By Hillia Hula

If only it was as simple as it appears on the outside: a hula hoop dancer, performing a beautiful act for an audience. Inside the performer’s mind exist battling thoughts that are rarely known or discussed with the outside world. Hoop performers navigate a chaotic internal world where our art is constantly judged and invalidated, if not by others, by ourselves. In this three-part series, I attempt to bring awareness to the silent challenges performers face and provide helpful strategies to thrive when faced with such issues.

What does it mean to be a successful hooper? Who is a successful hooper? These are the kind of philosophical questions that you, as a hoop performer, may ponder at some point or another in your career- whether you are just starting out or have been in the game for decades. For myself, that question was answered by watching my early hoop idols on YouTube. I would observe the types of shows they were booking and form my standards based off of that. I thought to myself, Once I book my first corporate event, I’ve made it.

I still remember the feeling when I received a Facebook message one evening, asking me if I was interested in performing for Google. Excited was an understatement. I was ecstatic. I thought, This is it, I can die now as a happy hooper. However, after the gig had passed, I was confronted with unexpected, unsettling emotions. Instead of feeling gratitude and contentment, I felt a yearning to prove myself to the world as a professional and was hungrier than ever to do so.

The next couple years were spent trying to take things to the next level to impress others. In my mind, performing for a TV show would be the ultimate success. Then I will have really made it, I thought. Then that day came when I got to perform on Snoop Dog and Martha Stewart’s Potluck Party for VH1. The jumping up and down screaming upon hearing word of my gig was soon replaced, once again, by feelings of discontentment. I was confused. I thought, Surely with a title like that under my belt people will take me seriously and new opportunities will come flooding in. Much to my surprise, little changed in my performance career. The hype around my big moment of success impressed only those in my closest friend circle and they seemed to forget about it as quickly as it happened.

Here I was crushing my own milestones and achieving my wildest dreams, yet I still felt the anxiety of not being enough. At this point I realized that more corporate gigs and TV shows were probably not going to fill that void. After talking with other hoop performers, I came to realize I was definitely not alone in my experiences. I was craving recognition and approval internally from the outside world for all my hard work and achievements. It was as though I wanted everyone to suddenly see me in a new light as this professional, and it just wasn’t happening.

One day it dawned on me that I could appear on five TV shows, join Cirque du Soleil, and get all the corporate gigs one could dream of and there would still be people that wouldn’t bat an eye. The more I sought to be seen, the more invisible I felt. Worse, I felt ungrateful when I knew many hoopers would kill for even one of these opportunities. This played terribly into my ego, and I became bitter and annoyed. I found myself bored backstage at shows, eager to get things over with so I could go home. How did my mental state come down to this?

When I started hooping, I was thrilled just to nail the most basic trick. Somewhere down the line, I got caught up in wanting to be enough for the outside world instead of being enough for myself. When you try to change the lens through which others see the world to match your own, you create a recipe for continuous dissatisfaction. No matter how badly we desire people to see the amazingness of hooping, it just isn’t going to click with everyone. Yes, you heard me right. I am telling you there are people that don’t want to spend 24/7 mesmerized by the love and magic of the hoop.I know, I know, it’s hard to believe, but I am asking you to be okay with that. The sooner you are, the sooner you will be at peace with your performing.

It only makes sense that when you live proudly, boldly, and without creative limits, your external reality will be challenged or invalidated by the outside world which would prefer you to play it safe, be practical, and “pretty please, be normal.” A great example of this is when I am asked if performing is my full-time job. If I say no, I typically hear a follow up response of, “I hope you get good enough someday so you can make it.” Hoop performers are all too familiar with phrases like “Get a real job” or my personal favorite (coughs with sarcasm), “This would be cool if I was on drugs” when I am LED hooping. Do not let the constraints of others’ thinking guide and shape your path as a hoop performer. Try these personal tips of mine to reconnect with what you love and be enough for you.

1. Live in the Moment

Try to live in the moment rather than check a gig off your goal list. Have fun and enjoy yourself because at the end of the day, after the 15 minutes of fame, you are left with only your memories. If you struggle to know how to stay in the moment, try the following:  Take in the energy of the music, and the audience. Make a mental note of the sights, sounds, and details. Focus on giving your best performance for you and your audience.

2. Let Gratitude Guide

Make gratitude a daily practice, especially when you get new gigs. You can practice gratitude out loud or by keeping a journal. What wisdom or experience can you gain from the gig you will be at? Be grateful for the relationships you make, the places you’ve traveled to near and far, and the lives you’ve inspired. Gratitude is the quickest path to joy! Even appreciation for the simplest things can make a positive shift in your mindset.

3. Find Your Why.

I want you to pretend for a moment that no one will ever know where you have or haven’t performed. How would that make you feel? Would you still feel the need to perform at certain gigs? What would inspire you to keep performing and reaching your gig goals if no one would ever know about them besides you? Perhaps you realize that you have more fun at smaller gigs because of the intimate connections with the audience but are chasing larger gigs because of prestige. Maybe you love larger gigs because you love the feeling of working on a big stage. Find out what gives you a personal rush of excitement and seek to do more of that!

I challenge you to use these three strategies to create a happier career without the pressures and judgments of the external world. You will be a much happier hoop performer living in the moment and carving your own path rather than doing what you think you should be doing. When you confidently and enthusiastically stick to your why, that is success. You are a successful hooper.

Wall Street Journal Article By Kim Richters

Hula Hooping & Hoop Dance have seen a massive resurgence in 2020, with quarantine, lock-downs, and many unprecedented challenges we’ve faced as a collective.

People from all walks of life, of all experience and fitness levels, body types/builds, etc have been learning and re-learning an activity once seldom enjoyed by adults.

Whether you’re looking for a fun way to spice up your fitness/exercise routines, for an activity to bring together community and loved ones in a safe, socially distanced way, for a tool to help with expression and improve mental health, to make some supplemental income from instructing (online and in-person), and so many more outlets, hooping has been making some big waves! The potential for hooping is limitless.

If you’ve been waiting for a good time to learn, this is a sign!
Not sure where to start?

For personalized recommendations for you and your loved ones:
send a brief email to [email protected] with your experience level with hoops,
your build/ body type, and what style of hooping you’re interested in learning.
We’ll then reach out to you to get you set up with a great hoop, just for you!

By Janelle Davis, CNN

A surge in demand

Companies selling hoops have reported an increase in demand. Hoopologie, based in Boulder, Colorado, had a 25% increase in sales during the pandemic in 2020, according to founder Melinda Rider.

“TikTok introduced many to this art and exercise activity,” Rider said.
 

There are three types of hooping trending right now.

The version you’re used to doing as a child is called on-body. With this style, the hoop spins around the waist, chest, shoulders, arms, knees and really any body part. Through a series of moves, these hoopers transition the hoop from one body part to another in one seemingly effortless motion.

Presnell specializes in off-body hooping, which has become more popular during the pandemic. It involves tossing, flipping and catching the hoop. Picture dancing but with the added complexity of a hoop being flung and caught while grooving. “It’s a lot of fun, fast moves that, when you’re watching, you’re like, ‘what just happened?’” Presnell explained.

Finally, there is weighted hooping. These hoops are large and can weigh up to 4 pounds (1.8 kilograms). Weighted hoops are used as a fitness routine to strengthen abdominal muscles. These hoops are designed to stay around your waist.


—Excerpt from CNN Article 

CNN INSTAGRAM VIDEO

5 tips for beginners

Before you dust off your old Hula-Hoop, read Presnell’s (@lilhoopgirl) top tips:

1. Dress for success: When you are using a hoop, wear close-fitting athleisure attire. You’ll want to get skin contact with the hoop, so tank tops and shorts are ideal. Remember, hooping is an art form, so wear something that makes you feel confident and comfortable.

2. Choose the right hoop for your style: No, you cannot just grab the one you used as a child – those typically have water or sand for weight, so the hoop is wobbly and off-centered.

There are specific hoops designed for specific purposes. As a beginner, you’ll need to start with a bigger hoop to master the basic moves. The bigger your hoop, the slower it rotates. That makes it easier to learn. The right hoop size for you should hit your belly button when you stand the hoop upright from the floor.

For on-body moves, Presnell recommends starting with a 36- to 40-inch (91.4- to 107-centimeter) hoop that’s weighted and taped. It might sound counterintuitive, but heavier hoops are easier to keep up. If you plan to try off-body moves, get a lighter and smaller hoop. She recommends a 29- to 30-inch (74- to 76.2-centimeter) polypropylene hoop that is about 0.75 inch (1.9 centimeters) in width.

3. Get the body ready before picking up the hoop: Before you start hooping, Santas recommends warming up. Put your hands on your hips and slowly move your hips in a circle, in both directions. “Warm up your hips and your core first, before trying this dynamic movement,” Santas said.

Make sure you stand up straight and tall. Your weight should be centered with your feet shoulder width apart, and your hoop should be parallel to the ground before releasing.

4. Master the waist spin first: As you spin the hoop around your waist, keep your legs as still as you can and pulse your waist forward to backward in a rhythmic fashion. When the hoop starts to drop (and it will), move faster and harder to push it back up. Focus on your four contact points: left hip, right hip, back and front.

5. Give these tricks a whirl: Once you get a good flow, practice a two-handed isolation. This is when the hoop stays still as your hands lightly circle the inside of the hoop. This creates an illusion that the hoop is defying gravity. “It’s like the hoop is just floating in one circle while your hands are doing all the work,” Presnell said.

For an on-body move, try the upward escalator – when the hoop twirls up around your body with one flick of the hand. Start with the hoop in front of you around one foot, then push the hoop up with the other hip, and the hoop will spiral up your body until you can catch it by your head.

—Excerpt from CNN Article 

Hoopologie Beginner Hoops

Travel hoops: are fully collapsible hoops that come with 6 hoop segments and a strap for easy storage and travel. These hoops allow the hooper to adjust the hoop from a 42″ hoop (with all of the segments connected) to a 37″ hoop (with one segment removed) when you’re ready for a bit more of a challenge. These hoops are apx 1.5lbs and come in 3 color combinations (black/silver, blue/silver, & pink/gold).

Beginner Fitness Hoop: options range in weight from apx 1lb-1.5lbs, at their heaviest, and are all handmade, to-order here at our warehouse (meaning there is an apx 3-5 business day build time to complete these + shipping times). The standard adult hoop is a 40″ diameter hoop, made with the recommended 1″ tubing and are crafted with a single piece of tubing and a connection point that allows the hooper to partially coil the hoop down and take on-the-go or for temporary storage.

Adult Budget Hoop: A simplified version of the beginner fitness hoops above and are a bit more budget friendly for the hooper looking to try it out and see if it is something they’d like to stick with. You just pick the color and we do the rest!

 

Feel free to reach out to the Hoopologie Team with your questions
and recommendation inquiries @ [email protected].

-Weighted vs Dance Hoops-

and other helpful tips to start your Hooping journey

Over the years here at the Hoopologie Collective, we’ve worked with hoopers
of all skill and experience levels and have learned a great deal.

We’d love to share some of what we’ve learned with you!

With Amazon guiding so many first time hoopers’ choices and/or hoopers buying their first hoop at their local department stores or outlets online, weighted hula hoops have become all the rage! There is article after, blog post, after advertisement out there claiming that weighted hoops are the only style of hoop suitable for beginners and fitness hooping.

We’re here to share with you, there’s another way!

Across all styles of hooping, there are truly no “rules”.
Like with many things, what works for some, may not work for others and that is perfectly fine and normal. No one diameter/size or weight of hoop, strength of grip tape applied, etc will work for every hooper. It really is an experimentation process that will follow you throughout your journey, as long as you keep coming back to your hoops.

Here are our favorite tips and tricks:

*Beginner Adult Hoopers – please stop buying your hoops from the department store that are made of poor quality materials, are meant for children, and think that it is a problem with you or your body.
Hooping is for every BODY – no matter your build, stature, experience, or previous fitness experience.
Be kind to yourself, remember that dropping your hoop is an essential part of the learning process, and HAVE FUN!

“It’s not your body, it’s your hoop”

*We are commonly asked “why are your hoops not weighted?“
Here at the Hoopologie Collective, our heaviest hoops come out to apx 1.5lbs.
While there are benefits to hoops 2lbs and
heavier, we choose to keep our hoops lighter to
avoid bruising, soreness, back and abdominal pain,
and other potential side effects to using weighted hoops. 

*“Can you still get a workout with a dance hoop?”
We say, absolutely! Think of it like this.. heavier, weighted hoops are more like your weight training day; weighted hoops typically require less abdominal engagement and core strength to maintain the hoop’s spin. 
Weighted hoops do a lot of the work for you.
Your lighter, dance hoops are more like your cardio training day;
lighter, faster hoops require more full-body movement,
core engagement, and may feel more like a traditional workout
with the added fun of your hoop.

*Hoop dance instructors have done their best over time
to find a way to standardize their recommendation for the frequently asked question, “what size hoop is best for me?” 
Most likely, you’ve seen the recommendation to use a hoop that come to apx your belly button and start there. This is often a great place to start if you’re looking to learn waist, shoulder, and leg hooping – otherwise known as “on-body” hooping. Here at the Hoopologie Collective, we’ve taken it one step further and call our standard adult recommendation a 40-inch diameter hoop.
You can find our large variety of Beginner hoop designs HERE.

*Travel vs Sectional vs Collapsible vs Performance Hoops
What does it all mean?! Let’s break it down together:

Travel hoops like you see HERE are fully collapsible hoops that come with 6 separate segments. With all 6 segments connected, a 42-inch hoop is formed. With 1 segment removed, a 37-inch hoop is formed. Our travel hoops also include a strap to make it easy, breezy to store and take with you on-the-go.
Our travel hoops are our heaviest hoop, weighing in at apx 1.5lbs, fully built.

Sectional Hoops are similar to our travel hoops
in the sense that they are fully collapsible.
What separates them is the base tubing they are made with –
sectionals are much lighter and less rigid than our travel hoops.

Collapsible Hoops are our most popular style which include a single connection point
with a rivet, snap button, and piece of insert material that allows your hoop to be
partially coiled down to attach to the outside of your luggage, or over your shoulder.

Performance Hoops are very popular because they are the most customizable hoop option available on our online stores and are suitable for beginners, intermediate, and advanced hoopers alike. 
Performance hoops are handmade, to-order and allow you to select your favorite tape, color of your grip tape around the inner rim of the hoop, the type of tubing you’d like your hoop to be made from, and if you’d like a layer of crystal clear protective tape applied to protect your beautiful new hoop from scuffs, dings, and blemishes.
You can find our large variety of Performance Taped Hoops HERE.

Objective
The Hoopologie Collective has set a goal
to help raise $4,000 USD to support CircusAid in serving Refugee Communities Greece.

CircusAid projects have a specific focus on the intersection of circus and occupational therapy for addressing the negative consequences of displacement, especially mental health issues and trauma as they relate to the experience of occupational deprivation for political and environmental refugees.

Examples of circus themed occupational therapy practices support the belief that the resettlement journey should uphold people’s right to engage in meaningful occupations (Hammell, 2008). Occupational participation of refugee populations engaging in circus activities contribute to increases in individual resilience and community wellness.

On August 3rd, 2014 the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) invaded the Sinjar region of northern Iraq. Sinjar was home to the majority of the world’s Yazidis, a religious community whose adherents ISIS publicly reviles as infidels.

ISIS committed severe atrocities against the Yazidi community including: Killing men, women and children, raping, selling and holding as sexual slaves women and young girls, torturing young boys in an attempt to force them to convert.

Many Yazidi families arrived in Serres with limited education and broken families as a result of the attempted genocide. Parents, also the victims of ISIS violations, are struggling to understand and to cope with the behaviour of their severely traumatized children. Women face a precarious existence coming from a society that has not encouraged their independence, or given many of them the tools to live autonomously. With so many men Yazidi men killed, the ability of women and children to survive and thrive is limited by their lack of personal and financial independence, an issue that must be addressed. Psychosocial support and life skills education are required to help heal the members of Yazidi community that reside in Serres, Greece.

CircusAid’s goal is to aid in restoring human dignity through diverse programming that teaches refugee communities ‘life skills’ such as trust, reciprocity, communication, teamwork, self awareness, self confidence and positive risk taking.

These life skills are the basis of CircusAid programs that provide joyful experiences along with transferrable skills to support refugee communities during various stages of their resettlement process.

Program Activities include:

CLOWNING AND THEATRE GAMES involve games and activities that are achievable for everyone and encourage various forms of verbal and non-verbal communication, reciprocation, establishing eye contact, and planning behaviors. The activities involve running, jumping, crawling and balancing. Social interaction, problem solving, and a wide range of motor experiences are explored.

ACROBALANCE AND YOGA activities promote physical, cognitive, and social health. Normalizing reactions to touch, building core strength and body awareness of self and others are important components of this activity and are encouraged through physical contact involving different positions where participants combine body parts to make a shape. Acrobalance can involve as little as two people or an infinite amount of people.

BALANCED BASED ACTIVITIES strengthen the vestibular system while encouraging participants to become familiar with their limitations. Body awareness and trust of oneself and a spotter is promoted. These activities also provide the opportunity for increasing challenges by incorporating multiple skills at the same time.

MANIPULATION: JUGGLING, HULA HOOP, PLATE SPINNING, POI activities address gross and fine motor control providing repetition and practice of specific motor skills. Gross motor skills are necessary for proper body movement and are the foundation upon which fine motor skills develop. Focusing on an individual’s gross motor skills can improve handwriting, social interaction, and self-esteem. The various activities provide opportunities for participants to improve coordination, sense of timing, and rhythm. Perseverance and problem solving is encouraged while participants engage in bimanual hand use and crossing the midline to manipulate, grasp and reach different objects.

PERFORMANCE
INFORMAL AND STRUCTURED:
Performance provides goal-setting opportunities for the participants, enabling them to see achievable results from their work while appreciating the accomplishments of others.

Performance Opportunities Promote:
*Motivation for Engagement
*Spontaneity and Improvisation
*Creativity, Collaboration and Exploration

Stay tuned for more information, to meet the founder, and more resources to get involved throughout the months of March & April 2021, and beyond.

Follow Hoopologie, and CircusAid, and
on Instagram for more interactive
and informative resources.