I can't believe it's taken me so long to write these words here. I mean, I finished the course a few weeks ago already! And I have been telling myself I need to share the news here almost every day since then but just haven't had the time. So I'm doing it now!
I finally finished Deanne Love's Hooplove Coaching! Ok so it took me a little longer than the 30 days it was supposed to take. I imagine that many other hoopers (ahem those without kids!) could dedicate a few hours to the course each night. I couldn't. If I was lucky I could watch the tutorials or read the material for 30 minutes to an hour MOST nights (some nights I just couldn't do it). By the time my kids were in bed, and I finished packing lunches for the next day, and folding the laundry, and making whatever hoops were on order, there was usually a very small sliver of time left to do the course work. So I picked away at it, but I did manage to finish it by about the second week of June, so that's not too far behind!
So now what? Well, I'm finding myself in this interesting transition period, where I know I need to be doing more for my hoop business but I still don't know exactly what. But I am not stressing about it. I feel like the beauty of what I am doing is that I don't need to pressure myself. I can grow my business as fast, or as slow, as I would like. So it is taking me some time to wrap my head around the whole process. There are still a lot of things I feel I need to work on, like my bio and credentials, and thinking about a website, and organizing more classes. As always family first, so I fit the hoop business in around that.
Admittedly I am finding it hard to build an interest in hooping and I am still not sure if that is because this town is a hard crowd to crack, or if I'm not trying hard enough. I am putting myself out there as much as I can, but I am never entirely sure if it is enough. For example I do know other hoopers who are doing so many more events than I am, but the bottom line is, I just can't commit to much of that stuff...yet. There is still time.
For the time being, I am making time to plan weekly hoop jams and gatherings, and hoping that people will come out to meet me, and a few have. I've still been at the Y every Sunday, sometimes I have a few people and sometimes I don't. I've also been trying to get to Sunset Point with my hoops on Wednesday evenings, and have had a few people join me then too.
The most important thing is that I keep on hooping, and that I can do!
Tuesday, 24 June 2014
Wednesday, 18 June 2014
Day 169 - YouTubing it UP! Practice makes.... ???
Alright all my hoop videos are going up on YouTube. For one if they are on YouTube then I always have access to viewing and sharing them. And for another, my husband has told me I need to free up some space on the computer and since I am hesitant to delete all the pictures of our kids without backing them up again (even though I have them uploaded to a share site as well), the hoop videos will have to go.
It has been a time consuming process, first of all going through them and deciding which ones I wanted to hang on to (I mean really, I don't need like 4 videos of the same session where I'm pretty much doing the same thing in each one, now do I?). And really I will never watch all of them again. So I am holding on to my favourites, the ones that after I watched them for the first time I smiled so hard and was so happy to see how far I had come (even though when I watch the same videos now they are so boring!). The best thing about watching the videos from the very beginning is knowing that I am already 10x better than I was then, so by this time next year I should in theory be another 10x better (if not more since I practice more and am doing more training)!
Practice makes...improvement? I can testify to the fact that hooping everyday has made me a far better hooper in much less time than compared to last year where I only practiced every few days or so. If you love something then do it, and do it often, and you will be as amazing as you want to be.
Anyways, here's my YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/martinaraeonthebay
It has been a time consuming process, first of all going through them and deciding which ones I wanted to hang on to (I mean really, I don't need like 4 videos of the same session where I'm pretty much doing the same thing in each one, now do I?). And really I will never watch all of them again. So I am holding on to my favourites, the ones that after I watched them for the first time I smiled so hard and was so happy to see how far I had come (even though when I watch the same videos now they are so boring!). The best thing about watching the videos from the very beginning is knowing that I am already 10x better than I was then, so by this time next year I should in theory be another 10x better (if not more since I practice more and am doing more training)!
Practice makes...improvement? I can testify to the fact that hooping everyday has made me a far better hooper in much less time than compared to last year where I only practiced every few days or so. If you love something then do it, and do it often, and you will be as amazing as you want to be.
Anyways, here's my YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/martinaraeonthebay
Monday, 9 June 2014
Day 160 - Please Join me for a Spin! Hoopy Wednesdays are ON!
Whenever it's been a little while since I posted, I have to redo the math to figure out what day I'm on. Looks like I'm almost halfway through the year, and haven't missed a day yet! Woo hoo! I'll be honest there are some days that barely count (not many though), but I do manage to get a spin in. Sometimes it's as simple as standing in front of my tv for 10 minutes doing drills. Coiling the hoop up and down on my body, working in my non-dominant direction, or just doing isolations. If I picked up the hoop that day, then it counts!
It really helps that the gorgeous weather is finally here which has meant much more outdoor hooping! It is always easier to make progress and have breakthroughs when outside in the fresh air and sunshine, when I'm not limited by space. And so, with the arrival of outdoor hooping comes the start of HOOPY WEDNESDAYS! I'm inviting people to join me every Wednesday evening (weather permitting), to have a little social spin and enjoy the outdoors. It's at Sunset Point 7-9pm.
Last Wednesday was the first one, and it was absolutely amazing. The weather was just perfect, it could not have been more lovely out. I was worried it was going to be too windy since the wind was howling all day, but by evening it calmed down and it was wonderful. I had a few people stop and join me, and it was nice being outside and connecting with others through my hoop.
I have also tried my hand at aerial hoop/lyra which has been fantastic. The girls at Aerial Silks Collingwood have been so great and so supportive, and I'm really starting to get the hang of it now three weeks in. It's really hard, but is a great core workout and I am loving it.
Another little bit of news, I have a fan! A friend from overseas messaged me and said her 5 year old daughter loves my videos, and asked if I would do a basic tutorial for her since she is still have trouble getting the hang of it. I don't know that making tutorials will ever be something I'd like to do, especially since there are already so many great ones out there, but I had fun making this short one for the little girl. My own 5 year old was my assistant and he did a great job demonstrating the technique. I must say he is becoming a great little hooper himself, his waist hooping is coming along nicely, and he has even been trying some arm/hand hooping too. Making Mommy proud!
I really enjoy watching kids hoop especially when they are really into it. There is nothing like seeing how excited they are to try it and get it. I did a birthday party a few weeks ago which was a lot of fun, and I often take hoops to my kids' school after class so the other kids can hoop, and we all have a great time. There are some really great future hoopers out there, and I would be thrilled so see them all blossom into amazing hoopers one day.
Here's one more video I've managed to upload (it's a slow process). From late last summer, and the music is Let it Fall by Lykke Li. Amazed at how far I've come since this video!
It really helps that the gorgeous weather is finally here which has meant much more outdoor hooping! It is always easier to make progress and have breakthroughs when outside in the fresh air and sunshine, when I'm not limited by space. And so, with the arrival of outdoor hooping comes the start of HOOPY WEDNESDAYS! I'm inviting people to join me every Wednesday evening (weather permitting), to have a little social spin and enjoy the outdoors. It's at Sunset Point 7-9pm.
Last Wednesday was the first one, and it was absolutely amazing. The weather was just perfect, it could not have been more lovely out. I was worried it was going to be too windy since the wind was howling all day, but by evening it calmed down and it was wonderful. I had a few people stop and join me, and it was nice being outside and connecting with others through my hoop.
I have also tried my hand at aerial hoop/lyra which has been fantastic. The girls at Aerial Silks Collingwood have been so great and so supportive, and I'm really starting to get the hang of it now three weeks in. It's really hard, but is a great core workout and I am loving it.
Another little bit of news, I have a fan! A friend from overseas messaged me and said her 5 year old daughter loves my videos, and asked if I would do a basic tutorial for her since she is still have trouble getting the hang of it. I don't know that making tutorials will ever be something I'd like to do, especially since there are already so many great ones out there, but I had fun making this short one for the little girl. My own 5 year old was my assistant and he did a great job demonstrating the technique. I must say he is becoming a great little hooper himself, his waist hooping is coming along nicely, and he has even been trying some arm/hand hooping too. Making Mommy proud!
I really enjoy watching kids hoop especially when they are really into it. There is nothing like seeing how excited they are to try it and get it. I did a birthday party a few weeks ago which was a lot of fun, and I often take hoops to my kids' school after class so the other kids can hoop, and we all have a great time. There are some really great future hoopers out there, and I would be thrilled so see them all blossom into amazing hoopers one day.
Here's one more video I've managed to upload (it's a slow process). From late last summer, and the music is Let it Fall by Lykke Li. Amazed at how far I've come since this video!
Friday, 23 May 2014
Day 142 - Summer 2013 Hooping Video
Another video I've uploaded to YouTube to share. This one is long, I started hooping and didn't feel like stopping when the first song (or the second) had finished, so it's a three song video. I love going back and watching my hoop videos. Yes I scrutinize every detail and criticize the small things, but at the same time I am always proud of myself in each one for keeping at it and continuing to grow. Here we've got some OKGO/Metric/Bjork going on. Last summer, back before I knew many off body moves and so I rocked the core hooping more often. I'm trying to get back into the on body stuff, it really is awesome.
Thursday, 22 May 2014
Day 141 - Summer Kick-Off Hoop Workshop
Summer Kick-Off Hoop Workshop is booked! In this Intro to Hooping workshop I plan on covering all the basics of hooping on the core: waist, hip, chest/shoulder, and neck hooping. We'll have a go at knee hooping just for fun, though that is definitely a bit of a tougher move to learn (took me months!). In addition to the core work we'll play with spiral up and down and try to put them together into a vortex, and dabble in some off body work too like hand spins and weaves. Then we'll try to put it all together for some fun mini-sequences, and as always there will be playtime at the end of the workshop.
Learn to hoop and never be bored this summer!
The details:
When: Saturday, June 21, 2014 2-4pm
Where: Head Over Heels Gymnastics in Collingwood
Cost: $25/person
To register contact Martina 7058889681 martina_rae@rogers.com
It's going to be lots of fun!
Learn to hoop and never be bored this summer!
The details:
When: Saturday, June 21, 2014 2-4pm
Where: Head Over Heels Gymnastics in Collingwood
Cost: $25/person
To register contact Martina 7058889681 martina_rae@rogers.com
It's going to be lots of fun!
Monday, 19 May 2014
Day 139 - Hoopalicious.Was.Amazing
I changed the name of my blog. Everytime I think of my life, two things come to mind: My family, and my hooping. The challenge has been trying to find a balance between the two. I find myself somewhat in the minority of hoopers, being a mom. That is not to say that there are not any other hoop mamas out there, I've just noticed there are less of them than non-moms. Of the two major workshops that I've been too, I have been one of only a few other moms (I think at HoopPath there was only one or two others). This does make me feel different in a way - the way you approach your passions is drastically different when you have children as opposed to if you don't. I've mentioned this before, prior to having kids I could dive deep into the things that interested me and spend as much time or money on it as I could. Not so much with a young family. I'm also still relatively new to the hoop world, or even motherhood one for that matter, so I'm sure things will evolve over time.
I love being a Hoop Mama. I love that I have found something that I'm so passionate about that is also fun and can fit into my family life. It helps me reconnect with my inner child, because really I'm not very good at being child-like in any other ways. I look forward to the days when my children can hoop with me more. My oldest is just starting to get the hang of it and will join me sometimes. My younger two try as well, and while they are still young to be doing it I enjoy seeing them give it a go.
Anyways, I hadn't actually intended to write about hooping and my family except to mention the title change. I could probably go on a bit more but there have been more pressing things that I have wanted to write about.
Hoopalicious! Aka Anah Reichenbach, or as I am now referring to her, the most beautiful hooper ever. She is just glorious is person. I have always been amazed by her hooping when I saw it in videos, but the way she moves is really something that needs to be experienced first hand. She was stunning. Just in case you have never seen her dance:
The workshop ran over two days, 3hrs on each day. It was absolutely amazing. I really connected with her style of teaching, and had so many breakthroughs over the course of the weekend. Anah really focuses on core hooping, as she puts it she feels core hooping is the main course and tricks/off body stuff is the spice. They are both important for sure, core hooping without spice would be bland, but you definitely wouldn't want just spice and no substance.
I will admit my own core hooping has been lacking lately. I have been guilty of moving away from it, towards more off body work and isolations. I don't know why, but I almost feel safer with off body work, like I have more control over it. Whenever I would core hoop, as much as I liked it, I would find myself getting bored, or that I made a lot of mistakes, so I would just go back to doing off body hooping. Anah really showed us the unlimited possibilities of hooping on the core, and that there are so many ways to move within and through the hoop that are beautiful and interesting.
I have never seen anyone dance within the hoop the way she does. It is like she is dancing, and the hoops just moves around her. If you took the hoop away, she would still be dancing so beautifully. Sometimes I feel like if you took my hoop away, I'd look ridiculous!
I totally fell in love with core hooping all over again, and feel like a stronger hooper for having had the opportunity to work with her. She showed us how to move all around the room dancing in our hoops, how to hoop on the hips and move our chest around, how to shoulder hoop and do hip circles at the same time, how to properly do angle hooping (something I have needed to work on!).
That's not to say she didn't have a few tricks for us. We learned some cool behind the back isolations, how to do a pizza toss, and a funky move she called the Noble Stag which I can't even begin to explain! We worked on shoulder duck outs and for the first time ever I was consistently able to duck out to the left with the hoop rotating around my right shoulder, something I have been trying to do for probably close to a year. It was like the energy of the room helped me do it. Now to see if I can keep doing it!
Another awesome thing about this past weekend was that I got to meet many other hoopers that will be going to InFlow as well, and it was nice to connect with them and start building friendships.
These past few weeks have been amazing for me and my hoop. Even before the workshop I was starting to find more flow and nail some new tricks. I've got the chest rolls down pretty consistently, and have started to get a few shoulder rolls as well. I'm unlocking more flow and finding new ways to move through my hoop.
I can honestly say that my hooping every day this year challenge is paying off. My hooping has made more progress in the last few months than it did in the first two years combined. It's an amazing feeling! I will leave off with the next video I have uploaded to YouTube, the first time I managed to figure out the three beat weave. It isn't an exciting video, but this was a move I really wanted to figure out and it actually hurt my brain trying to work out how to do it, but when I finally got it I was so thrilled that I had my husband come out and video it. I don't think he was as impressed as I had hoped he would be, but you can see in my face that I was pretty happy about it! Now I'm trying to work out how to do a reverse three beat weave, which is definitely proving to be tricky!
I love being a Hoop Mama. I love that I have found something that I'm so passionate about that is also fun and can fit into my family life. It helps me reconnect with my inner child, because really I'm not very good at being child-like in any other ways. I look forward to the days when my children can hoop with me more. My oldest is just starting to get the hang of it and will join me sometimes. My younger two try as well, and while they are still young to be doing it I enjoy seeing them give it a go.
Anyways, I hadn't actually intended to write about hooping and my family except to mention the title change. I could probably go on a bit more but there have been more pressing things that I have wanted to write about.
Hoopalicious! Aka Anah Reichenbach, or as I am now referring to her, the most beautiful hooper ever. She is just glorious is person. I have always been amazed by her hooping when I saw it in videos, but the way she moves is really something that needs to be experienced first hand. She was stunning. Just in case you have never seen her dance:
The workshop ran over two days, 3hrs on each day. It was absolutely amazing. I really connected with her style of teaching, and had so many breakthroughs over the course of the weekend. Anah really focuses on core hooping, as she puts it she feels core hooping is the main course and tricks/off body stuff is the spice. They are both important for sure, core hooping without spice would be bland, but you definitely wouldn't want just spice and no substance.
I will admit my own core hooping has been lacking lately. I have been guilty of moving away from it, towards more off body work and isolations. I don't know why, but I almost feel safer with off body work, like I have more control over it. Whenever I would core hoop, as much as I liked it, I would find myself getting bored, or that I made a lot of mistakes, so I would just go back to doing off body hooping. Anah really showed us the unlimited possibilities of hooping on the core, and that there are so many ways to move within and through the hoop that are beautiful and interesting.
I have never seen anyone dance within the hoop the way she does. It is like she is dancing, and the hoops just moves around her. If you took the hoop away, she would still be dancing so beautifully. Sometimes I feel like if you took my hoop away, I'd look ridiculous!
I totally fell in love with core hooping all over again, and feel like a stronger hooper for having had the opportunity to work with her. She showed us how to move all around the room dancing in our hoops, how to hoop on the hips and move our chest around, how to shoulder hoop and do hip circles at the same time, how to properly do angle hooping (something I have needed to work on!).
That's not to say she didn't have a few tricks for us. We learned some cool behind the back isolations, how to do a pizza toss, and a funky move she called the Noble Stag which I can't even begin to explain! We worked on shoulder duck outs and for the first time ever I was consistently able to duck out to the left with the hoop rotating around my right shoulder, something I have been trying to do for probably close to a year. It was like the energy of the room helped me do it. Now to see if I can keep doing it!
Another awesome thing about this past weekend was that I got to meet many other hoopers that will be going to InFlow as well, and it was nice to connect with them and start building friendships.
These past few weeks have been amazing for me and my hoop. Even before the workshop I was starting to find more flow and nail some new tricks. I've got the chest rolls down pretty consistently, and have started to get a few shoulder rolls as well. I'm unlocking more flow and finding new ways to move through my hoop.
I can honestly say that my hooping every day this year challenge is paying off. My hooping has made more progress in the last few months than it did in the first two years combined. It's an amazing feeling! I will leave off with the next video I have uploaded to YouTube, the first time I managed to figure out the three beat weave. It isn't an exciting video, but this was a move I really wanted to figure out and it actually hurt my brain trying to work out how to do it, but when I finally got it I was so thrilled that I had my husband come out and video it. I don't think he was as impressed as I had hoped he would be, but you can see in my face that I was pretty happy about it! Now I'm trying to work out how to do a reverse three beat weave, which is definitely proving to be tricky!
Tuesday, 13 May 2014
Day 133 - The Hoop Mama Life and my first hoop video
I'm not even sure of my math anymore when trying to figure out what day it is! But the most important thing is, I'm still hooping every single day!
The shock of being selected as this year's FlowBot has not worn off, but life is so busy that I often forget. I will be running around and then all of a sudden I will stop and remember that I am going to In Flow and it's like, "OH YEAH!!!!!" Amazing! I'm still in awe, and so thankful to the powers that made it happen for me. I'm already making and connecting with new hooper friends, and it feels so nice so see my hoop community starting to open up a little bit more.
Last Sunday was so amazingly beautiful that I did my hoop class outside. It's just too hard to resist outdoor hooping, I have been longing for it all winter long! I've had some really lovely ladies and their daughters in my group, and I am really enjoying seeing them progress and have fun while hooping.
This coming weekend I will be at the Bean2Tween Expo in Collingwood doing a hoop class on Sunday from 2:30-3:30. I'm really looking forward to that as well. I love getting out there and connecting with people through my hoops!
I'm also cooking up some great ideas for the summer!
Oh, and you know what else is this weekend? HOOPALICIOUS! Once again I have been too busy to really process this fact, but when I do think about it I get so excited (and maybe a little bit nervous!). It's just going to be a wonderful, hoop filled weekend all around.
The Hoop Mama Life is amazing. It's crazy, and it's stressful, but I'm really loving it. Hey, that would make a great name for this blog, maybe I will change it!
One last thing, I am finally figuring out how YouTube works, and am slowly going to upload all my hooping videos there (if nothing else for safe keeping, so at least they will be there in case my computer crashes!). So, I will share them here as well so you can see my hoop journey. Even though I technically started hooping in January 2012, I really count my journey as starting from the beginning of 2013. Here is the first one I made, I think in June or July of last summer. The song is Dare by the Gorillaz.
You know what one of the things I love most is when I'm watching my hooping videos? All the 'family/kid' stuff in the background. The clothesline, the kids toys, even a kid here and there. These videos sum up my life pretty well. :)
The shock of being selected as this year's FlowBot has not worn off, but life is so busy that I often forget. I will be running around and then all of a sudden I will stop and remember that I am going to In Flow and it's like, "OH YEAH!!!!!" Amazing! I'm still in awe, and so thankful to the powers that made it happen for me. I'm already making and connecting with new hooper friends, and it feels so nice so see my hoop community starting to open up a little bit more.
Last Sunday was so amazingly beautiful that I did my hoop class outside. It's just too hard to resist outdoor hooping, I have been longing for it all winter long! I've had some really lovely ladies and their daughters in my group, and I am really enjoying seeing them progress and have fun while hooping.
This coming weekend I will be at the Bean2Tween Expo in Collingwood doing a hoop class on Sunday from 2:30-3:30. I'm really looking forward to that as well. I love getting out there and connecting with people through my hoops!
I'm also cooking up some great ideas for the summer!
Oh, and you know what else is this weekend? HOOPALICIOUS! Once again I have been too busy to really process this fact, but when I do think about it I get so excited (and maybe a little bit nervous!). It's just going to be a wonderful, hoop filled weekend all around.
The Hoop Mama Life is amazing. It's crazy, and it's stressful, but I'm really loving it. Hey, that would make a great name for this blog, maybe I will change it!
One last thing, I am finally figuring out how YouTube works, and am slowly going to upload all my hooping videos there (if nothing else for safe keeping, so at least they will be there in case my computer crashes!). So, I will share them here as well so you can see my hoop journey. Even though I technically started hooping in January 2012, I really count my journey as starting from the beginning of 2013. Here is the first one I made, I think in June or July of last summer. The song is Dare by the Gorillaz.
You know what one of the things I love most is when I'm watching my hooping videos? All the 'family/kid' stuff in the background. The clothesline, the kids toys, even a kid here and there. These videos sum up my life pretty well. :)
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