I have had an almost entirely new hooping world of sorts open up to me in the last few weeks of my practice~play, and that is: behind the back-space hooping on hands with mini (or larger) hoops! Some of my biggest positive role models in the hooping world have acquired great skill in this behind-body space early on in their hooping lives. I, on the other hand (like several other hoopers I have met) have mostly focused on front of body or side spaces in which to explore with the hoop until very recently…

One thing that I am especially focusing on is the bounce of the knees as the main “spin~petus” of the arm as it spins (palm-upward, arm extended horizontally outward) behind my back. I am finding that the ease with which you can get a vertical up and down push for the hoop on your hand/arm simply by using the bounce of your knees is super helpful wrestling with a new and at first rather un-comfortable zone of repetitive, demanding movement that comes in the behind-the-body hooping territory.

Additionally, I feel that a lot more of my neurons are firing in my brain when I am hooping in this opposite-of-normal-life zone that is the space behind my body. And I also believe that the multi-directionality of it (6 ways of hooping between your two arms!) definitely adds to increased brain health and fusion of my logical and emotional hemispheres. It’s a win-win situation for sure!

I will try to attach a video of some of this play~exploration in the coming weeks. In the meantime, here’s an accompanying hoop-shot of mine that makes me think a little bit more off-kilter, a little bit more about the pre-constructed boxes in which we tend to exist. I suggest giving your hoop a whirl yourself in your ‘behind-back-space” if you do not already know of its wondrousness; to try to do one thing behind your back in whatever way possible every so often- or better yet, every time you pick up your hoop! In Peace and Hoop Love~ noelle