Hooping is your very own journey! Photo PicsArt gallery
As a hula hoop vendor working the local markets and events, I have heard a great deal of remarks, comments, questions and jokes about my hooping. Some of these I’m sure will inspire future articles! One question actually comes across more as a statement: “I’m too old to hula hoop”! The ones that get me the most are the people that are younger than I am…and I chuckle to myself. They don’t even know they are missing out.
Hooping with Diane Krieg, Arlington Farmer’s Market Manager, she’s just a few years older than I am. That’s me, on the right age 45
Honestly, if they would just ask me, I would happily gush about the reasons that they are not too old to pick up and spin a hoop! If you are intrigued by the art of hooping for your own expression or movement practice, know that your age is not the reason not to get started. You have to make the decision to try it, the willingness to put yourself into the action. This part has nothing to do with your age. It’s your state of mind!
Let’s talk about my backstory for a moment. I grew up in a small town in the foothills, where I spent most of my time exploring in the woods, catching salamanders, studying bugs and riding bicycles all over the logging roads. We didn’t really have that many actual toys. I never hula hooped as a child, so by the time I first saw hooping at the age of 35, it didn’t really have a preconceived notion that it was “just for kids”. Maybe that’s why I was so excited about getting started! My first experience of even seeing hoop dance was a YouTube video of a bunch of adults having an amazing time in a park. So my mind was very inspired and open to it!
The fact that hula hoops are mass produced and marketed to kids as “Summer Toys” perpetuates the idea that adults should have nothing to do with plastic circles.
Stuart Krasna, 62 “About the age thing, it doesn’t really come into play too much for me. I feel no limitations as to what I can achieve with a hula hoop. My tricks are growing, my skills are advancing, and I can kick up a wedgie as well as the best. I never feel older or out of place when I’m with other hoopers, and I’m always warmly welcomed and made to feel the same as any hooper regardless of age. Hooping has become my purpose in life, and I feel fortunate that I have found a community that understands. I do have to take more naps, however.”
Thankfully, hoops started slowly gaining in more adult-centered communities in the last 15 years or so. Larger hoops started popping up at music concerts (thanks to String Cheese Incident!), YouTube videos, and talk shows were even talking about a new “weighted” hoop for adding into workouts. This really helped to make hooping more accessible for adults! Add in some inspiration from rhythmic gymnastics and circus-style hooping (don’t worry, you don’t have to be a trained athlete to enjoy your circles!), and you’ve moved away from “recess hooping”.
Speaking of not being an athlete: physically, it’s perfectly normal to ask this question centering around your age. If you have no major limitations, have a mindset that is open to the fact that if you feel you can’t do it, it can actually help to change you. If you feel better about it, ask your doctor! There have been several referrals from chiropractors and physical therapists for hooping. Keep your expectations in line with your current abilities. Hooping is absolutely a journey! It takes practice to get your body to move in the necessary manner to keep the hoop going. Aside from the right type and size of your hoop, your body needs to learn the muscle memory. visit Intro to Hoops Lots of you are probably saying “I could do it as a kid, why can’t I still hoop?”. Children have no fear or reservations about how they look. They can wiggle around without being shy about it. Hooping takes big movements with your hips, and that’s not something most grown-ups feel comfortable doing right out of the gate! Be patient, and judgement free, and don’t worry, those wiggles get more subtle as you practice.
If you can manage the mental aspect of your age/hooping, if you haven’t tried anything in a new way in decades, come to the circle with a fundamental understanding of the basic technique and help it guide you. Physically, you have decided you can obtain it. Next is getting it into your mind that you can do it. Emotionally, there will be days of self-doubt, fear of failure, crtiticism or judgement from others. You have to make it your own…and that is when you fall in love with it!
Happi Jones, 57 “Been hooping 3 years, can’t hoop well yet, But have discovered SO MUCH JOY…made such special friends, and am moving in moments that I would’ve just been stagnant in without hooping~ I wish I started when I was little! … The Hoop World has truly saved me, lifted me, given me a wonderful thing I can do in spite of old injuries that try to limit my movement, and has brightened my living!”
Hooping can benefit many people in a myriad of ways. If we are struggling with age, think of the youthful feeling that can be obtained in dancing in with your hoop! It can help our brains, in the way that we are challenging ourselves to move our bodies in different ways, to learn new skills, to balance, the push and pull, the rhythm. We can also take joy in the connection of Mind, Body and Soul, as we enjoy the movement process, which becomes our style—our flow!
Here’s Blue hugging her LiviJoyHoop collection! Her journey started just less than a year ago, but she is absolutely thrilled with how much hooping has benefitted her so far. Since her breast cancer diagnosis 9 years ago, she has struggled with lymphadema, TBI, limited feeling in her arms/hands, and declining eyesight. She has found that hooping has given her increased use in her extremities, even toning her arms. It has helped her discover a playfulness and childlike joy, has helped her depression and panic attacks. It is healing her trauma. She is coming into her own and blossoming as anyone deserves to!
Hooping is something that everyone can learn how to do, just keep it within your abilities, gently pushing what you are able to manage each day, organic and your own pace. Again, it’s your journey!
Age doesn’t matter anything to the hoops themselves, they’re not picky! If you see yourself hooping , it’s absolutely worth getting started. I’ve heard “My hooping days have passed”, or “I missed my chance for hula hooping”, challenge yourself to argue that idea. Today is the day that your hooping can BEGIN! As long as you are of sound body, and you have researched the right hoop type and size (this will count for more success than the wrong type and size!), you are ready to give hooping a try!
Happi and her LiviJoyHoop