From the vault...

A few posts from ages ago:

August 12, 2009
Identity and Hooping

Becoming "a hooper" has changed my whole identity - or, rather, completed it.

Sure, I had a decent idea of who I was before the hoop - but it was a work in progress at best. Describing myself always consisted of those horribly bland adjectives that everyone uses - "smart, funny..." and of course under hobbies, the ubiquitous, "likes to read." Ugh.

Man! I wanted an exciting hobby. Windsurfing. Mountain Climbing. Cave Diving. But, those things took a LOT of time, money, training... and ...well, did I say money?

Then of course, I found the hoop. For relatively cheap I had something intriguing to say about myself. This lead to a personality shift - or, really, discovery. Suddenly, I was outgoing, adventurous, garrulous, free-spirited, open-minded ... more and more! I became a teacher. I met new people everywhere I went. And the best part was, having this new passion did not feel foreign - it brought out the person I always felt I was.

and...

I could finally let a LOT of stuff [finally, finally, finally] GO.

Bad relationships were in the past, and I could finally KEEP them there. I didn't spend time thinking about what this person or that person were doing now. Pfft - why dwell, when I can go hoop?
My Body was MY body - my one and only body I would ever have - it allowed me to embrace this new art - so I may as well treat it with respect -

Hooping pushed me out of the stagnant "smart, funny... like to read" rut I had been in, for longer than I had realized. Or, rather, me becoming a hooper, helped me to become so much more!
I like to take the time every now and then to reflect on how much hooping has given me. It's the other half of documenting my progress; step one - seeing how far I have come with the tricks, moves, and flow. Step 2 - seeing far I have come for me!

Thanks for listening ;)


July 16, 2009
Hooping and Body Acceptance

Ah, Hooping... is there anything you can't fix?

Yet another of the benefits I have discovered is it's ability to bring me to a calm place about my body. Certainly I still wake up some days just feeling awful - nothing looks right, I'm CONVINCED that things have expanded while I slept, etc. etc. The difference now is that instead of those thoughts ruining my day or mood, they just fade out. It doesn't stop me from being happy.

Hooping has not changed my body - just my perception of it. I see it as something that allows me to experience one of my passions - if I didn't embrace my body - didn't allow myself to become in tune with it, my hooping progress would stall. I WANT to video tape myself in tight clothes spinning around wildly -- how else will I realize if I have mastered the new trick I have been trying to perfect?

But that's the thing, I am perfecting my hoop dance, not myself.

When it comes down to it, I think hooping has simply given me something else to think about.
I am no longer a stagnant object to be chiseled and molded. I am an active being. There is beauty in how I move with the hoop; I feel pride in and gratitude towards my body.

and who would have imagined that it is All from a sparkly round piece of plastic.

Thanks again, hoop -