I can still hear Baxter’s voice booming above the thumping music…my eyes closed behind the blindfold. Feeling more free inside my hoop than I have in a long time, I let the music and movement lull me into a comfortable rhythm.
In trying to explain HoopPath to my friends who weren’t there…I described Baxter as an “inspirational speaker” who uses the hoop as a teaching tool. That’s the only way I could think to describe it. His workshop left me encouraged in my hardships, challenged in my hooping, and more focused in my faith.
Baxter brought the ever beautiful and grace-filled Beth Lavinder with him…and as always, it was a joy to watch her hoop. I pretty much want to BE her.
One of my favorite parts of the weekend was when Baxter taught “touch technique”…this was entirely new to me and I really enjoyed trying something completely different than what I was used to with my hoop.
The circus center is located just on the outskirts of Boulder and the light was so beautiful at night! Big thanks to Leah and Mia for showing me their hoop ninja moves
All in all, this workshop far exceeded my expectations and I was pleasantly surprised at the intensity of physical and emotional exertion. I was completely EXHAUSTED every night…it was a great reminder at what a great workout hooping truly is!
If Baxter comes to your town (or within 10 hours of your town )…don’t miss the Deep Water. You’ll find good stuff there.
You can find LOTS more images on Facebook and Flickr. All rights reserved. Please do not reproduce photos online or in print without permission.
This weekend is the long-awaited Hoop Path workshop in Boulder! For those of you who don’t know, we recently stopped traveling full-time and settled down in Longmont, CO (just 12 mi. from Boulder). It’s so nice to have such a lovely hoop community here. I feel so blessed.
I LOVED Baxter’s opening ceremony/sequence at Hoopcamp…and have been looking forward to attending a full workshop for quite some time. The first night was everything I had hoped it would be…meditative and freeing with some LOUD thumping music to make my soul sing. If you’ve never hooped to hip-hop music…you’re really missing out
I have many friends at the workshop…including Leah and Mia, who drove all the way from Des Moines, Iowa yesterday!! So fun to flow with friends all around.
Here are some images from Day One! Full set on Facebook and Flickr. More to come!
Today (1/21) is the last day you can vote for the 2011 Hoopies! So get on over there and VOTE by 9pm PST! I’m especially excited that so many Colorado hoopers are in the running for awards…Danielle, Nick, Rainbow Michael, and the Boulder Circus Jam! I cannot wait to see who the winners are…so excited!
Also, be sure to click through all of the links to the nominees…there is some serious inspiration to be had.
I’m starting to wonder if Nick ever eats or sleeps…because it appears that he works on his hooping every minute of the day! This video is mesmerizing…with moves that I’ve never seen anywhere before…you’ll be rewinding this one to see it again and again!!
Big news! The long-awaited Hoop Technique DVD is set to ship on Wed. December 22! I know…let’s take a moment for a collective *SQUEAL*!!
Hoop Technique: Space & Energy is an independent film and instructional DVD for hoopers of all skill levels, or anyone interested in the art of hoopdance. Created by Spiral & Rich, this project has been a labor of love presenting hooping as it’s never been seen before.
The first disc presents Hoop Technique Theory in 95 minutes of instructional material with Spiral and Rich. The second disc contains 70 minutes of stunning inspirational footage and interviews from 6 of the most talented & innovative hoopdance artists in the world: Brecken Rivara, Matt ‘Poki’ McCorckle, Shakti Sunfire, Malcolm Stuart, Rich Porter, and Spiral.
Rich and Spiral showed the extended trailer at Hoopcamp…and it’s just so artfully done that I had CHILLS. Chills people! But then yesterday, Rich let me have a sneak peak at some of the interviews and footage from the “inspirational” second disk and I was blown away. It’s amazing. Truly. It’s so much more than just a another how-to video. It’s a hooping documentary! I could never do it justice trying to describe it to you…so you’ll just have to get your own!!
I have a feeling I will be watching it over, and over, and over!! And I want YOU to watch it over and over too…so we’re doing a giveaway! A big thanks to Rich and Spiral for making one lucky reader VERY HAPPY!
In order to enter the drawing for the DVD, you must do at least one of the following, but feel free to do all four! The more you spread the Hoop Technique love, the more chances you have to win. Just be sure to leave a comment for each one:
Leave a comment below and tell me your favorite song to hoop to right now.
A few months ago, my husband got my kids a couple of water hoops from a local toy store. When my oldest daughter got her hands on the new shiny swirly hoop, she picked it up with ease, and was hooping her heart out in the yard immediately. I was made keenly aware of the fact that in all my 31 years, I had never learned to swing one of those hoops around my waist.
I had seen hoopers at shows, and couldn’t figure out the draw of the jam band kids to these toys. I saw the funny widespread street signs depicting pedestrians with a hoop around their waist, and I always chuckled but never really got it…..
I knew there had to be something very special about it to draw such a diverse crowd of people. From tour heads, to club kids, to exercise fanatics. I just didn’t know how, and up until then had not been exposed to the true magic of it.
After a few days of watching my daughter spin to her hearts content, I picked one up and tried my hardest to keep the hoop spinning around my body. But every time I tried, it fell right back down with a big watery clunk on the floor. No matter what I tried, I would whip that thing to the right and blam…down again. It wasn’t until I stopped and spun it in the “wrong” direction…the direction that felt the silliest, that it actuall stayed up. Just for a few minutes, but stayed none the less…
Lesson Number One:
Sometimes the things that feel the strangest to us move us to new places. Right doesn’t always equal comfortable.
I blogged about my hoop experience and the lesson I had learned right off the bat with my fantastic new discovery. Shortly after, Sara (my fairy hoopmother) sent me a link to some hoop dancers doing their thing. I was awestruck!! How did they move like that? How did they make those hoops defy gravity?! In a couple of days a package came in the mail: my very first big girl hoop! It was a collapsible rainbow hoop and it was beautiful! I was at work when my husband brought it to me, but that didn’t stop me from ripping open the packaging and hooping right there in the bakery! It was blissful!!!
Lesson Number Two:
Even when I think I can’t find anything else in life, new beautiful things arrive (sometimes by mail).
I scoured the YouTube channels, finding all sorts of hoop tutorials, by dozens of seasoned hoopers. I drained the video that my fairy hoopmother sent me of all of its beginner hoop glory! I would watch a segment, go outside and try it till I got it, then move to the next lesson. I wanted to dance with rhythm and beautiful flow…but realized quickly that I couldn’t move in my hoop the way I wanted until I understood the basic concepts of how the hoop moved.
Lesson Number Three:
If you want to learn a language, you first have to learn to make noise.
I was sucking up hoop technique like a dying woman in the dessert. I spent hours in my yard spinning and twirling, laughing, tormenting the dog. I would get a movement, and practice until my body ached. Covered in bruises and dirt I would make my way back inside at the end of a hoop session covered in sweat and smiling from ear to ear…..
Lesson Number Four:
Growth = Bruises and dirty feet…no matter how you look at it.
After about a month of heavy hooping, I started to notice an obvious change in my body. My upper arms started to slender and I could see muscle definition where there used to be none. My bruise-covered legs started to tone up. That baby weight I was holding on to around my tummy was peeling off bit by bit everyday. I felt good about my body and it felt good on me. I felt stronger and more balanced almost immediately. I dropped about 10 pounds in the first 2 months. I figured that would happen after I had read that hooping for an hour could burn up to 600 calories…but I just didn’t think it would happen so fast.
Lesson Number Five:
Fun can make you stronger (this one has been hard to accept!).
Since then, I have become a full on hoop junkie. After a couple of months, I decided to start making my own hoops and hoops for others. I wanted to see other people get excited about hooping too! Hooping has taught me not only a healthier way to move my body, but has challenged me on a daily basis with lessons about life, and yes, even my faith!
Hooping has become a thick thread in my life’s canvas, and I hope to paint it well!
Love hard.
Love right.
Follow your Flow! Rebecca Morning glory Phipps // “Hoopenanigan”
**A big thank you to the lovely Rebecca for sharing her hoop story (I love you girl!). My heart just aches watching her hoop because I miss her SO MUCH. She is one of my best friends and is actually my very FIRST friend that I met online and then became friends with in real life Here are some photos of our last visit so many years ago. I think we’re due for another one!
