Day 19 - Hoop #3, Finding Flow, and Y Workshops

My favourite one so far!  Though I do love them all.  I am still finding it a challenge to get all three tapes perfectly even all the way around, but I still think it looks pretty good.  I made this one a bit smaller than the first two, probably around 40" instead of 42".  I'd like to make a variety of sizes for people to choose from.  This one is a nicer size and weight though, and I enjoyed trying it out last night!

I still have not missed a day, though I have been finding myself rather uninspired lately.  Sometimes I don't feel like hooping only because I just don't feel like I'm as good as I want to be.  So I pick up my hoop with the intention of just spinning it around for 10 minutes or so, just to say I did it that day.  But something pretty amazing is happening!  I pick up my hoop and rather than decide to dance, I decide to do one (or two, or three!) of Deanne Loves 7 minute workouts.  Next thing I know 30, 40, even 60 minutes has passed!  And all I have been doing is drills, not really dancing.  By the end of it I might start dancing freely a bit, but I'm really enjoying on just working on the basic skills instead of putting it all together.  There is a time for flow, and a time for conditioning, and both are fun!

I found that in the past I was always so eager to learn new 'tricks', that I really did not spend much time working on the fundamentals.  Usually once I learned a new move, I incorporated it into my dance but didn't spend much time perfecting it on its own.  It lead to a lot of sloppy hooping.  Now I am enjoying spending time working on just one move, even if it is something as simple as waist hooping.  I find Deanne's workout are amazing for this kind of stuff.

Flow comes in ebbs and waves.  Sometimes I find it, sometimes I don't.  But when it is there, it is amazing.  It can be fleeting at times.  I have recently discovered that unlocking flow has been more critical to improving my hoop dance than learning fancy tricks.  Sometimes a hoop dance that is lacking in crazy tricks but chock full of simple moves and flow is much more appealing to watch.

In a few weeks time I am going to start running some hula hoop workshops at the Y.  I was approached about teaching hooping at the Y last year, and although I was always game to do it, I felt a little shy about it because I'm not technically trained as a hoop instructor.  But I want to be, and I feel like this is a good place to start.  I can get a feel for teaching, and also get a feel for how much interest there is in hoop lessons in this area, before shelling out a lot of money on training.  I feel like I know enough about fitness to teach it confidently and safely.  So I am going ahead and running the workshops, and I am nervous and excited about it.  I have so many great ideas for how to make it fun for both kids and adults, and I hope that I can pull it off.