It’s 6:10am and my alarm goes off. I reach up, turn it off and rest for another 5 minutes. Then I roll out of my cozy bed, put my slippers on and my watch, go downstairs and feed my anxious dog. Next, I hula hoop for 20 to 30 minutes. The house is quiet and it is still dark outside, it’s a nice moment for me. I never thought about hula hooping as a form of exercise. It’s an exercise that allows me to stay in one place, be present with the kids or be present with myself and burn about eight calories a minute. I like hula hooping while my kids are playing on the playground or playing in the front yard. I also like hooping with a friend or alone, it can be meditative.

About ten years ago a friend, who I taught with, gave me my first hula hoop. While teaching our three-hour long ESL classes, we hooped the duration of our 15 minute break. It felt relaxing and it was a great time to catch up with each other. She started me out with a heavy, water filled, hula hoop. It is easier to learn with a heavier hoop. Then she said I had graduated to a lighter hoop, no water, and she gave me one for my birthday. She also gave my daughter a hula hoop that lights up when you hoop.

When my daughter had her own hoop, we started hooping together. She liked twirling the hoop around her arms. Both kiddos, when they were little, liked it when I rolled my big hula hoop down our front hill, so they could run and catch it. We have even involved the dog with our hooping. Sometimes we can get him to jump through the hoop.

A couple of years I took my hoop to our 4^th of July, Greenbelt Lake celebration, where we hooped to the beat of the drum circle. There are classes for hula hooping too. I would like to take one of those someday. For now, though, I am content hula hooping in my house, yard or the playground.

“The Mayo Clinic reports that you need to spend at the very least 10 minutes at a time exercising your abs with the Hula-Hoop in order to see concrete results. Although it’s only 10 minutes, beginners who are not in shape may find this challenging. Since only short increments are required, hooping is a fantastic ab workout to start with before integrating other exercises into your routine. According to the American Council on Fitness, the results you get from working out with the Hula-Hoop are comparable to benefits you would reap from step aerobics and cardiovascular-based kickboxing.” (www.mayoclinic.org)

Hula hooping feels good, it tones your core and burns calories. If you haven’t tried it, you can order beautiful hoops on Etsy. Send me a comment if you hoop or if you plan on starting soon. Happy Hooping!