Hula Hooping isn't a fad; it's a WAY of LIFE!

I remember being a little girl and I won a Hula Hoop contest with my Dad! We hooped together the longest and I hooped the longest all by myself! That was just me hooping, ya know standing there and rockin' the circle around and around my waist. I don't even remember for how long!

I always loved that day. I always have loved to hoop! As I got older I kinda forgot about hooping all the time.

Then I moved away from home and I ended up in my "hometown". where I was born, where I had "roots". I started going out and dancing all the time, every night, as much as I could! When I was little I took dance classes and was always listening to music and dancing alone or with family members. My grandma and I always danced together, in the kitchen, while doing dishes, outside in the sun. She was a dancer her whole life, not a "professional", but it was in her soul, something she LOVED to do!

Then I went to see String Cheese Incident at one of their early shows at the Ballroom at Snow King Resort. That show made me remember how much I loved hooping!I saw hoops there, a few and I watched and was very interested! I saw SCI again, also in Jackson Hole and this time there were many hoops and "hoopers". I remember borrowing one from a girl and just danced and danced with a huge smile on my face! That was when I remembered how much fun hooping is/was!

I started going to see tons of shows and was hoping to see a girl with a hoop, just so I could borrow it! I went to see Widespread Panic, a different scene entirely, BUT the dancing and the love of the music was the same. I DID find a hoop and I couldn't have been happier! WP and a Hoop....ahhhh!!

I went to Coachella with a group of people and this was my first "Major" Music Festival that had overnight camping. I had gone to many other events but not one of this size. I don't quite remember how, but I (we) ended up with a small little "toy" hoop and that was one of my favorite things! I played for hours! Just hooping, swirling, and swaying to all the music, with my barefeet in the grass! It was fabulous! I also remember hooping on a bed at one of the hotels we stayed at, my first time trying out "tricks" of any kind. Jumping on the bed while hooping!

As you can imagine, I have kept up with hooping because it's a big part of me. It's a way to connect, not only with others but with yourself. We all need that, now don't we? I may not be a "performer" or a "Professional", but I can definitely hold my own. I love to hoop away a sunny afternoon, with friends or alone. I love to hoop when it's gray outside to elevate my mood. While I am hooping I am calmer, aware, and feel more alive! Especially when I(try)to learn something new! I love to hoop in absolute silence or throw on some pumpin' tunes and totally get my groove on! I think this is why I love it so much: it's easy and can be done by anybody, anywhere!

In the past few years Hooping has begun to spring up everywhere. It's not something you just see a few "hippie" girls (or boys) doing at shows, but it's a SPORT! It's a way to become fit, a way to learn to dance, a way to CONNECT with PEOPLE. You can Google "Hooping or Hula Hoops" and you will come up with many, many results. It's amazing how far it has come!

In almost every city (big or small) across America you can find a "hoop troupe" or a "hoop Jam" or even a hoop class where you can go learn what to do with a hoop! There a million possibilities! Here in Portland, Or. alone there are "spin jams", hoop classes and a few, very talented Performance groups, and teachers. Go to any given event in this town and you'll find a few Hoopers taking up space, usually at the back of the room, playing and dancing with all kinds of hoops, doing all kinds of awesome tricks! There are LED hoops everywhere now, and tons of people Fire hoop as well.

Like I said, it's not a fad, but a way of life, a cultural shift that happened all because of a small, magic circle!

A few weeks ago in the New York Times, there was an article on Hooping, and how "it's more than child's play". It seems there are a few celebrities who have started hooping as a way to exercise. Now that women far and wide know that Marisa Tomei is a Hooper,well it's in the spotlight now! They showed a picture of her and her instructor "Hoopalicious" in the article. A little bit of Mega press and now what do you think will happen? Hooping has been a huge part of many lives for 10 years, it sure takes main stream culture awhile to pick up on things like this....

I hope people take it as seriously as we do. I know, personally, many people that have started businesses because of hooping. They started making hoops, shipping them, teaching others how to hoop, and even started performing, using hooping as their foundation. I think it's great that a "toy" could be the reason that someone isn't depressed anymore, or that they started losing weight, or that they could come out of their shells, and CONNECT with a commUNITY of like-minded souls!

Check out what people are doing with hoops these days. They are creating consciousness, they are learning to BE here NOW. You have to be in the moment when you hoop. What an amazing way to live! I just wish more people realize how great it feels to be this ALIVE!!!

Youtube is a great place to learn tricks.

Look at thespinsterz.com for links, information and products.