The other entries were stunning, and I think any one of them would be deserving of the scholarship. Best of luck to all the entrants!
Monday, 25 August 2014
Day 246 - Teach Elemental Hoopdance ~ One Hoop One Love
Shakti Sunfire at One Hoop One Love asked the question, "Why Teach Hoopdance?". Hoopers were challenged to answer this question in one sentence from the heart for a chance to win a scholarship to Shakti's next Elemental Hoopdance Teacher Training session. Since I already know that if you don't try, you can't win (2014 Flowbot Winner here!), I thought I would give it my best shot to try and win the scholarship. Here is my entry, trying to keep it simple as usual.
The other entries were stunning, and I think any one of them would be deserving of the scholarship. Best of luck to all the entrants!
The other entries were stunning, and I think any one of them would be deserving of the scholarship. Best of luck to all the entrants!
Friday, 22 August 2014
Day 243 - Fall Classes
Fall hoop classes are a go!
10 Week sessions starting the week of September 15:
Hoop Foundations 2 - Mondays 7-8
Hoop Foundations 1 - Wednesdays 7:30-8:30
3 Payment options:
Early bird rate (before September 8) - $90 for 10 weeks
Regular session rate - $100 for 10 weeks
Drop in rate - $12/class
Classes are held at Head Over Heels Gymnastics in Collingwood. For the Monday group there is also the option to stay afterwards for their adult open gym. The cost for adult gym is $5 and you can use the time to practice your hoop skills, or use the gymnastics equipment to work on strength and flexibility.
Class descriptions:
Hoop Foundations 1 focuses on the basics of hoop dance like hooping on the waist, hips, and shoulders. We learn not only how to do these moves but also how to move and dance (or flow) while hooping. We will learn how to coil the hoops up and down our bodies, as well as different ways to bring the hoops on and off our bodies. In addition to on the body hooping, we will also learn many off body movements such as hand spins, passing the hoop around our bodies, weaves, isolations and more. Each week we will put together a short sequence to learn how to transition between moves and link them into flow sessions. There will also be lots of fun tricks in the mix as well. We will learn all this and more!
Hoop Foundations 2 builds on the movements learned in foundations 1. In this class we'll start to refine and smooth out our hoop dance movements and transitions. We will learn some more intermediate skills such as leg hooping and angle hooping, as well as some more interesting tricks and isolations. We will continue to put these moves together into sequences to help us dance with our hoops and unlock flow. By the time you are finished with this class you will truly feel like a hoop dancer!
Contact me for more information or to register.
martina_rae@rogers.com
Like Hoopla Hula Hoops on Facebook to stay up to date!
10 Week sessions starting the week of September 15:
Hoop Foundations 2 - Mondays 7-8
Hoop Foundations 1 - Wednesdays 7:30-8:30
3 Payment options:
Early bird rate (before September 8) - $90 for 10 weeks
Regular session rate - $100 for 10 weeks
Drop in rate - $12/class
Classes are held at Head Over Heels Gymnastics in Collingwood. For the Monday group there is also the option to stay afterwards for their adult open gym. The cost for adult gym is $5 and you can use the time to practice your hoop skills, or use the gymnastics equipment to work on strength and flexibility.
Class descriptions:
Hoop Foundations 1 focuses on the basics of hoop dance like hooping on the waist, hips, and shoulders. We learn not only how to do these moves but also how to move and dance (or flow) while hooping. We will learn how to coil the hoops up and down our bodies, as well as different ways to bring the hoops on and off our bodies. In addition to on the body hooping, we will also learn many off body movements such as hand spins, passing the hoop around our bodies, weaves, isolations and more. Each week we will put together a short sequence to learn how to transition between moves and link them into flow sessions. There will also be lots of fun tricks in the mix as well. We will learn all this and more!
Hoop Foundations 2 builds on the movements learned in foundations 1. In this class we'll start to refine and smooth out our hoop dance movements and transitions. We will learn some more intermediate skills such as leg hooping and angle hooping, as well as some more interesting tricks and isolations. We will continue to put these moves together into sequences to help us dance with our hoops and unlock flow. By the time you are finished with this class you will truly feel like a hoop dancer!
Contact me for more information or to register.
martina_rae@rogers.com
Like Hoopla Hula Hoops on Facebook to stay up to date!
Monday, 18 August 2014
Day 239 - Never Bored
Remember when I was bored? Well, I am happy to say that I am no longer bored!
I think I was in a bit of a hooping rut. Ruts happen, whether it is in hooping or in life. The trick is to remember that it is just a phase.
Every since returning from In Flow I have felt like I have so much new and exciting material to work on, so I never feel bored! If I get tired of working on one thing, I move to something else. Sometimes I'll start to feel myself getting bored, and then I'll remember something we learned in one of the workshops and go "Oh Yeah!", and will get lost in it all over again.
Obviously I have been completely loving all the twin flow I've discovered and I've been working on that a lot too, but there has been so much more. One thing in particular that I've really enjoyed practicing is the balance work I learned in Tessa's workshop. I have to admit that while I absolutely loved Baxter's workshop in February, I hadn't been particularly inspired to work on balance. I don't know what is different this time around, but I have really been enjoying it. I've been trying to incorporate a little bit of balance into my practice for even just a few minutes every day, and you know what? Tessa was right! I'm already seeing improvement in just a few weeks! It's starting to feel more natural to balance the hoop on the back of my hands now.
I can also see how this type of practice is going to help with other aspects of my hooping as well. I have been working on body rolls for awhile now, and while I have been getting them, I haven't felt like they've been as clean as they should be. Now I think I have approaching it in an incomplete manner, and have been using momentum to fling the hoop across my chest/shoulders instead of using balance to guide it across. Not that what I have been doing is completely wrong, I was just missing the balance portion of it. I'm hoping to have some cleaner, more fluid body rolls on the go soon.
There are so many things I learned from the workshops that I have been incorporating into my everyday flow and practice. I find that Tegan's style of moment jives so well with my own that I'm always using moves I learned from her in my dance. I've also loved many of Beth's moves and flow, especially this break and reverse type of move that involves changing the direction/flow of the hoop behind the back while spiralling up and down. It's hard to explain, but it's a really lovely movement that has been working really well for me.
I love that my hoop practice has been renewed, and that I'm feeling good about my dance again with all these refreshing new movements. It's a good feeling.
I think I was in a bit of a hooping rut. Ruts happen, whether it is in hooping or in life. The trick is to remember that it is just a phase.
Every since returning from In Flow I have felt like I have so much new and exciting material to work on, so I never feel bored! If I get tired of working on one thing, I move to something else. Sometimes I'll start to feel myself getting bored, and then I'll remember something we learned in one of the workshops and go "Oh Yeah!", and will get lost in it all over again.
Obviously I have been completely loving all the twin flow I've discovered and I've been working on that a lot too, but there has been so much more. One thing in particular that I've really enjoyed practicing is the balance work I learned in Tessa's workshop. I have to admit that while I absolutely loved Baxter's workshop in February, I hadn't been particularly inspired to work on balance. I don't know what is different this time around, but I have really been enjoying it. I've been trying to incorporate a little bit of balance into my practice for even just a few minutes every day, and you know what? Tessa was right! I'm already seeing improvement in just a few weeks! It's starting to feel more natural to balance the hoop on the back of my hands now.
I can also see how this type of practice is going to help with other aspects of my hooping as well. I have been working on body rolls for awhile now, and while I have been getting them, I haven't felt like they've been as clean as they should be. Now I think I have approaching it in an incomplete manner, and have been using momentum to fling the hoop across my chest/shoulders instead of using balance to guide it across. Not that what I have been doing is completely wrong, I was just missing the balance portion of it. I'm hoping to have some cleaner, more fluid body rolls on the go soon.
There are so many things I learned from the workshops that I have been incorporating into my everyday flow and practice. I find that Tegan's style of moment jives so well with my own that I'm always using moves I learned from her in my dance. I've also loved many of Beth's moves and flow, especially this break and reverse type of move that involves changing the direction/flow of the hoop behind the back while spiralling up and down. It's hard to explain, but it's a really lovely movement that has been working really well for me.
I love that my hoop practice has been renewed, and that I'm feeling good about my dance again with all these refreshing new movements. It's a good feeling.
Tuesday, 12 August 2014
Day 233 - Twin Love
Right after my reverse three beat weave success I decided to try and tackle the Fountain. It is another two hoop move that involves moving from a forwards double weave, to a backwards double weave, to a windmill overhead and back into a forwards one. Three beats are spent in each move to create a fluid motion where the hoops travel across the body and overhead in a circular motion, all the while spinning on the hands. I must admit this move looked easier than it actually was.
The first tutorial I watched to try and figure it out was by Caroleena, but I didn't find it helpful at all. In fact I found it really confusing. So I looked for another one and ended up finding one that was long, but that broke it down in a way that made a bit more sense. I can't remember who made the tutorial. The girl explained what each hand had to do individually and that really helped, but I was still really struggling with figuring it out just by watching the tutorial.
The following day I decided to just go outside and work it out for myself. I took it one step at a time, first teaching myself how to move from the forwards weave into the backwards one. I tried it one hand at a time, then with both. That section wasn't too difficult to figure out once I got the hand switches down. Figuring out how to move from the backwards weave into the windmill was trickier. The right hand was no problem as no surface switches were necessary, but my left hand kept getting tangled somewhere. I had to really think about where my hand needed to get to in order to start the windmill portion.
After keeping at it for awhile it finally clicked initially, and I was able to begin to put all the moves together, surface switches and all. It still took quite a bit more practice to get it right consistently though. My hands kept tangling up and my hooping kept knocking each other all over the place. Quite often I'd get the correct switch from one hand but not the other hand, which would cause me to knock my hoops and drop them. This move took a lot of concentration and coordination.
But finally, FINALLY, I got it! It started coming more consistently. It's a funny move though, because I would get on a roll and do it smoothly for a few minutes, then I'd stop and when I started again I wouldn't be able to do it. It was somewhat frustrating! Now after a few days of drilling it, I can do it quite fluidly. I do find one part still a bit tricky, it is the part I had a hard time figuring out where my left hand needs to move through the backwards weave and into the windmill. I'm working on my wrists but the hoop still goes a bit wonky. Still I am getting it which is awesome! This move does take a lot of concentration though to keep up with all the turning and the surfaces switches going on at the same time.
The Fountain is a really cool move. I have to say it looks just awesome. I love that I can incorporate it into my twin flow.
I am really addicted to my twin hoops right now. Now that I'm learning more of these types of moves, I am finding a lot more flow with the twins and am finally starting to feel like I can dance with them more.
Here are some double/twin videos I've taken recently. One is from a few weeks ago with my minis, and the other is from the other day after I learned the Fountain and started using it in my dance.
The first tutorial I watched to try and figure it out was by Caroleena, but I didn't find it helpful at all. In fact I found it really confusing. So I looked for another one and ended up finding one that was long, but that broke it down in a way that made a bit more sense. I can't remember who made the tutorial. The girl explained what each hand had to do individually and that really helped, but I was still really struggling with figuring it out just by watching the tutorial.
The following day I decided to just go outside and work it out for myself. I took it one step at a time, first teaching myself how to move from the forwards weave into the backwards one. I tried it one hand at a time, then with both. That section wasn't too difficult to figure out once I got the hand switches down. Figuring out how to move from the backwards weave into the windmill was trickier. The right hand was no problem as no surface switches were necessary, but my left hand kept getting tangled somewhere. I had to really think about where my hand needed to get to in order to start the windmill portion.
After keeping at it for awhile it finally clicked initially, and I was able to begin to put all the moves together, surface switches and all. It still took quite a bit more practice to get it right consistently though. My hands kept tangling up and my hooping kept knocking each other all over the place. Quite often I'd get the correct switch from one hand but not the other hand, which would cause me to knock my hoops and drop them. This move took a lot of concentration and coordination.
But finally, FINALLY, I got it! It started coming more consistently. It's a funny move though, because I would get on a roll and do it smoothly for a few minutes, then I'd stop and when I started again I wouldn't be able to do it. It was somewhat frustrating! Now after a few days of drilling it, I can do it quite fluidly. I do find one part still a bit tricky, it is the part I had a hard time figuring out where my left hand needs to move through the backwards weave and into the windmill. I'm working on my wrists but the hoop still goes a bit wonky. Still I am getting it which is awesome! This move does take a lot of concentration though to keep up with all the turning and the surfaces switches going on at the same time.
The Fountain is a really cool move. I have to say it looks just awesome. I love that I can incorporate it into my twin flow.
I am really addicted to my twin hoops right now. Now that I'm learning more of these types of moves, I am finding a lot more flow with the twins and am finally starting to feel like I can dance with them more.
Here are some double/twin videos I've taken recently. One is from a few weeks ago with my minis, and the other is from the other day after I learned the Fountain and started using it in my dance.
Saturday, 9 August 2014
Day 230 - In Flow Festival videos, and pictures by Kevin
Here are a few videos I took of me hooping at the In Flow Festival (including fire hooping!), and the pictures of me taken by Kevin Sue Chue Lam. I'm so thankful to have had the opportunity to have a photo shoot with him, as I have wanted some good hooping pictures of myself for awhile now and there was no better place to do them than at In Flow!
Day 230 - Everything In Flow....
Inhale....
*sighhhhhhhhh*
This post. This post will be big. Usually when I write a blog post, I power through it spewing words onto the computer screen without thinking much. I hit spellcheck then give it a quick once over (sometimes I don't even re-read it at all), then click publish and walk away. That's how I roll. I know this post is going to need more than that. It will be rewritten, then probably left to sleep on, then revised, and then we'll see what happens. I really want to remember everything I can about my experience at the 2014 In Flow Festival
At first I thought about writing everything as it happened. Before I had even left and had been delayed by air mattress drama, thoughts were running through my brain about how I was going to explain said drama and how it all unfolded. Maybe even a whole post about how I discovered at the last minute that I couldn't blow up the air mattress I had bought with the pump I had borrowed, and the mad rush that followed trying to figure out what to do about it, right down the air mattress blow up race I had with my friend Monica right before leaving town. It was funny at the time, but was it really important? Or about how on the first night I ate the quinoa salad at dinner without thinking (because it looked so awesome), and then realized afterwards that I had consumed a sizeable portion of the only food that my stomach cannot tolerate, only to spend the rest of that evening feeling bloated and nauseous and not fully able to totally enjoy that night's events.
No, let's not remember those things entirely, though they are good for a laugh at this moment.
I want to remember the place, and the space, and the faces that mattered. The music, and the movement, and the feelings all of these things provoked. I'm not one for details, I'm not good at describing things, words are not my strength. But I really really don't want to forget how amazing I felt this past weekend.
I don't really need to go over what this weekend meant to me, I've been over that time and time again. It was my first weekend away in 6 years, that says enough. Leaving my children wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I thought I would feel more emotional about it, but when the time came they were all in good spirits, and I felt good knowing they were safe. My husband was showing that he was ready for the task of having them all weekend, and he seemed confident about it which was enough for me. When I left on Friday (2 hours later than I was hoping to leave), I felt good. I felt ready for an adventure.
The drive up was beautiful and peaceful, and I got to Wildenfree Farm in Gravenhurst in 1.5 hours exactly. I felt a sense of exhilaration as I drove in, not sure what to expect. It was absolutely beautiful, and welcoming. Our hosts had taken such care to make sure it was easy to find, with signs on the roads and also once we drove in, making it easy to know where to go and where to park.
I wish I could describe the setting, but like I said, I suck at descriptions. I also suck at taking pictures. But what pictures I did take, I will add.
I was nervous about this weekend for many reasons, but one of the biggest ones was that I didn't know anyone very well. I was familiar with many faces from the Toronto hoop community from the few workshops I had attended earlier this year, but I hadn't yet really talked to any of them yet, and I was feeling intimidated because I knew most of them already knew each other. I hadn't even been out of my van 2 minutes yet when the lady unpacking the car next to me introduced herself and made me feel included. I knew from that moment on that I would be fine.
I managed to sign in and meet a few more people, and find myself a site to set up my camp. I tried as hard as I could to look like I wasn't nervous, and that camping with strange people was something I did all the time. Let's be honest here, outdoorsy person I am not. I don't camp. It's not that I haven't camped (on the contrary I did a lot of camping as a kid), but I hadn't done it in a very long time. Oh and I am severely bug phobic. Yeah, that kind of makes I hard to love the outdoors. So I was worried that my being camping challenged would put a damper on the experience, but it turns out I fared just fine.
I introduced myself to everyone I passed, figuring it was better to just jump in and act like I already belonged than to linger around shyly like an outsider. There was not a single unfriendly face to be found.
I could give you a play by play of how the entire weekend unfolded, but like I said I'm not sure I want to write this post that way. I want to try and write about how it made me feel, and about how I made so many new friends and had so many breakthroughs both as a person and as a hooper.
I cannot imagine a more perfect weekend. If I had to pick one negative thing it would have been that I got eaten alive by bugs, but even then I don't consider it bad because it was a part of the experience, and the experience as a whole was amazing.
The place. Wildenfree Farm, home of Naoise and Greg, was the most beautiful setting for our weekend and we are so fortunate that they opened up their home and property to us. I have nothing to compare this year's In Flow to since I have never attended anything like it in the past, but I cannot imagine a better place to hold it. The house, the pond, the forests, the fields, it was all so stunning and they outdid themselves making sure it was comfortable for all of us.
The space. So many beautiful little areas to feel at home, and to interact with others or be alone, whatever our fancy. I felt included when I wanted to be and felt comfortable being alone when I wanted to be. There were hammocks for swinging, chairs for lounging, grass for lying or sitting on, or hooping on. I loved that I could just pick up my hoop and start hooping, and for once I wasn't the weird one. I felt totally normal.
The workshops. Fantastic. I learned so much, I grew so much as a hooper. Not just the hooping workshops either, the movement ones were just as amazing. Spandy Andy was so much fun, I only wish that I had felt a little better (damn quinoa) and could have enjoyed it more. He is such a bundle of energy ant it's hard not to feel happy when he is around and dancing. It's clear to see the guy loves to dance, and man can he dance! I managed to last through his workshop despite feeling awful because I didn't want to miss a thing (and really, lying in my tent in pain seemed like a worse idea than dancing through the pain), and then rocked out for a bit during the LED jam. My fiber optic hoop almost didn't make it to In Flow since I couldn't find the batteries for it, but luck smiled on me and I found them right before I walked out the door. It was the first time I really got to spin with it for a long period of time and it helped me temporarily forget that I had eaten quinoa for dinner.
I loved Sadie's Dancefloor Ecosystem workshop which was the first one on Saturday morning. The title describes it perfectly. It has been a long time since I spent time on a dancefloor, and it was fun to have it all come back to me for a bit. The interaction with others, what it was like to share that space. I had almost forgotten what it was like.
Elana's Grace in the Space workshop was fantastic as well. I felt really at home there, grace while dancing is something I feel I can do. I also loved the music Elana played, and I loved Elana herself. She was that first person who introduced herself, and I will always love her for that.
In the afternoon was Beth Lavinder's 3 hour intensive. What can I say about Beth other than she has become my single biggest inspiration in the hoop world. There's one thing I've said in previous posts, and that is that I often feel like the odd one out being a hooper and a mother. Beth made me feel so amazing about being both. Hearing that she also didn't start hooping until after she had her daughter, and seeing what a stunning hooper she is today, gives me so much hope that it's not too late for me to be not only the kind of hooper I want, but also the kind of mother I want to be and the kind of entrepreneur I want to be. She has shown me there is still time, still hope to be all I want. From now on whenever I get down about not being able to do as much as people without kids, I will think of her.
Her workshop was nothing short of fantastic as well, and I really enjoyed learning more about point hooping as well as some of the really cool breaks she taught us. Beth was such a joy to learn from and a joy to watch hoop. She was so graceful and stunning, and her style really resonated with me. She was also an absolutely lovely lady to talk to. I feel so fortunate to have gotten to spend time with her. I know that in the past when I took workshops with Baxter and Hoopalicious, I felt really intimidated by them and was afraid to talk them. It might have been the relaxed setting as well but I felt totally comfortable hooping with and chatting casually with Beth.
The evening's workshop was fire spinning with Tegan, and that was very exciting for me because I had never fire hooped before. We covered safety first which was very important, for obvious reasons, and then first I tried playing with one fire poi. I actually found that kind of weird since it was harder to control than a hoop, and one wrong swing could send it flying close to me. When my turn came to try the first hoop, I was nervous but I knew I had to do it. I would have been very disappointed with myself if I hadn't. It was actually not as scary as I thought, and I had a lot of fun. I feel like I was fairly cautious but I probably could have done a few more cool moves like isolations and other off body stuff, but I was trying to be safe. Mostly I kept the hoop on my body but even that was fun. Now I can say that I've done it, and I would also say that I'd do it again!
The first workshop on Sunday was also taught by Tegan, and it was called Freedom through Folding. I'll admit I 'cheated' a bit, and had already learned most of what she had taught. A few months ago Tegan had posted a video to Facebook of her hooping in the style she was going to teach, and I was so instantly in love with her style that I went ahead and taught myself the moves. I absolutely loved her style of flipping and folding, and I incorporate the moves she taught into my dance all the time.
I was really looked forward to Morgan's twin workshop because twin hooping is something I've really started to get into lately, and I was hoping to learn some new tricks and moves I could do with my twins. I was actually surprised to see there wasn't that much she taught that I hadn't already taught myself, but I was also really happy about that as well. The only thing that was new to me was turning with the twins. I already know how to turn with them, but I do it in a different way and I liked learning that there is more than one way I can do it. I will have to practice the way that she showed us because it was tricky. I'm really starting to feel more comfortable twin hooping and am finding myself picking up my twins more and more often.
In the afternoon we started with Maryeve's Circus Style workshop, and that was a lot of fun but really challenging! I enjoyed trying to hoop on my feet, and there were a lot of cool acrobatic type moves that she taught us. I was surprised that I could almost do a few of them, because I didn't think I'd ever be able to do that kind of style since I am not flexible at all. It is something I am working on though, and maybe now that I've learned a bit of it I will try some more of those moves more often. Maryeve was so amazing to watch and I was in awe of some of the tricks she could do.
The final workshop on Sunday was Tessa's Balance and Toss workshop, and was probably the one I found the most challenging. I had tried some balance work back in February in Baxter's workshop, but I will admit I have never quite had the patience for it and so I haven't been practicing it. After seeing what Tessa can do I really want to practice more balance work. I would also like to work on my body rolls, and I think the balancing will help with that. On the In Flow website Tessa was described as an old soul, and I really saw that in her. She was quiet and sweet, and there was just something so amazing about her especially when she was balancing. It was a great way to finish off Sunday's workshops.
I loved each and every workshop and feel like I took a little bit from each one to incorporate into my own dance and practice. I feel like I've grown so much as a hooper from having the opportunity to work with each teacher and their different styles.
And what about the rest of the weekend? All the stuff that filled in the gaps? The food was amazing. Home cooked, local meals every day. I don't think I've ever eaten so well in my life. Aside from the quinoa mishap, my tummy was very happy.
We spent our free time hanging out, lounging around, hooping, swimming, and reading. There was a stunning little pond on the farm that most people loved swimming in. I just liked to admire it, since I'm not big on pond or lake swimming. It did look lovely though. I did take a trip to the cool outdoor shower that they hooked up for us, and I took a dip in the hot tub as well on Sunday night which was awesome.
Let's not forget the yoga! Every morning Mandala led us through yoga and it was certainly a most welcome start to the day.
Some other perks of the weekend included an RMT, and a photographer who was there to capture every moment. I definitely took advantage of both! At home I had been saying for months that I wanted to book a massage, and now finally with no kids to have to worry about, I made sure to book one with Anya while I was there. It was amazing. The photographer on site was Kevin Sue Chue Lam and he was busy the whole time taking pictures of all the events, but was also available for mini-private photo shoots and I took advantage of that as well. I have wanted some nice hooping pictures for some time and that seemed like the perfect opportunity to have some taken. Kevin did an awesome job and I'm so happy with the pictures. There are so many that I think I will do a separate post to share them.
Also, I survived the weekend of tent camping! How I was going to manage being outside for the whole weekend did cause a bit of anxiety for me leading up to the event, but I actually felt quite comfortable and at home in my tent and outdoors. My tent was my sanctuary when I wanted to be alone or escape from the bugs. I enjoyed sleeping in it even though my air mattress wasn't as nice as my comfy bed at home. I lay awake at night listening to the music coming from the tent where people were still dancing, or to the coyotes howling, until drifting off to sleep. I woke up happy and refreshed each morning. The bugs did bother me but I didn't have any traumatic bug experiences which made me feel more confident about camping outdoors again in the future.
Monday was home day and it rained. I made sure to get my tent down before the rain hit so I wasn't packing up in the rain. It almost seemed fitting to get a bit of rain on the last day, afterall we were lucky enough to have the most beautiful weather of the summer all weekend, and the rain kind of mirrored my feelings of having to leave. It cleared up after breakfast though and we had the most lovely circle to end off our weekend.
My weekend at In Flow was a huge milestone for me. It was my first weekend away from my family. It was the first time I truly spent that much time on myself, on my passion, on things that I love. It was the first time I got to spend a lot of time with other hoopers and really truly connect with them. It was also a huge confidence booster for me. I did get a lot of compliments on my hooping and my flow, and each kind word meant the world to me. I also felt great about myself when I realized how far I have come this year, and not just that but knowing I have taught myself so much of it as well.
I arrived home on Monday refreshed and excited to see my family. I looked at my children's faces and I felt like they had grown and changed so much in the three short days I was away. It was the longest I had every been away from them, and as much as I needed the break, I was overjoyed to see them.
I still can't believe it is over. Last weekend already feels like so long ago. I can't believe I took the chance and entered the Flowbot Award, I can't believe that I actually won, and I can't believe I got the opportunity to have this experience. It has certainly been one of the most amazing experiences of my life.
I've written so many words here, and they do not do the whole experience of In Flow justice. I had so many better words running through my head the whole weekend, and the drive home (which turned out to be a bit of a nightmare after getting lost and getting stuck in traffic, but again one of the things not worth dwelling on). I don't have the gift of writing so many others have that pieces things together so beautifully. I can only really write as they come to me, and hope that after time has passed and I come back to read this, it will spark my memory and I can smile knowing what it felt like just to be there.
So many new friends, so many great memories.
And........
Exhale.....................
*sighhhhhhhhh*
*sighhhhhhhhh*
This post. This post will be big. Usually when I write a blog post, I power through it spewing words onto the computer screen without thinking much. I hit spellcheck then give it a quick once over (sometimes I don't even re-read it at all), then click publish and walk away. That's how I roll. I know this post is going to need more than that. It will be rewritten, then probably left to sleep on, then revised, and then we'll see what happens. I really want to remember everything I can about my experience at the 2014 In Flow Festival
At first I thought about writing everything as it happened. Before I had even left and had been delayed by air mattress drama, thoughts were running through my brain about how I was going to explain said drama and how it all unfolded. Maybe even a whole post about how I discovered at the last minute that I couldn't blow up the air mattress I had bought with the pump I had borrowed, and the mad rush that followed trying to figure out what to do about it, right down the air mattress blow up race I had with my friend Monica right before leaving town. It was funny at the time, but was it really important? Or about how on the first night I ate the quinoa salad at dinner without thinking (because it looked so awesome), and then realized afterwards that I had consumed a sizeable portion of the only food that my stomach cannot tolerate, only to spend the rest of that evening feeling bloated and nauseous and not fully able to totally enjoy that night's events.
No, let's not remember those things entirely, though they are good for a laugh at this moment.
I want to remember the place, and the space, and the faces that mattered. The music, and the movement, and the feelings all of these things provoked. I'm not one for details, I'm not good at describing things, words are not my strength. But I really really don't want to forget how amazing I felt this past weekend.
I don't really need to go over what this weekend meant to me, I've been over that time and time again. It was my first weekend away in 6 years, that says enough. Leaving my children wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I thought I would feel more emotional about it, but when the time came they were all in good spirits, and I felt good knowing they were safe. My husband was showing that he was ready for the task of having them all weekend, and he seemed confident about it which was enough for me. When I left on Friday (2 hours later than I was hoping to leave), I felt good. I felt ready for an adventure.
The drive up was beautiful and peaceful, and I got to Wildenfree Farm in Gravenhurst in 1.5 hours exactly. I felt a sense of exhilaration as I drove in, not sure what to expect. It was absolutely beautiful, and welcoming. Our hosts had taken such care to make sure it was easy to find, with signs on the roads and also once we drove in, making it easy to know where to go and where to park.
I wish I could describe the setting, but like I said, I suck at descriptions. I also suck at taking pictures. But what pictures I did take, I will add.
I was nervous about this weekend for many reasons, but one of the biggest ones was that I didn't know anyone very well. I was familiar with many faces from the Toronto hoop community from the few workshops I had attended earlier this year, but I hadn't yet really talked to any of them yet, and I was feeling intimidated because I knew most of them already knew each other. I hadn't even been out of my van 2 minutes yet when the lady unpacking the car next to me introduced herself and made me feel included. I knew from that moment on that I would be fine.
I managed to sign in and meet a few more people, and find myself a site to set up my camp. I tried as hard as I could to look like I wasn't nervous, and that camping with strange people was something I did all the time. Let's be honest here, outdoorsy person I am not. I don't camp. It's not that I haven't camped (on the contrary I did a lot of camping as a kid), but I hadn't done it in a very long time. Oh and I am severely bug phobic. Yeah, that kind of makes I hard to love the outdoors. So I was worried that my being camping challenged would put a damper on the experience, but it turns out I fared just fine.
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| "The Grove" |
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| My sanctuary for the weekend |
I could give you a play by play of how the entire weekend unfolded, but like I said I'm not sure I want to write this post that way. I want to try and write about how it made me feel, and about how I made so many new friends and had so many breakthroughs both as a person and as a hooper.
I cannot imagine a more perfect weekend. If I had to pick one negative thing it would have been that I got eaten alive by bugs, but even then I don't consider it bad because it was a part of the experience, and the experience as a whole was amazing.
The place. Wildenfree Farm, home of Naoise and Greg, was the most beautiful setting for our weekend and we are so fortunate that they opened up their home and property to us. I have nothing to compare this year's In Flow to since I have never attended anything like it in the past, but I cannot imagine a better place to hold it. The house, the pond, the forests, the fields, it was all so stunning and they outdid themselves making sure it was comfortable for all of us.
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| The Orchard, where hammocks hung and we had opening circle |
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| View from the house - the pond, the fire pit, and where we ate our meals |
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| The gardens and the tent where the magic happened |
The people. I don't think I have ever met a warmer and more welcoming community that those in the hoop community. Every single person had a warm smile on their face and a big heart. And they were all so interesting. I loved hearing about their adventures and travels. Things I could only dream of doing and places I could only dream of visiting. Not that I have ever been a particularly free spirited individual, but I think that I see a bit of the old me in them, in their freedom. There was a time when I might have been more like that, but that was a long time ago. Still it was nice to be reminded of that.
The workshops. Fantastic. I learned so much, I grew so much as a hooper. Not just the hooping workshops either, the movement ones were just as amazing. Spandy Andy was so much fun, I only wish that I had felt a little better (damn quinoa) and could have enjoyed it more. He is such a bundle of energy ant it's hard not to feel happy when he is around and dancing. It's clear to see the guy loves to dance, and man can he dance! I managed to last through his workshop despite feeling awful because I didn't want to miss a thing (and really, lying in my tent in pain seemed like a worse idea than dancing through the pain), and then rocked out for a bit during the LED jam. My fiber optic hoop almost didn't make it to In Flow since I couldn't find the batteries for it, but luck smiled on me and I found them right before I walked out the door. It was the first time I really got to spin with it for a long period of time and it helped me temporarily forget that I had eaten quinoa for dinner.
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| LED jam - photo credit: Kevin Sue Chue Lam |
Elana's Grace in the Space workshop was fantastic as well. I felt really at home there, grace while dancing is something I feel I can do. I also loved the music Elana played, and I loved Elana herself. She was that first person who introduced herself, and I will always love her for that.
In the afternoon was Beth Lavinder's 3 hour intensive. What can I say about Beth other than she has become my single biggest inspiration in the hoop world. There's one thing I've said in previous posts, and that is that I often feel like the odd one out being a hooper and a mother. Beth made me feel so amazing about being both. Hearing that she also didn't start hooping until after she had her daughter, and seeing what a stunning hooper she is today, gives me so much hope that it's not too late for me to be not only the kind of hooper I want, but also the kind of mother I want to be and the kind of entrepreneur I want to be. She has shown me there is still time, still hope to be all I want. From now on whenever I get down about not being able to do as much as people without kids, I will think of her.
Her workshop was nothing short of fantastic as well, and I really enjoyed learning more about point hooping as well as some of the really cool breaks she taught us. Beth was such a joy to learn from and a joy to watch hoop. She was so graceful and stunning, and her style really resonated with me. She was also an absolutely lovely lady to talk to. I feel so fortunate to have gotten to spend time with her. I know that in the past when I took workshops with Baxter and Hoopalicious, I felt really intimidated by them and was afraid to talk them. It might have been the relaxed setting as well but I felt totally comfortable hooping with and chatting casually with Beth.
The evening's workshop was fire spinning with Tegan, and that was very exciting for me because I had never fire hooped before. We covered safety first which was very important, for obvious reasons, and then first I tried playing with one fire poi. I actually found that kind of weird since it was harder to control than a hoop, and one wrong swing could send it flying close to me. When my turn came to try the first hoop, I was nervous but I knew I had to do it. I would have been very disappointed with myself if I hadn't. It was actually not as scary as I thought, and I had a lot of fun. I feel like I was fairly cautious but I probably could have done a few more cool moves like isolations and other off body stuff, but I was trying to be safe. Mostly I kept the hoop on my body but even that was fun. Now I can say that I've done it, and I would also say that I'd do it again!
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| Spinning fire! Photo credit: Kevin Sue Chue Lam |
I was really looked forward to Morgan's twin workshop because twin hooping is something I've really started to get into lately, and I was hoping to learn some new tricks and moves I could do with my twins. I was actually surprised to see there wasn't that much she taught that I hadn't already taught myself, but I was also really happy about that as well. The only thing that was new to me was turning with the twins. I already know how to turn with them, but I do it in a different way and I liked learning that there is more than one way I can do it. I will have to practice the way that she showed us because it was tricky. I'm really starting to feel more comfortable twin hooping and am finding myself picking up my twins more and more often.
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| Twin workshop - Photo credit: Kevin Sue Chue Lam |
In the afternoon we started with Maryeve's Circus Style workshop, and that was a lot of fun but really challenging! I enjoyed trying to hoop on my feet, and there were a lot of cool acrobatic type moves that she taught us. I was surprised that I could almost do a few of them, because I didn't think I'd ever be able to do that kind of style since I am not flexible at all. It is something I am working on though, and maybe now that I've learned a bit of it I will try some more of those moves more often. Maryeve was so amazing to watch and I was in awe of some of the tricks she could do.
The final workshop on Sunday was Tessa's Balance and Toss workshop, and was probably the one I found the most challenging. I had tried some balance work back in February in Baxter's workshop, but I will admit I have never quite had the patience for it and so I haven't been practicing it. After seeing what Tessa can do I really want to practice more balance work. I would also like to work on my body rolls, and I think the balancing will help with that. On the In Flow website Tessa was described as an old soul, and I really saw that in her. She was quiet and sweet, and there was just something so amazing about her especially when she was balancing. It was a great way to finish off Sunday's workshops.
I loved each and every workshop and feel like I took a little bit from each one to incorporate into my own dance and practice. I feel like I've grown so much as a hooper from having the opportunity to work with each teacher and their different styles.
And what about the rest of the weekend? All the stuff that filled in the gaps? The food was amazing. Home cooked, local meals every day. I don't think I've ever eaten so well in my life. Aside from the quinoa mishap, my tummy was very happy.
We spent our free time hanging out, lounging around, hooping, swimming, and reading. There was a stunning little pond on the farm that most people loved swimming in. I just liked to admire it, since I'm not big on pond or lake swimming. It did look lovely though. I did take a trip to the cool outdoor shower that they hooked up for us, and I took a dip in the hot tub as well on Sunday night which was awesome.
Let's not forget the yoga! Every morning Mandala led us through yoga and it was certainly a most welcome start to the day.
Some other perks of the weekend included an RMT, and a photographer who was there to capture every moment. I definitely took advantage of both! At home I had been saying for months that I wanted to book a massage, and now finally with no kids to have to worry about, I made sure to book one with Anya while I was there. It was amazing. The photographer on site was Kevin Sue Chue Lam and he was busy the whole time taking pictures of all the events, but was also available for mini-private photo shoots and I took advantage of that as well. I have wanted some nice hooping pictures for some time and that seemed like the perfect opportunity to have some taken. Kevin did an awesome job and I'm so happy with the pictures. There are so many that I think I will do a separate post to share them.
Also, I survived the weekend of tent camping! How I was going to manage being outside for the whole weekend did cause a bit of anxiety for me leading up to the event, but I actually felt quite comfortable and at home in my tent and outdoors. My tent was my sanctuary when I wanted to be alone or escape from the bugs. I enjoyed sleeping in it even though my air mattress wasn't as nice as my comfy bed at home. I lay awake at night listening to the music coming from the tent where people were still dancing, or to the coyotes howling, until drifting off to sleep. I woke up happy and refreshed each morning. The bugs did bother me but I didn't have any traumatic bug experiences which made me feel more confident about camping outdoors again in the future.
Monday was home day and it rained. I made sure to get my tent down before the rain hit so I wasn't packing up in the rain. It almost seemed fitting to get a bit of rain on the last day, afterall we were lucky enough to have the most beautiful weather of the summer all weekend, and the rain kind of mirrored my feelings of having to leave. It cleared up after breakfast though and we had the most lovely circle to end off our weekend.
My weekend at In Flow was a huge milestone for me. It was my first weekend away from my family. It was the first time I truly spent that much time on myself, on my passion, on things that I love. It was the first time I got to spend a lot of time with other hoopers and really truly connect with them. It was also a huge confidence booster for me. I did get a lot of compliments on my hooping and my flow, and each kind word meant the world to me. I also felt great about myself when I realized how far I have come this year, and not just that but knowing I have taught myself so much of it as well.
I arrived home on Monday refreshed and excited to see my family. I looked at my children's faces and I felt like they had grown and changed so much in the three short days I was away. It was the longest I had every been away from them, and as much as I needed the break, I was overjoyed to see them.
I still can't believe it is over. Last weekend already feels like so long ago. I can't believe I took the chance and entered the Flowbot Award, I can't believe that I actually won, and I can't believe I got the opportunity to have this experience. It has certainly been one of the most amazing experiences of my life.
I've written so many words here, and they do not do the whole experience of In Flow justice. I had so many better words running through my head the whole weekend, and the drive home (which turned out to be a bit of a nightmare after getting lost and getting stuck in traffic, but again one of the things not worth dwelling on). I don't have the gift of writing so many others have that pieces things together so beautifully. I can only really write as they come to me, and hope that after time has passed and I come back to read this, it will spark my memory and I can smile knowing what it felt like just to be there.
So many new friends, so many great memories.
And........
Exhale.....................
*sighhhhhhhhh*
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| New friends - Photo credit: Kevin Sue Chue Lam Check out here for more info about the In Flow Festival Check out here for more info about Kevin Sue Chue Lam Photography |
Friday, 8 August 2014
Day 229 - Love the Process/REVERSE THREE BEAT WEAVE!
I'm a little excited about this, hence the title being in caps. It's not that I didn't think I'd ever get the reverse three beat weave, I just didn't know when. It seemed so elusive, I couldn't quite work out how to do it and I hadn't really found a good tutorial for it either. I remember when I was trying to work out how to do the forwards three beat weave, I looked for tutorials and then finally saw one from Emma Kenna that really broke it down and made it somewhat easy to understand. After watching it I went outside and got to work, and it seemed like I was never going to get it. My brain actually started to hurt from trying to figure out what to do with my hands, but I stuck with it and kept working it out until finally it clicked. I remember the feeling of elation when I finally got it once, and then again, and again and again until I was doing it fluidly without having to focus too hard on what my hands were doing. The whole process after watching Emma's tutorial took maybe 15 minutes.
I just went through the exact same process trying to figure out the reverse three beat weave. It's fascinating for me to think back to what the entire process entailed.
First I looked for a tutorial, something that broke it down as easily as Emma's forwards one did. I didn't have much luck finding one that made sense, so I tried to work it out myself with little success. When a hooper on Facebook posted that she finally got it, I asked her if she had any tips or tutorials that had helped, but she didn't have anything to offer me, simply saying she kept at it until she got it. That was somewhat useless information at the time but now makes perfect sense to me.
So I tried to break it down for myself, step by step. The first logical step was to work on my reverse two beat weave and get comfortable with that. That move in and of itself was a bit tricky as I find reverse weaves in general to be a bit of a challenge. Once I felt somewhat comfortable doing the two beat weave in reverse (practicing leading with both hands of course), I took the same approach I learned from Emma's tutorial and worked on the timing with each hand individually. I used one hand and one hoop to practice the one-two-three beat, with the hoop spinning two rotations on one side and one on the other.
Last week at In Flow a fellow hooper saw me trying to drill this one hand movement and suggested I practice moving the other hand with it as well to get the motion down. This made total sense as I had learned to use the same approach from Emma's tutorial. So I started trying to do that as well.
Today I decided once again to give it a go, and once again I could feel my brain starting to hurt as I tried to work it all out. I had the reverse two beat weave, I had the one-two-three timing down with each hand individually, but I was still running into a problem somewhere. I kept going back to the forwards three beat weave to see if there were any clues as to when I should be changing my hands from over to under. That's when I finally realized it: During the forwards three beat weave, the hand that is on top spins two rotations while the hand that is underneath comes up and over. With the reverse three beat weave, it is the other way; the hand on the bottom spins two rotations while the hand on top moves to underneath. Duh.
Once I had that revelation it was just a matter to getting the timing and pattern down, and with each time I tried it I got better and better. Soon I was getting the hand switches down though I still needed time in between them to recover and get the reverse weave going smoothly again. But after that it was only a matter of minutes before I was switching back and forth in a proper three beat time. At first it was kind of wonky, with the hoops flying all over the place and the weave not going quite as smooth, but it didn't take long at all before I had cleaned it up some more into a presentable, proper, reverse three beat weave. I still need to practice and work on those wrists, but man does it feel good to have that move down.
Just like with the forwards three beat weave, the whole process today from starting to work it out (but still having little clue as to how to actually do it), to actually nailing it took maybe 15 minutes.
I am thrilled about this breakthrough today. Next up, moving through a forwards three beat weave, to a windmill, to a reverse three beat weave. I've seen combination referred to as The Fountain.
Progress is sweet.
(ps I do have an epic In Flow post in the works, but there was a lot of information to process and I'd like to add pictures as well, so it's taking some time. But just so you know In Flow itself was epic. Just epic.)
I'm going to leave you with Safire's Love the Process Video, something I go back to when I'm feeling discouraged and also a video that I thought about a lot today, as I have enjoyed the process unfolding.
I just went through the exact same process trying to figure out the reverse three beat weave. It's fascinating for me to think back to what the entire process entailed.
First I looked for a tutorial, something that broke it down as easily as Emma's forwards one did. I didn't have much luck finding one that made sense, so I tried to work it out myself with little success. When a hooper on Facebook posted that she finally got it, I asked her if she had any tips or tutorials that had helped, but she didn't have anything to offer me, simply saying she kept at it until she got it. That was somewhat useless information at the time but now makes perfect sense to me.
So I tried to break it down for myself, step by step. The first logical step was to work on my reverse two beat weave and get comfortable with that. That move in and of itself was a bit tricky as I find reverse weaves in general to be a bit of a challenge. Once I felt somewhat comfortable doing the two beat weave in reverse (practicing leading with both hands of course), I took the same approach I learned from Emma's tutorial and worked on the timing with each hand individually. I used one hand and one hoop to practice the one-two-three beat, with the hoop spinning two rotations on one side and one on the other.
Last week at In Flow a fellow hooper saw me trying to drill this one hand movement and suggested I practice moving the other hand with it as well to get the motion down. This made total sense as I had learned to use the same approach from Emma's tutorial. So I started trying to do that as well.
Today I decided once again to give it a go, and once again I could feel my brain starting to hurt as I tried to work it all out. I had the reverse two beat weave, I had the one-two-three timing down with each hand individually, but I was still running into a problem somewhere. I kept going back to the forwards three beat weave to see if there were any clues as to when I should be changing my hands from over to under. That's when I finally realized it: During the forwards three beat weave, the hand that is on top spins two rotations while the hand that is underneath comes up and over. With the reverse three beat weave, it is the other way; the hand on the bottom spins two rotations while the hand on top moves to underneath. Duh.
Once I had that revelation it was just a matter to getting the timing and pattern down, and with each time I tried it I got better and better. Soon I was getting the hand switches down though I still needed time in between them to recover and get the reverse weave going smoothly again. But after that it was only a matter of minutes before I was switching back and forth in a proper three beat time. At first it was kind of wonky, with the hoops flying all over the place and the weave not going quite as smooth, but it didn't take long at all before I had cleaned it up some more into a presentable, proper, reverse three beat weave. I still need to practice and work on those wrists, but man does it feel good to have that move down.
Just like with the forwards three beat weave, the whole process today from starting to work it out (but still having little clue as to how to actually do it), to actually nailing it took maybe 15 minutes.
I am thrilled about this breakthrough today. Next up, moving through a forwards three beat weave, to a windmill, to a reverse three beat weave. I've seen combination referred to as The Fountain.
Progress is sweet.
(ps I do have an epic In Flow post in the works, but there was a lot of information to process and I'd like to add pictures as well, so it's taking some time. But just so you know In Flow itself was epic. Just epic.)
I'm going to leave you with Safire's Love the Process Video, something I go back to when I'm feeling discouraged and also a video that I thought about a lot today, as I have enjoyed the process unfolding.
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