Thursday, September 3, 2009

Hooping in the News

Hooping has come a long way since children spun light plastic hoops in the playground. Today it's more than just a fitness phenomenon. A little bit hippy-dippy, a little bit circus-punk, it's achingly cool and has been whirling its way around the festival circuit all summer. Classes are springing up all over the country and everyone from sussed teenagers to give-it-a-go grannies are taking to the hoop.

Diana Defries is the founder of Hoopswhirled, which runs classes in and around London. ''Hooping appears to be evolving fast but it's been going in its present form for more than 10 years,'' she says.

The current movement began in clubs and festivals in the United States but quickly went mainstream. ''Hooping makes you feel more positive and calmer, with a great sense of being grounded and connected to your body,'' Defries enthuses. ''The rhythmic motion of hooping also brings about beneficial changes in brainwave activity.'' But it's not all in the mind. Hooping is a gentle, low-impact workout that mobilises the spine. Defries points out that it works more than 30 core muscles, improves balance and co-ordination and helps to increase strength and stamina. ''You get fitter, lose inches and firm up your midsection and other areas when you hoop,'' she says.

John Parnell (aka Hoop Guy), who teaches and performs, also stresses the holistic nature of hooping. ''Many people say that hooping helps lift their mood,'' he says. ''It has even supposedly helped people through bouts of depression, though it would be irresponsible to make wild claims. There is also a lot of anecdotal evidence that hooping helps strengthen the muscles surrounding your lower spine, just like Pilates, and this can be beneficial to anyone who has suffered from a bad back in the past.''

Hooping article in the news posted Sep. 1 in the Telegraph from the U.K.

If you have ever tried hooping with a child's lightweight toy hoop and found it impossible, take heart. The bigger and heavier the hoop, the easier it is to work. Classes range from the simple and basic hoop fitness, or "hulaerobics" workouts (many Rosemary Conley classes use them) to extreme creative and expressive classes. Parnell is now starting to work with children in schools as a way to tackle obesity. ''However, not many men hoop,'' he says sadly. ''Some see it as a bit sissy, a bit girlie.''

He thinks they're missing a trick. ''I'm a man in my fifties and I love it. It's addictive, in a nice way, because you are always looking to challenge yourself. Not many people appreciate that the brain works better when given physical and spatial skills challenges as well as ordinary mental stimulation.''

Great for the body, soothing for the soul and a tool for mental acuity too. Seems the hippy happy hoopy workout really does offer the lot.

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