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StudentPermalink Reply by Betherann on February 25, 2011 at 3:08am

I must confess that I struggle with this, too.  For me, hooping is similar to yoga in that both force you to really inhabit your body and feel everything.  Which, if you have low self image or something similar, can be hard.

 

Maybe your body is calling for a change?  Maybe your self-perception needs massaging?  I'm not sure.  Just know that you're not alone.  And I think you're gorgeous and have a great body from the evidence I have seen!  :)

 

*hugs*

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Permalink Reply by Stellar Sunshine* on February 25, 2011 at 7:49am

I too, like most people, have insecurities about my body... Here is something that helps me...

 

Thoughts are energy.  The more energy you give to these bad thoughts, the more powerful they become.  It's hard to get yourself to "just stop thinking about it" (advice many well-meaning people have given me), what you can do is channel those negative thoughts into something else.

 

To have good health is the greatest thing you can have.  I am constantly grateful for my health and fully working body.  So many people are not as fortunate.  Whenever I have a bad thought about my body (ex: thinking to myself, "ugh, I hate my legs" I think to myself: 'Would I ever say that infront of someone in a wheelchair?'  Of course not.  So my hips are wide, and I don't have a flat stomach.. So what?!  They work!

I don't mean to come off as implying that you are ungrateful. But perhaps just remind yourself of how fortunate you are. Don't buy into the shallow, glass half empty, mentality that society has imposed on us. You are beautiful!

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StudentPermalink Reply by Aurora of Elemental Hoops on February 25, 2011 at 10:30am

i have this problem too. i usually give my hoop my all but i catch myself holding back on tricks or sessions because im worried about my body. "oh no when im vertical chest hooping, my blubber must be going crazy right now" and i tend to slow it down.

i love that you posted this because this way other people respond and we can give eachother support and advice. the only thing you can do is fix what you dont like and what you cant fix, learn to accept. for example, i feel so shitty about my body but its up to me to change it and i'm trying! now, when its something like my feet, well you cant change that and you have to learn to love or at least like what cannot be changed. i used to HATE my feet. over the summer when i was first hooping, i would hoop barefoot alot and i grew to accept my feet. i am now okay with them and i love that feeling. as for my flabby stomach, huge thighs (which i actually dont mind, they just need to be toned) and fat lower back. it takes exercise, positivity and healthier eating.

BUT i also understand we're youre coming from... even though i'm the one with the problem with my body and i've felt like this for a long time, its still hard for me to change. i get into this vicous cycle, where i'll diet, eat healthier but still crave junk food or still want to have a littloe more of my dinner and i start to cry and just give up. it just irks me that i cant have a fast metabolism and eat whatever portions i want. so i bitch, make a diet change, get frustrated, cry, bitch about how i gave up and my body will always be disgusting and so on, over and over. i wish there was something i could or say to change all of this for you but unfortunately, i cant. when it all comes down to it. its up to us. so my hooper friend, i wish you could luck and i send you lots of love and hugs!

aurora<3

ps
here's a journal i wrote a few months back about how i feel/felt.

http://www.hoopcity.ca/profiles/blogs/self-esteem-issues

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StudentPermalink Reply by Aurora of Elemental Hoops on February 25, 2011 at 10:33am

good luck*

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StudentPermalink Reply by Daniela VI on February 25, 2011 at 11:13am

Ladies, many of us feel the same way every now and then. I just think its a matter of attitude, confidence and loving yourself.

When you feel great about yourself it shows! Ive seen so sexy, gorgeous girls that arent pretty, or skinny, or breasty,  or girly etc... They just look that way because they feel like they are beautiful, because they love their bodies and they accept them as they are.

Our bodies arent perfect and we are never satisfied. If we are thin, we complain about hip lacking, if we are hourglass shaped we complaint about cellulite...

I have an ugly scar in the middle of my chest, so what! When I stop hating it, I feel free and beautiful. 

 

I say work for what you want. Excercise, work on your posture, diet, eat more, anything that works for you, but remember that your body, your shape, your skin is unique and makes you who you are. Love yourself. See the beauty that lies on every inch of your skin.

 

Remember that we are young just once, that there is only one body and that thanks to it we are able to do what we like. Just take care of yourself. The more you care about your body from the inside, it will show from the outside...

 

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StudentPermalink Reply by Rachel on February 25, 2011 at 6:29pm

"I say work for what you want. Excercise, work on your posture, diet, eat more, anything that works for you, but remember that your body, your shape, your skin is unique and makes you who you are. Love yourself. See the beauty that lies on every inch of your skin."

"Remember that we are young just once, that there is only one body and that thanks to it we are able to do what we like. Just take care of yourself. The more you care about your body from the inside, it will show from the outside..."

 

Really good insight Daniela.

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Permalink Reply by Jenny Anderson RaineDanceHooper on February 25, 2011 at 2:28pm

HI Kayla, sometimes we all cry out for connection, when we feel lost in the wilderness. I think you look lovely and are a beautiful hooper, but it doesn't matter what anyone says if you aren't ready to believe it, or feel it inside. Please keep posting as you work through these feelings, and know that even when we feel stuck, everything's changing. It might be on a molecular, microscopic, glacial paced level, but everything's changing! Compassion must begin with ourselves, or it's not complete. Be patient as the changes reveal themselves, and know that as a hooper, I've been told it takes up to 3 years to find the 'flow', when we move from spastic to sensual :O) I think you're already there. Enjoy the subtleties and nuances of your hoopdance, and personal growth. Let go of forcing yourself to become - a flower blooms when it's ready, not when we want to pull apart its petals. Letting go of ambition and enjoying your beautiful presence is what hoopdance and hoop healing is all about. This video by LIssa always crushes me with her beauty and acceptance. http://vimeo.com/5388876?utm_source=December+HoopScoop&utm_camp...

 

Hang in there, keep posting, you have a big circle of hoopers that care about you.

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StudentPermalink Reply by Kacie Knight on February 25, 2011 at 2:57pm

That video made me cry. Wow. I don't ever want to stop dancing either.

-Kayla, I've been there in so many different ways... It's hard. But (to borrow a Baxter phrase), when I go out into deep water when I'm hooping- to that meditative place, everything falls away but the hoop, the music and the movement. It's a lot easier to go there when you can't see yourself or others- I highly recommend practicing blindfolded sometimes... You gain a deeper connection with your hoop, and then it becomes easier to get to that place with your eyes open.

*Love and light*

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Permalink Reply by Morgan Bliss on February 26, 2011 at 7:50am

what an amazing video! :) 

 

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Permalink Reply by Kayla Themer on February 25, 2011 at 4:19pm

thank you :D

everything everyone has said has hit me in some way and i appreciate it all!

today i hooped and felt amazing although i messed up a lot. but i still felt better than usual.

i have been hooping for almost 2 years and i have always felt a little frustration in it, but thats what keeps pushing me,

i came to realize last night after i posted this that im mostly frustrated with myself and not hooping at all, its me that puts all these thoughts in my head, im the only one to blame for all of it.

i recently moved from illinois to washington and i have been alone in my house for almost 2 weeks now, trying to get a job. i have walked about 15 miles since i got here just looking and filling out applications and i have not gotten one single phone call from any place i have applied, so that has been digging at me.

also i had to leave my boyfriend that i have been with for 4 years.

BUT. im not blaming those things for my frustration in myself. because those are just little obstacles in my path to move forward into big things.

i moved here to try to start something amazing and better for myself and all i have gotten so far is tears,

i know i am stronger than this sometimes it just takes other peoples words to help understand again.

 

thank you again for all you have said!

it has helped!

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Permalink Reply by Rachel Bond on February 25, 2011 at 5:17pm

gotta go thru the lows to truly appreciate the highs, best of luck to you

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Permalink Reply by Snarfy on February 25, 2011 at 11:25pm

I hoop in my underpants and film it. And then I watch it, and tell myself how bad-ass I am. I actually just posted a journal about it.

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