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Permalink Reply by Toni of Hand Me a Hoop on May 14, 2010 at 8:40am

sunny days and meditation are my drives for hooping. new tricks are fun too but nothing can turn a shitty day better than taking a spin. =)

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Permalink Reply by Tangled Macrame on May 14, 2010 at 8:51am

Sunshine and music! I also spend a lot of time out in the yard with my kids, so hooping is the natural choice when they're climbing around or hunting worms. In the beginning I was very, very inspired by new tricks. However, now that I've reached my "comfy spot" in the hoop, I spent a LOT less time watching tutorials and more time just jamming out.

If you need some hoop-friends, you can search "hoopers" (up in the top menu) by location. I'm a solitary, rural hooper and hoop city networking has connected me to hoop jams, events, and hoopy folks in near-by communities.

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Permalink Reply by circularlogic on May 14, 2010 at 9:47am

Music probably most of all, plus attending our weekly Hoop Jam, watching amazing hoopdance videos, learning new tricks from tutorials, & interacting with other hoopers on Hoop City!

I'm a wiggle-worm by nature with sedentary work, so I'm almost always dying to get up & move, but sometimes I do find my hooping getting lackluster & predictable. When I find my inspiration going flat, my number one cure is to get some new music. It's amazing what that does for my hooping, as it forces me to really listen & connect with the sounds, & that gets expressed in my hooping, makes me more creative & less stuck in a rut. I'm also really lucky that our Hoop Jam features a wonderful drum circle, very energizing & inspiring, & of course never predictable since they change beats at a moment's notice! The other hoopers at the jam are a huge inspiration too, especially the ever-stellar Caroleeena!

I watch lots of vids & try to remember to favorite the ones I find exciting, so I can come back to them before a hoop session & think about what makes them so good, then try to incorporate what I can into my own dance. And I still love learning new tricks & figuring out how to work them into my standard repertoire, though like Tangled Macrame, I also have become more flow-focused than I was at first.

Last but not least, Hoop City inspires me because there are always new hoopers, super-jazzed with fresh hoop enthusiasm, to remind me of that wonderful first rush of discovery, experienced pros with deep hoop wisdom to learn from, & lots of hoopheads like me to share our hoop love!

p.s. I know how you feel about the hoop-friend letdown, because for several months last Fall our Hoop Jam was cancelled for lack of a workable space, & it did take the wind out of my sails somewhat. I found focusing on new tricks really helped me get through that-- specifically taking up minis for the first time. If you haven't tried them yet, maybe that would help!

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Permalink Reply by Tangled Macrame on May 14, 2010 at 10:08am

Yes, Hoop City is ALWAYS a source of inspiration!

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Permalink Reply by spin gypsy of Centric Hoops* on May 14, 2010 at 10:04am

i totally feel you girl. my hoop journey has been somewhat of a lonely one. i have friends that hoop but they are like 45 mins away and i never get to hoop with them. im going to try to start a local hoop jam this summer in my area. maybe that would be something youre interested in. theres a group you can join here called "fostering hoop communities." that way you can still be doing something "hoop-like" without burning yourself out actually spinning. then you can meet new hoopers to jam with!! dont give up girl. all great artists meet a block in their journey sometimes. you just need to find that something that will lift you back up. if you dont hoop outside, you should try that, also. hooping in the fresh air with the warm sun on my skin and the grass on my feet really lifts my soul. and ill be your long distance hoop friend for sure :)

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