Hoop Dream


I guess it's been about two years since I first got excited about hooping. Not those little childhood shoop-shooping hoops, but big, adult size hoops made for fun and exercise and even... Hoop Dancing! I bought a couple of DVDs from Hoopnotica, made some cool hoops, and then forgot all about them as we traveled for a year. I had all my hooping stuff with me, but I was too self conscious most of the time to practice in the campgrounds and RV parks. I'm a beginner. I'm learning. I drop the darn hoop a lot. But of course I didn't get any better by hanging up my hoop and avoiding practice. Grownups can be so dumb.

The other night we went to the Taos Feeds Taos benefit at the Solar Center. A lot of food was donated, we saw some friends, and danced to the fun band Last To Know. But the best part of the evening for me was the Hoopers. They brought these amazing LED hoops, and performed sort of spontaneously when the mood struck them. They also shared their hoops, which made me very happy. 

Mostly it was kids who got out there, but I left my shyness back in the campground and grabbed one of those beautiful, glowing hoops. They're harder to use than the bigger, heavier one I have at home, but I did OK. And one of the Hoop Girls came up to me later to tell me I'd done great, and was welcome to get up "on the box" any time I wanted to. On the box! Wow! I know I'm not ready for that, but her kind encouragement got me thinking...

I've been on my own in learning to hoop, and keep coming up with nothing when I look for classes near me, wherever I am. The DVDs are good, but learning in a group would be way more fun. It seems like if I want to do this, there are other people who do too. I have friends who say, I wanna hoop!, when they see me twirling around with a big smile on my face. And if there are those people saying it, there are probably more of them out there thinking it. 

So now I'm finding myself with a new daydream in my head. My Hoop Dream. What if I could work really hard, and practice a lot, and get really good, and then start teaching hooping? All the beautiful young Hoopers out there are sort of intimidating to less young people like me. I think people--mostly women probably--of a certain age would trust me, and would see that they don't have to live in a perfect little 20-something body to have fun hooping. 

Is this crazy? Of course. That's why it just might work. Can I actually do it? It remains to be seen. But I think the point is to allow the dream to take shape, and then see where it takes me. Grownups can be so dumb, and so practical, and so boring. I think if we let ourselves be more crazy and silly sometimes we'd have a lot more fun, and our dreams would take us to adventures in life we might miss otherwise.

I made some new hoops yesterday, for me, and any friends who want to play. I also got my DVDs out and had a great time dropping my hoop, over and over again, in our empty living room. Today I'm going to raise the chandelier as high as it will go, so I have more overhead room. And then I'm going to reach way up there and see if I can catch this Hoop Dream of mine. Silly as it is, it's making me happy, at least for today. And who knows where it might lead, if I'm just silly enough to follow it.


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Comments

  1. Very cool, and I can relate. There are no hoopers in my area either, so I just started a weekly hooping get-together. I hope it grows.. I'm not that great at it myself, I just learn from YouTube videos. But I'd love a community of women who GET IT. The energy in the hoop is addictive, for sure. Let's get them hooked :)

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  2. This is completely new to me, so glad to learn about it here. I tend to let self-consciousness get in the way of having fun. I really want to reconnect to my childhood playfulness.

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  3. Awesome pics with the LED hoops. I tried last summer with my daughter's hoop and I just couldn't get it going. I want lessons, can you give me lessons ? : )April N

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  4. Well, if I can get out next to my RV in campgrounds across the country and do step aerobics (one elderly lady told her husband she thought I was that Asian girl on tv that usually does yoga!! heehe!) I get lots of stares, people walking up as close as they dare to watch, and slow drive bys....but NEVER have I gotten a heckler! Most people I think like seeing someone having fun. So get out there and get on the box! If you wait until you feel "ready" or "perfect" at it, you'll have missed your chance!

    Nellie
    http://midlifecruiser.blogspot.com

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  5. Go for it Kim! It sure sounds like fun. :-)

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  6. I have a 64-year-old friend who is a ski instructor. She makes more money than the young hot dog instructors because people trust her and her grey hair. Go for it. This could be the thing you've been looking for!

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  7. Go for it Kim. When my daughters were pre-teens and teens, they hooped. I tried but never could get the hang of it. But we all laughed a LOT! Polly Anna

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  8. Hope your HOOP dreams come true.
    Suzie

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  9. Hooping sounds fun! Hope you reach your goals with it.

    So glad that you are offering more of your fabulous gratitude bracelets for the holidays.

    Yvonne

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  10. What fun:) I wish you much success!

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  11. WOW!...those LED hoops are GORGEOUS!
    I can imagine that hooping with these would have been a beautiful experience for you!
    Gosh..you are so right on when you write:
    "I think if we let ourselves be more crazy and silly sometimes we'd have a lot more fun, and our dreams would take us to adventures in life we might miss otherwise.
    Sooooo!... just go for it! Who knows what adventures and fun your Hoop Dream will lead to!!!

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  12. Yay! Hoop it up Kim! I think having a group to hoop with would be grand. And, who knew that your former living room would become your 'hooping studio'? Have fun!

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  13. What a great "hoop" dream.
    You are right grown ups are dumb and reserved.
    Get out there & hoop for all of us :-)
    Julie K.

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  14. My older sister was scheduled to be in a hula hoop contest on the day I was born, and I don't think that she ever quite forgave me for causing her to miss the contest! Perhaps that is why I could never seem to master the skill!?!? If I wasn't on the other side of the country...I would join your swinging group. Happy hoop dreams Kim. Good luck! Diane in PA

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  15. Spent T-giving with the grandchildren--"the wheels on the bus go round and round...."
    It was great fun as a kid,haven't thought about it in years, haven't done it in many more!
    Have fun going round and round! Sara in Fl.

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  16. Looks like "beautiful" fun!! I don't hoop,but I do mess with those tubes/hoses that sing when you spin them and find it very spiritual in an odd way.I started doing it every morning in Arizona before opening my booth.I think it would be cool for you to seriously get into hooping....by the way your hoops are wonderful
    ~Sharon~

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  17. Hoop-dee-do!! How gorgeous ~~ those spinning rings of illuminated colors are mesmerizing! This is the first I've heard of it. Hoop on, and be happy Kim! You deserve it for giving so much happiness to others with your wonderful talent for making exquisite beads.
    ~Dot in MD~

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  18. Round beads ..round hoops ...seems like it's meant to be !
    I remember you talking about making hoops in a previous post.I need to exercise more.
    But,I'd rather feel like I'm just playing!
    And if I could make my own hoop... how fun would that be!!! I need to find your previous post....
    m.e. :)

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  19. Hi Kim,
    I really enjoy your post and especially
    the pictures. Hurrah for you to give yourself
    an opportunity to learn a new way to just have
    fun and bring Joy! Ruth at the Ocean

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  20. Keep Dreaming. It keeps you young!

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  21. Go for it! You can have classes or give lessons wherever you are to us older women, and men!

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  22. Oh wow, hoops are so much fun! Enjoy! :)
    Btw, the hoops look like round twisties... off to the torch ;)

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  23. I like your thoughts about dedication to making a dream happen. You are certainly making lots of your dreams come true. The new header photo is simply marvelous. Love the bracelets!

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  24. I want a hula hoop! Wow....to feel young again and actually have a waistline! What a great Christmas gift that would be! :) :) :)

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  25. The last time I remember doing a hope "the right way" I was 7 or 8 and listening to Chubby Checkers at a community fair! You can do it Kim for all of us who can't! Beth

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  26. I think it is a worthy dream. Hoop Dream.

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  27. Love to watch those hoola hoop videos :).

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  28. I used to twirl machettes and fire batons in college - so hula hoops are way cool to me. So keep on swirling!

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  29. Hooping what an absolute hoot. In elementary school I was constantly hooping and kept it up thru college. At one point I could handle 16 metal hoops swirling around my bod. I still remember what that felt like. Last summer when you posted about hooping I bought a hoop and have been using it in my daily exercise routine. I am always amazed at the clarification I get with my thoughts when I hoop. Keep that Dream going. Have a blast where ever it leads you. Illaya

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