Tied Up With Imaginary String: How Is Your Practice Space Affecting You?

Learned Helplessness is a term from animal psychology meaning an animal has been conditioned to act as if he has no control over changing his circumstances even when he does. An elephant tied up with easily broken chains who makes no attempt to escape is an example. Recently, I found myself tied up with imaginary string in my hoop practice.

Throughout the winter I have been hooping in my very (VERY) tiny kitchen. Basically, I've gotten really into sustained spinning, since the only thing I can do is spin in a circle without hitting something. Even more fun? I also have low ceilings. Low as in, if you are over 6 feet tall you will absolutely hit your head.

You can imagine my excitement when the weather started to warm up! Yay! Outdoor hooping! Space! Freedom!

But... look what happened:

Big, giant yard - itty bitty hoop space. You can see where the grass is worn that I have been limiting myself to a very small patch of land. What? 

I've actually conditioned myself to barely move even when I have plenty of space! It's time to break free of the tiny kitchen mentality! After I noticed, I started making a conscious effort to play with big and small movements during my practice and really hit new ground (no pun intended...maybe.) 

Do you hoop in the same space often? Try moving into a new spot and seeing if you are tied up with imaginary string too. If so, throw it off! Move! It may feel awkward at first, but then your body will thank you for taking a chance and expanding your hoop horizons.