A Face in the Crowd

I love how in the zone she seems despite being squeezed into such a tight crowd.

(And with umbrella shaped obstacles every which way.) But that's what hooping does, right? 

Let's us escape.

That is what I am hoping that today's session will do. I feel like I have an endless number of things to accomplish today as I get ready for my move, travelling to Florida tomorrow and other little random daily nonsense - BUT - I am sticking to my daily hoop goal (despite it feeling like another thing on the list at the moment) and hoping it will bring the energy lift it usually does. 

....

A Cat, Hooping with Saturn's Rings

yep. 

amazing amounts of love. 

Wonderland

The Thinnest Outline

A display for nature

Rainbow Road

You Can't Teach an Old Dog New Tricks

What? Sure you can. 

the pup looks hesitant  but that doesn't mean he can't learn. 

The Dark Circus

in all ways: ideal. 

via fashion served.

Wantonmara Showcases her Skill

Tiana is one of those performers that I cannot look away from when she is moving. I usually sit here, drink my coffee, and scour the internets for inspiration - meaning look at youtube while I continue browsing on one of my other brain candy sites (tumblr... I am looking at you.) But with Tiana, I always watch the whole thing. I hit 'pause' before walking away (for more coffee.) Her madtastic skills prevent me from multitasking. 

Now that is saying something. 

I absolutely love whatever it is she is doing with her feet around 35s in. Rewatch. 

Come Ashore

Christina emerges from the ocean - hoop in hand, of course. 

Via facebook. 

Christina Brittian - Returning to Roots

"striving to stay focused on soul. 

Getting back to my roots. medicate meditate. 

letting flow regaining focus. 

hooping for health and healing forgetting about who's watching."

She is such a beautiful sprite when she hoop dances. I love when she starts twirling like a dervish - you really get the sense of her being completely blissed-out lost in the spin. It is also great for my need of inspiration this week! She makes it look so effortless and fun that I usually think, 'mmm maybe I will spin for a bit,' after watching her. Mission Accomplished. 

Hoop Charmer Spins from the Hoop's Perspective

Yup - it's a GoPro vid. 

The original Go Pro vid went ultra viral, and I remember many, many people sending it to me - as I am most of my buddies 'hooper friend.' (A title I cherish.) This one opens it up a bit more with the hand and off body hooping as well as a bit of fire going on. 

Always cool to see what the hoop is going through. Now, I think we need a Go Pro folding vid - yes? 

A Faerie Prankster

via Flickr

Confetti Blonde

Yes it was that time again. As the teal faded away I was antsy for a change, and adding a bit 'o pink fit the bill. It is reminiscent of the best cake there is - funfetti. 

Now it's time to get my hoop on for Day 2 in the daily hoop challenge. I feel SO MUCH BETTER just after getting back into it yesterday. Can't wait to see where I am by the week's end. 

Ahni Radvanyi - Joy

via facebook

with Feeling

Paisley Crazy

Okay... so I posted this here also - but, come on this outfit makes me too happy not to share as much as possible. I. want. everything. here. 

Mostly the crazy paisley pj pants. Looks nice and isn't super ultra tight? Hells yeah, sign me up! Beautiful. Now, tell me that any self respecting Goodwill would not have something similar enough to these to fulfill my need. $5 and under and I shall buy. 

Those pants in motion - t'would be a lovely thing.

Learning from Nick, and Looking for New

Now, we all know he's good - nothing new there. But, as I am on my new hoop daily mission - inspiration will be key so I am trying to compile a decent playlist of videos from which to draw. Is there anything worse than starting practice and realizing, "wow... there isn't anything I want to do." 

Vortex. Vortex. Weave. Kill me.

Of course, I never really feel into practice until at least 20 clock-watching minutes have passed. Gotta pay my dues. 

I like Nick's use of chest rolls and the elevator in this vid - they are still very much in the flow, something with which I struggle when using those moves. Haha! Something new to try! 

Anyone out there have a video to contribute to the inspiration files? Eh? EH? I need something other than Ann, Baxter and Brecken's hoop demo vid! 

Lucha VaVoom

Time to Get Serious

That's it. It's time.

I have got to get back in the hoop. Many moons ago, thanks to the 30 Day Hoop Challenge, hooping became a daily habit. Sometimes it would be 20-30 minutes of boppin' around while others would turn into hours of inspiration and getting lost in the spin. It stayed that way for several months, with the daily practice being responsible for my most transformative hoop year. 

Then there was a break from routine - deadly for most parts of said routine. (Which is why, I love routine.)

After all the travel my body simply got used to missing some hoop days. With record high heat indexes here for the past week, I decided that skipping a few more days was probably in my best interest. 

Welp, I didn't die of heatstroke but - I. feel. awful. 

Okay, maybe 'awful' is strong - more correctly, I don't feel like me. Hooping daily is something that is wonderful for my body, yes, but much more importantly, the meditative, mind quieting movement keeps my head screwed on straight. 

... and now I feel like it's a little wobbly. 

Excuses not to practice are very often true and relevant. (Aren't those just 'reasons' then, Kym?) 

I was travelling. I will be again this week. I am about to move, and have several new projects in the works - but, really - being busy is exactly why hooping daily is so important. Feeling good makes every task feel so much easier to accomplish. 

This week I am starting a new goal of daily hoop practice (and reflection?) so that I may get back to the place where I thrive, both mentally and physically. 

I've missed ya, hoop. Glad to be back. 

Portal to Earth

Waiting in the Road

via flickr

3D

via: hiptronichoops.tumblr. 

Contact Juggling Collaboration Video

Alright, it's a 15 minute video - which, I'm pretty sure violates proper YouTube etiquette or something - don't they understand that, today, a TV dinner that takes 5 minutes (and then TWO MINUTES TO REST phhhft) is a horribly long time. Projecting? Maybe. 

But contact juggling is pretty badass and there is a lot of great inspiration in this compilation. I clicked around and sat back to absorb awesomeness in front of me. 

I usually go back to other flow arts when I am not having a particularly inspired hoop week. Seeing how other people move and transition can give a whole new insight about what to try. 

Zenaura Taylor Dall Hoops

Lily Cole, Unenthused Hooper

I'm tellin' ya, models are forbidden to smile with a hula hoop. 

The exception being, strangely enough, that notorious non smiler Ms. Kate Moss who couldn't help but grin when hooping on the beach. 

Polished Metal

Midnight Hooping with Harmony

Her precision is always so impressive. I am also digging the jump throughs around 2:40 and that she lets her non hoop hand flail and move with the music. She's definitely lost in it - the best feeling there is when hooping, 

Flowers Power

Clicking this, I was thinking "meh." Then I saw the font and thought I may have been right. 

WRONG. 

This is some crazy mad talent. Ineloquent but true. 

The way that he incorporates his body into the flow of the sticks appears effortless - 

via: jugglingtv

Trifecta

Hoops, Coffee, Computer. All my dailies.

These hoops look a bit like candy, really. But, I really wanted to find an image of hoops that were small and light like the kind that I love.

photo credits: hoops, coffee, computer. 

He's Got a Spare

or two...

Really, anything with an octopus seems to be all the rage, yes? Or maybe I am projecting because it is the easiest way to get me to like something. Add an octopus. Or an owl. Or a hoop. 

That is one happy octopus. Via Flickr. 

Drawn from Life

Hooping Sketch work via Flickr

Gorgeous. So many recognizable patterns. 

Lyra and Silks Fashion Show

These pictures are intended to show off the fashion more than the hoop and silks, I believe. I spotted them on the Vena Cava blog after falling in love with the image of the 'hoop' in front of the blue doors and wanting to find out more. I believe that the image of just the hoop and the girl hanging in front of the garage with the basketball hoop in the background, are my favorites. 

Nothing better than a bit of weirdness being inserted to a suburban scene. 

Sandstorm

Still Going

Vintage Mia and her Hoop

I love old magazine scans. It takes me back to my high school bedroom again - when I would hoard magazines and voraciously sift through them for the next spark of inspiration. Now I have the internet.

Loving this old school image of Mia Tyler with a little hoop. 

Micro Mini Hoops Now FOR SALE!

Remember this:

Well the online shop selling these and many other mini hoops is now OPEN! Wahoo! They are adding glittered minis and other varieties of gaffer's tape as well. Seriously, I want like 10. Some for earrings... some for bracelets... some for wall hangings and some for the car. Seems appropriate to me!

Check out the store: here!

Rechristening the Yard

This reintegration business is tough. 

I arrived back home Thursday, but today is the first day that feels even half way normal. I must admit, it's very depressing to return to the real world after surrounding myself with those I love most, and doing what I love most. But, today I decided it was time to pull myself out of the funk and get back into practice.

 I am going to miss the hell out of this yard. 

William and I had a fairly successful apartment search this past weekend, so I now look at the yard with new prematurely nostalgic eyes. I did suffer yet another piercing related accident, of course. When camping at Hoop Fest, one of the ball closings of my industrial slipped off, and today the hoop pushed the earring back through my ear. FUN. That's the realistically pouty picture up there at number 5. Cyndi thought it was fake pout. Oh. no, no. 

LED Family [do want]

Aren't these just LOVELY? ^^

So, I uh... sorta hate my LED hoop. I know! Blaspheme! Of course mine is not any of the lovelies pictured above - that is simply hoop porn that I am lusting over. My LED hoop served me well once, but now with the introduction of poly pro and continuous shaving off of hoop size, the ol' clunker just ain't got it. All recent money has been dumped into travel, so a new one is just a dream at this point. But, I do think that I will sell my old one, since it still works and would be great as someone's first LED. 

Hmmm... now... does anyone local want a 34" LED hoop? Anything to save on the nightmare that is shipping a hoop - especially one that doesn't fold down. 

Let's see... there are some pics of it here (day sixteen)... mayhaps more to come? 

Golden Smile. Spinning Rainbows