sunday afternoons, I have been able to fuse my hooping with my dancing more and more seamlessly each time I enter the ring. Hoop-Dance fusion has always been my favorite ’style’ of hooping (vs. being a trick monkey or exercise monkey, e.g.)~ and now that I’m getting better at it, I like it even more! While I’m enjoying newfound levels of pleasure and skill in this realm, I am concurrently developing ways of how to easily instruct folks in the art of ‘hoopdance musicality.’ We are in the process of lining up some dates for fall classes and workshops~ where we will definitely be working on techniques to better bridge the gap that frequently exists between a person’s hooping and the accompanying music. If you are interested in enhancing your own hoopdance musicality, please do message us from the contact page and we’ll keep you abreast of class information as it solidifies. The shot above is of several hoopers feelin the beat with drummers backs barely visible to the left and in the far center background the Joan of Arc on horse statue that presides over the southern end of this most magical spot in our nation’s capital. Do come out tomorrow and join us! Drumming begins around 3:00, is LIVE BY FIVE, and wraps up by 9pm~
Squashportation
My dear friends were such good sports taking the back seat of my auto with hoops monopolizing most of the space en route to our afternoon park-time. Tis the life of the hoop lovers~ we’ve gotta share our space and hoop love, at pretty much any cost. : )
Sage~Hooping
Recently I was lighting some cleansing sage (a.k.a. salvia apiana) in my oh-so-woo-ish way and popped outside for a quick spin with the hoop~ I kept the burning sage in my hand as I twisted within the infinite ring~ spinning my torso both counter-directionally from it- and then also conjoined in a sustained spin… a flowing, scented dance. Twisting as the ring surrounded my torso while burning sage in hand proved to be a great way to combine multiple senses (touch, scent or aromatherapy, movement & vision) and hence to combine powerful healing modalities. Over a number of years I have professed hooping to be a highly ‘neurobic’ activity- combining use of our senses in novel & interesting ways to help increase our brain wellness. For those of us who’ve been hooping now for quite a while- I believe we are wise to find creative ways of making our hooping practice stay novel & therefore, neurobic. I purport that adding scent inhalation to your hoop-experience is one such way. According to Wikipedia, the term ‘neurobics’ was coined by late neurobiologist & author Lawrence Katz to describe mental exercises designed to keep the brain alert. Wikipedia states, “It is presumed that unusual sensory stimulation and activities like non-routine actions and thoughts, produce more of such chemicals of the neurobiology system of body that encourage growth of new dendrites and neurons in the brain. Routine actions become so automatic to the individual that most of actions are done largely unconsciously. Such automated or unconscious actions require less activity in the brain, and exercise it less. With the help of neurobics exercises, it is claimed that one can stimulate the brain. An example of a neurobic exercise is to carry out a routine action such as brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand,” OR, to this I add: HOOLA HOOPING IN YOUR NON-DOMINANT DIRECTION! And for an added brain boost: breathing in a special or sweet smell that you fancy. Oh wise and fragrant sage, you keep me sane! : )
Hooping for Emotional Alignment
Those of us in the hoop-know are also likely well aware of the hoop-feel-and-release phenomenon. Hooping & hoopdance help to process emotions quicker- just like movement in general…so that when we feel not only physical lethargy or stiffness, but mental anxiety, confusion, depression, or fear, we can literal step into the hoop to help stretch and spin it out of us. The hoop melds our emotional brain half with our logical brain half, thereby creating healing to take place at the connection point~ or what I like to think of as our soul~spirit spot. For whatever reason, this works. You must try it to believe it. If you’ve heard of the therapeutic healing modality called EMDR or if you’ve heard of trauma relief through bilateral brain stimulation, you have a general idea of why hooping may be so helpful… it’s a more physically exaggerated version of what’s happening in these other therapeutic forms- but basically boils down to the hoop touching your right and left body sides over and over again- and attuning your logical and emotional centers in the process. To keep track of what we are working through, along with our progress and discoveries made along the way, we can choose to hoop nearby a pen and paper, a dedicated flow journal (see one of my own in photo above) or our computer~ and go back and forth between free spinning and free writing~ stimulating each activity through the other. I have personally hooped myself through a great deal of grief in the last 6 years. The hoop has kept me afloat in a turbulent sea of sad~ a literal oversized lifesaver that has not only helped me work through the hard, but continues to renew my faith in joy and play and healing~ over and over again.
Spring-Summer Hoopdance Events!
Hooping Powers is actively and joyfully booking out spring & summertime events for all things hooptacular! A sampling of our 2011 schedule includes: performance at an end of year school social, birthday parties for folks of all ages (youth AND adults!), summer camps for special needs groups of all ages (i.e. people with disabilities, folks experiencing grief, etc.), weddings, and community festivals. Your custom-designed event complete with fresh hoopdance flavor can look like a straight-ahead performance by one or more of our radical hoopdancers, a lesson or workshop of sorts, with or without audience/attendee participation, or some exciting combination thereof. In the past we’ve also led hoop-making workshops, brought rings to bat and bar Mitzvahs, and hosted countless other hooptastic happenings. We can arrange to do choreographed pieces or improvisation/ambient hoopdance, or pretty much whatever you can dream up having to do with the revolutionary circle. Please contact: Noelle Powers, director and principle performer of HoopingPowers, to discuss your hooping vision, our proposal, & get your event on our books! Powers can be reached at: noelle at HoopingPowers dot com, or by clicking on the CONTACT page of the left-hand toolbar. Accompanying photo courtesy of the Baltimore Museum of Art and photographer: Maximilian Franz. We look forward to hearing from you and hooping with you very soon~
Foto~Circular #7: Mural Desde Chile
This beautiful mandala is one of many different ones painted on my friends’ property in Santiago, Chile. I do not know of what artist to credit- but I am thankful for their creation. I love the 12 (paralleling astrological houses & signs, all 12-step programs, and the number of apostles, etc.) points on the rose-colored portion of the mandala. Within the 12-pointed flower is a 6-pointed flower- 1/2 of twelve and also my favorite number. Additionally, I enjoy seeing the light beamy bubbles peering from the 4 corners towards the edge of the circle- representing for me both the cardinal directions and seasons where I live. The mint-green colored square, scale-like shape reminds me to strive towards balance in all my pursuits. And finally, the triangular, sideways Star of David-like Venn diagrams resting in the center help me sit with life’s core complexities a little bit easier.
Hoopitation
For many of us, hooping practice affords us a chance to clear our minds and be with our breath, grounded & embodied. Whether actively spinning the circle around your core- constantly hugging your hips and heart space, stretching with the hoop as your body follows the curve of the ring, or simply & peacefully sitting inside of the hoop & breathing (like Elsie the cat pictured above), the hoop is a gift to be present.
Many folks new to meditation have a hard time practicing the sitting still part- fidgeting & restlessness being a common experience. A solitary hoop practice can help by focusing on keeping the ring up… and through this physical, rocking back and forth body motion bilaterally stimulating the brain, thoughts & feelings more easily synthesize, come & go- and eventually fade from focus making way for that quintessential feeling of flow.
One way to dramatically enhance your ability to go inward with your hoop practice is to use a blindfold while you hoop. Hooping without being able to use your sense of sight helps to increase the kinesthetic experience of the hoop encircling your body. ‘Kinesthesia’ is defined as the sense that detects bodily position, weight, or movement of the muscles, tendons, and joints, or the sense of moving in space. Particularly with a rapidly moving object like a hoop whipping around the core, one’s vision can serve as a real distraction from being able to fully feel the hoop’s motion & the body’s innate rhythmic connection to it. Oftentimes when someone begins to hoop blind, they immediately find it to be easier, more calming, and even a transcendental experience. Do you yet practice hoopitation inside your ring? Let us know how it goes and any useful tips you have for finding your flow~
Hoop Funk Shui
Anyone that has a hoop or two or twenty has likely become well-acquainted with the nature of what I like to call hoop funk shui- the challenge of flowful transport & placement of your hoop/s in your abode or practice space. It’s quite humbling (and often frustrating) after a super fluid and inspiring session of play inside your hoop to then try to clunkily traverse a space, doorway, or narrow passageway with hoops on your person, or even to set your hoops against a wall to have them quickly slide to the ground sometimes knocking over other objects along the way. There is actually an art and dance to simply walking through the world with your hoop (becoming exponentially more difficult when using crowded public transportation). Backing up or turning feels like one should have an accompanying beep like a big truck or otherwise ‘wide load.’ The sheer size and shape of the hoop require that there be intention and actual delicacy in where and how you decide to keep them. I have found the best sources of storage, both practically and aesthetically to be hanging your hoops- this could be from a single nail against the wall for a lone hoop, to a full on bike-rack protruding from the wall for a gang of hoops (make sure to place it above head level to prevent potentially injurious collisions). At a hoop class or jam where there are lots of other bodies around- sometimes a awkward lean against the wall is all you can hope for- but if there’s room to set the hoops flush against the floor- that’s a great option. Hoops demand our attention not just when we’re in them spinning ‘em around us; their mere existence is a cause for pause and thoughtfulness. A lesson we can draw from the difficulty of hoop travel and storage is that we are invited to find and cultivate flow in our lives both inside and outside of the hoop. Hoopdance and the hooping movement itself is indeed a great place to start. As we start to discover our inner dancer and rhythm from within the hoop- we can try to apply the same skill set to our life outside of the hoop. The consideration of how flowing and calm our hoop’s physical placement feels in our life can soon move into how flowing and calm does our communication feel, or our dietary habits, or our accountability for missteps in our relationships. The endless circle of the hoop symbolizes all of the possibilities life has to offer. We can chose to focus on what’s working, and actively work to improve that which is not working so well. There are infinite possibilities and paths- it’s up to us to truly consider what feels best and keeps our energy flowing optimally, each and every day.
Be Circled @ Joe Squared, Tonight!
If you live in Baltimore City you’ve probably seen this dedicated fella named Spilly (pictured above) who has been unfailingly spreading the hoopLOVE throughout B’more for well over a year, most visibly every Saturday morning at the northern end of the Waverly Farmer’s Market. Super. Impressive. Spilly. Thanks for getting B’more hooped! Sooo… Spilly and the lovely Jes Raschella have coordinated a musical hooping throw down to usher in the spring season & whirl our hearts into a state of communal bliss. This very night on Baltimore’s North Avenue we will be hooping to some fly live music at the beloved neighborhood joint of Joe Squared Pizza. First set will start at 10pm sharp- and we’ll keep on dancin and hoopin til we’re droopin. If you’re 21+, please join us! Joe Squared is located at 133 West North Avenue, by the intersection of Howard Ave. directly across from the Load of Fun Studios. See you tonight! : )
HoopStiltin’ at Malcolm X
Thanks to the sharing spirit of stilt-owner Tom yesterday at the MXPark play & drum circles, I got to go up on stilts & try my hips at hooping! I’ve been ‘up’ once or twice before, but this was the impetus for me to get more into stilting (with hooping, of course) and share the fun of it with others! For those not in the know, Malcolm X Park (a.k.a. Meridian Hill Park) has had a long-standing drum and dance circle beginning in the 60’s after Malcolm X’s death, and it’s pretty much one of the best gatherings of this nature maybe anywhere. I know that’s a big and bold claim, but for being in the capital of the capital of aggressive, powerful nations~ there is an extra sweet significance to the highly diverse, peaceful, fun, calm, and positively energizing space that is created here every Sunday afternoon-eve, warm-ish weather allowing (think 60 degrees and above). In addition to the on-point, huge, and multi-instrumental drum circle (people full on bring out there drum kits), there are dancers, hoopers, poi-spinners, jugglers, slack-liners, acro-yoginis, picnickers, and happily observing passersby of all ages out and about. Last night there was even fire being spun towards the end of the night. Thanks to Rayhan & Melissa, too- for sharing the shot above & being my shoulder to lean on atop a wildly wiggly slack line. : )
Acro-Hooping Awesomeness!
This past month’s workshop with the talented acro-hoop instructors Marria & Zach of Hoop Ninja fame proved to be a super fun (and also an admittedly exhausting!) time. Three straight hours of inversions and one-handed cartwheels and carrying another’s body weight was way more strenuous activity than I’m used to in a given day. And still it was great! I have a ton of new movement ideas to now play with and delve deeper into when the mood strikes me. I did thankfully get exposed to gymnastics as a wee one, but as an adult the closest I’ve come to this type of practice has been the rare acro-yoga class. This fulfilled that extra physical push for me, and was additionally awesome because it integrated my favorite toy of all beyond the bod: the hoop. Pictured above is yours truly steadily ‘basing’ for the magnificent Maddy high hooping, with Soolah & Zach visible in the back. : )
Foto Circular #6: The Ring
Hooping makes us feel not only well-connected to ourselves, but extraordinarily connected to each other as well. The shared love of the hoop creates community faster than a wolverine can dash across a field (I just watched a nature documentary on wolverines; they’re fast!)- and amongst some of the most diverse types of people imaginable. Have you experienced a connection through your hoop? Chances are, if you’ve walked outside of your house with a hoola hoop, many otherwise would-be strangers have eagerly smiled at you, or begun a conversation with you from across the street, or even tried to hire you to bring hoops to their niece’s birthday party. Hooping crosses all lifestyle barriers~ from age to culture, gender to body size, religion to ability. We are scant of objects and pastimes in our world quite as positive & bridge-building as that of the simple and infinite ring. How blessed we are for the hoop’s awesomeness. And hoop hoop hooray for community!
The Subtleties and Vastness of Arm-Hand Spinning
I am pretty much in love with light, mini arm & hand hooping these days. My time in Chile just over a year ago really jump-started this relationship, even though I had done it a bit before the trip~ but without as much intention nor attention regarding the many positive & often subtle impacts it was having on other parts of my life. I recently received movie clips captured in the Valdivian rainforest of my first natural exploration with mini hoops in hand. The videos (a portion of which is shown above) were produced by my friend Karin {y Ricardo tambien} whom I had the pleasure to meet during those few months I spent in South America, falling into winter~ 2009.
Core or torso hooping helps you be embodied and feel your core energy centers hugged. What an extraordinary gift to self in this day and age: positive & joyful touch and play, in a not-so-sexual yet body-positive, super sensual and self-loving kind of way, hugging around your belly, pelvis, & heart spaces. There is perhaps nothing to the hooper more personal and basic and raw and intimate as core hooping. Or so I thought- and still do, in certain ways. However, my mind has been super-charged of late through the motion of *lightly-weighted, miniature hooping on the left and right arms/hands/sides of body space. *I prefer a super light grade of tubing for tiny minis. This I feel allows me to focus more on the dance of hoopdance. It’s really up to your stylistic preferences- remembering that heavier tubing (even if only 125 PSI) is going to go a little slower and not fly of the fingers quite as fast.
When I first began “neo” hooping in 2005, I marveled at the brain training that waist hooping afforded me. It was obvious: I could tell core hooping was extraordinarily helpful as my balance increased, and I felt steadied in thoughts & emotions through bilaterally stimulating the two halves of my brain. If core hooping is a brain-boosting college class, arm-hand hooping is the doctoral level of brain training. In the vein of Poi-style object manipulation, arm-hooping is simultaneously a challenge AND a graceful flowing mix; at once the New York Time’s Sunday crossword AND an Alvin Ailey dancer. And cutie baby hoops.
In the last year, I have started to make arm-hooping a standard part of my personal hoopdance practice as well as many of my hoop classes. Sometimes it’s challenging to leave the comforting core space~ but I do believe it’s a risk worth taking & well worth any struggle, in my humble hooper experience. The rewards abound and continue to come ’round. Have you yet ventured off your core for more?
On Healing Mandalas
I recently came across this wonderful gem of a book: Healing Mandalas, which is of course all about mandalas and their innate healing qualities. Lisa Tenzin-Dolma offers a wealth of information to expand your consciousness and exploration of mandala meditation as the hugely healing practice that it is. Not only are the words a breath of fresh air, but the mandala images themselves are quite stunning, intricate AND calming all at once~ a welcomed surprise in contrast to the few other mandala-themed books I have perused to date. Tenzin-Dolma gracefully shares on topics such as: finding one’s whole self by living in the present, embracing change, and trusting intuition; engaging with others through balancing opposites, fostering freedom, and offering loving kindness; and dealing with challenging times such as grief, illness, and fear. Each visual mandala is accompanied by text suggesting how to meditate on the mandala itself, though the offered guided meditations stand powerfully on their own without the accompanying picture (if, for example, you wanted to share the meditations with a large group of folks and didn’t want to have to make a bunch of color copies of the mandalas). I leave you with the wonderful words of Jung on mandalas, as they appear in the beginning of this beautiful book:
“I saw that everything, all paths I had been following, all steps I had taken, were leading back to a single point- namely, to the mid-point. It became increasingly plain to me that the mandala is the center. It is the exponent of all paths. It is the path to the center, to individuation… I knew that in finding the mandala as an expression of the self I had attained what was for me the ultimate.”
A Comfortable Depth of Stretch
Recently I was asked in a circle of spinners to share my current favorite hoop move. My answer was actually: “Hoopstretching.” For those of us who regularly use a hoop to assist us in our various stretching practices, we know that there’s an ability to experience a broader range of movement in the rather safe-feeling confines of the hoop. Often in classes I refer to the classic Leonardo da Vinci drawing above (Vitruvian Man, 1492) in which the human figure has outstretched arms and legs- and fits perfectly within the circumference of the circle. Having a rounded object such as a hoop to hold while warming up before more dynamic hoopdance helps us move through our ranges of motion feeling a deeper sense of groundedness, stability, and hoOpfully doing so a little further than we might otherwise be able to go sans hoop. For my particular body & range of motion, the hoop informs me of when I’ve stretched to my limit, and because of it’s circular shape, it more safely brings me back into my upstanding position with ease. In addition to helping with deeper side plane & forward/backward bending stretches, twists are significantly easier while wrapped happily inside a hoop: Holding the hoop while standing in the middle of it (hands on the sides around 3 and 9 ‘o clock’ with hoop equidistant from torso on all edges) is a great position for doing torso twists which help to keep the spine limber and complement the typical back and forth hip motion that waist hooping requires. Depending on the height of the hoop in this twisting exercise, one can get specific with the area of spine that you are loosening rather precisely (envision hoop below waist level, at waist, at chest, at head, overhead). Similarly, if you lean forward while twisting (like steering a wheel upside down) it helps to stretch the oft-tense sheets of muscle on the sides of our spines. Twisting variations abound- from the center-standing variety to placing the hoop against the front or back of your body for arm adjustments & consequent flexing of different muscles areas.
Taking the time to stretch in your hoop is also a wonderful opportunity to deepen your breath, release or ‘table’ distractions in order to become more present, set an intention for your practice, and generally become more embodied in the beauty & simplicity of the circle. Please do let us know how you like to warm up with your hoop, if you in fact do! Flexing blessings your way~
NO JAM TONIGHT! (Joe’s is closed)
That’s about it. Stay safe on the roads and warm hooping wishes wherever you find yourself this evening. Hope to see you all next week!
xox
sTrAnGe PoWeRs
No Hoop Class Tonight~
Joe’s Movement Emporium is closed in honor and observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day~ therefore there will be no evening hoop class tonight. Happy hooping wherever you may be today. Please join us next week for more practice and play in the ring of revolution, and happy birthday Dr. King! In gratitude for those who work for liberation & the right to peaceful existence for all~
Foto Circular #5: Hoop’t Couture
Here’s a swank-diddilyOcious hoop shot of a fancy Friendship Heights shore on the MD-DC line I spotted not long ago. Most hoopers know what a stunning symbol & frame the hoola hoop naturally makes. A growing number of hoopers are also aware of the powerful meditative qualities of the hoop or ‘mandala’ to calm oneself, focus, & do amazing visualization work. Apparently marketing & window display designers are catching up with the times getting on board the hoop train, too; no doubt it’s good for business!
Hoop Play Ideas
There are infinite fun things you can do with hoops as props and tools for movement play- beyond the traditional & popular ’spinning it around you’ concept. Here are some of my favorites: You can make a ‘hoopscotch’ course on the ground and then jump through them one by one- or toss a hacky sac or small bean bag into the hoop path, seeing where it lands, then come up with a movement phrase to get from the start to the finish to swipe the toy and keep on going. Along the same lines you can come up with different rhythms to stomp out as you hop through the hoops, or set guidelines as to how to move (i.e. like a frog, salamander, salsa dancer etc.) through the hoopscotch route.
Some other activities and games involving hoops on the ground are as follows: Folks can make beautiful geometric patterns by expanding the circles out from a central point (think hoop mandalas, or visions like a kaleidoscope). I was originally exposed to the hoops as mandalas concept by my hooping ‘mother,’ KaRa Ananda~ thanks, KaRa! The game of ‘musical hoops’ (a serious favorite among many children) is super fun & active~ if you don’t mind a little friendly competition: Spread the hoops out across a room or open space, turn music on, and have people run around but not inside of or through the hoops until the music stops (with no hovering around one hoop, either). Once the music stops people have to safely and speedily get there bottoms onto the ground inside of a hoop. One way to help prevent potentially dangerous clashing of bodies and fights around ‘winners’ is to state ahead of time that if two people land sitting in one hoop, they are both out…unless one of the two voluntarily takes themselves out of the game. This generally encourages folks to not go towards a hoop that someone else is already nearing. ‘Duck-Duck-Hoop’ is also a fun game- and can be helpful with children who are a little bit younger since it’s so simple. A couple more games I like to play with young people are: Tunnel of Hoops (with many variations on ways to travel through the hoops vertically), Freeze Hoop (like Freeze Dance, but with hoops), and Hoopy Globes- *if you have a bunch of hoops* you can try to get them into a free-standing sphere on the ground that is stunning to behold- and also sometimes possible to actually get inside of to sit, meditate, and/or pose for a picture!
A very simple activity that sparks serious creativity and imagination is pictured above: creating pictures on the ground with hoops- i.e. huge stick figures using a combination of hoops and sticks or other found items. I played this game with my 4 year old nephew and he got super into the process, coming up with amazing ideas completely on his own. That same day of play we also brought a couple chairs and blankets outside, added a hoop to the end of the chair that we laid blankets atop- and created our very own fort that had a beautiful circular entryway. Who doesn’t want to travel through the shape of a circle? To me, it simply feels really good. And safe, too. : )
What are ways that YOU like to hoop play?
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