The truth about hooping.

This month marks my two-year hoop anniversary. It's hard to believe it's been only two years - is that all?! I spent 40 years of my life not hooping but now I can't remember what I did with my time before I discovered the hoop!

Hooping is the first thing I do when I get up in the morning, and I often hoop during my lunch breaks and when I get home from work. I hooped right before my wedding to deal with my nerves. I express all my joys and work out all my frustrations inside my plastic circle.

My attitude to hooping has changed a lot since my first hoop anniversary. Hooping used to be something I wanted to achieve. I used to practice at the gym, wearing gym clothes. Each week I wrote out a practice schedule that I stuck to. I was all about getting fancy new moves under my belt, and I was always watching hoop videos, especially tutorials.

I was passionate about hooping, but, although I acknowledged its deeper aspects, I saw it as merely as form of exercise.

I still want to get better at hooping - I'm always looking to improve. But that's so I can express myself better within the hoop. I still love the physical exercise hooping gives me, but these days the spiritual and psychological aspects interest me more.

I am totally addicted to how good hooping makes me feel, and to the connection it gives me to the Divine.

I wish I could express a little of this to the women I teach. I teach hooping purely on a physical level, mainly because I don't know how to do it any other way. I don't want to be all born-again about it but I think there's no harm in letting people know that playing with a plastic circle can be more profound than giving you hard abdominal muscles - it can actually be good for your mental health, it can help quieten your mind, and give you self-confidence.

Maybe learning to communicate my truth about hooping could be my hoop challenge for the year ahead.

Happy hooping,
Anne-Marie x