And then I taught her to hoop

Alphabet Hoops is coming to Hewlett-Packard

There's a Hooping Basics class at Hewlett-Packard's Alpharetta (Georgia) office this coming Monday. And I'm teaching it! I'm super-excited about introducing hooping to a bunch of people in the tech industry. Well. I'm happy to teach pretty much anyone how to hula hoop, but it will be fun to combine my Day Job with my hooping passion, if only for an hour or two.

To spread the word about my class, I created a flyer for the office's events coordinator, to which she added a note that "There will be a prize for best hula hooper!" (In the image above, it's the angled text at the top left of my Playing a Round flyer.)

And then I introduced her to adult-sized hula hoops.

She almost instantly realized that at Monday's hoop class, it's very likely that everyone will be good at hooping. She will need a big supply of prizes...

Solar System Hoop Jam

There are many different hooping styles. Here are some interpreted in planetary terms.

A new hooping image! Note cards are available in the store right now. In a few days, the "Solar System Hoop Jam" will be available on other product types.

Meanwhile, get your note cards for 75% off! Use code CARDDEAL4YOU at checkout. The net sale price is the price of the product excluding shipping and taxes. Offer is valid until September 21, 2013 at 11:59pm PT.

I'm back!

I haven't discussed it at all publicly, but a shoulder injury required that I scale back my hula hooping activities. Really scale back. As in, just thinking about lifting a hoop was painful. Despite the pain, though, I continued offering my monthly Intro-to-Hooping classes through May of this year, and then took a break over the summer to focus on physical therapy.

I honestly didn't think my shoulder was going to get better, but now I'm beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel! So I've updated my blog with lesson information and I'm ready to schedule time to help local budding hoop enthusiasts get started on their new fitness activity.

Both private and group lessons are available, but I highly recommend setting up a private party at your home or local park! Gather up some friends and let's hoop and laugh together! There's nothing like hula hooping with friends to bring joy and laughter to a forever memorable get-together!

Kids and online hooping tutorials

There are a lot of awesome hooping tutorials on YouTube, but I ALWAYS caution parents to screen what their children are watching. 

Did you know that you can LOCK the YouTube Safety Mode on your browsers? EASY instructions are here: 

https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/174084?hl=en

(Curious about some of the hooping tutorials on YouTube? This page points to a few.)

Whale of a Good Time!

We have a new hula hooping image in our store! 

Original art by Shaw Draw, Inc.

A whale tail-hoops and his friend Monsieur le Crabe claw-hoops. They're having a whale of a good time hooping for their fishy audience!

This image is available on a variety of products including t-shirts, posters, and mugs...among other items. 

Hooping and osteoporosis

Pam Theobold started hula hooping at age 57 to help heal her osteoporosis. In the attached (short) video, she describes how she discovered hooping and the health benefits she gained from her chosen form of exercise.



There are so many health benefits to hula hooping. My favorite part? It's exercise disguised as FUN. Regular exercise is a key component to leading a healthy and happy life. If you can find an activity that you truly enjoy, you will be more likely to keep doing it. Hula hooping fits the bill for me...and perhaps you, too?

Announcing PRIVATE CLASSES!

UPDATE May 13, 2013: Miss Laura is returning to Boulder, Colorado and is no longer available for private classes in Marietta, Georgia. :-(

Are you new to hoop dancing? Are you struggling to get started and want some one-on-one instruction? Or perhaps, you've attended the Alphabet Hoops basic hoop dance classes and are ready to learn some intermediate and advanced skills. Marietta, Georgia locals are lucky to have two (2!) hoop dance instructional options --- Lorene Shaw and Laura Roinestad!

*** Lorene Shaw ***

Lorene Shaw is a hooping enthusiast who discovered the joys of hula hooping in 2009. She teaches introductory hula hooping to both adults and children at Fusion Fitness and MMA and to City of Marietta elementary students (and grown ups!) via Marietta Community School.

You can contact her via:

Email (best way!): 

Lorene@AlphabetHoops.com

Mobile Phone: 

(404) 271-7429

Facebook: 

https://www.facebook.com/AlphabetHoops 

*** Laura Roinestad ***

Laura is a Hoopnotica-certified dance instructor who works full-time as a massage therapist at Integrated Health Solutions. She is available for all levels of private adult hoop dance and fire hooping lessons. 

(She occasionally offers a hoop dance skills series via Alphabet Hoops, so definitely "like" Alphabet Hoops on Facebook to keep current on class announcements!)

In addition to her hoop dancing skills, Laura has a background in ballet, jazz, modern, hip hop, pilates and yoga...all of which she leverages to the great benefit of her hoop dancing students!

You can contact Laura via Facebook under her company name, "Baila Hoops," or her personal Facebook page. 

Hoop dance to "Misguided Ghosts" by Paramore

Photo credit: Sara Janssen // The Happy Hoop

Little kids don't see spinning hula hoops

When someone buys a hoop from me, one of the things I warn them about is that little kids don't seem to "see" a spinning hoop. They'll just walk right up, and into, a spinning hoop. (Cute & LUCKY!) case in point.

The light, plastic kid's hoops that are commercially available don't do much damage, but my heavier, adult-sized ones can cause a bruise or two. So, be carefully, everyone! A kid will look you in the eye as you're waist hooping and walk right into your hoop!

My favorite hoop dance app

Yes, "there's an app for it!"

Okay. Not quite. There are plenty of online resources for hoop dance, but there isn't an app for it yet...that I know of. Hoop dance simply requires you, a hoop, and good old-fashioned practice. I do, however, have an app that appeals to me specifically because of my hoop dancing hobby.

It's Shazam, a free app that helps me identify the songs that I hear, but don't know. (And it's so popular that perhaps this write-up is simply stating the obvious, but I thought I'd go ahead and post this in the off-chance that there are a few people left who are not familiar with it.)

Before I took up hoop dancing, I was slowly losing touch with new music. (I'm slightly embarrassed to admit that this losing-touch process started before Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears came on the scene. I know this for a fact, because I vividly remember watching a news program in which they were both introduced...and recognizing that, were I more with-it, I would have known who the newscaster was talking about.)

Ahem. Anyway...ever since I've taken up hoop dance, however, I've been more aware of new and current music. I am always keeping an ear out for hooping-suitable music. Without Shazam, though, additions to my music library would be considerably more frustrating because sometimes I just catch a melody...or I simply can't understand what the heck the singer is saying (which is often).

I was sitting in a beauty salon when this song came on. Trust me. I would never have found the downloadable version without Shazam's help. (And this song's discovery lead me to this album. I had NO idea there was such a thing as electro swing. Yeah. Old fogey, right here!)

Sunday Funday at East Cobb Park

What could possibly improve upon a sunshiny day at the park, complete with (free!) live music? Why, hula hoops, of course! Last Sunday, Alphabet Hoops brought a stack of hoops and joined the fun at "Sunday Funday presented by Wellstar." With such a family friendly atmosphere, there were already a lot of smiling faces, but the hula hoops prompted some happy laughter as well.

Musician, Jay Memory

Lorene Shaw of Alphabet Hoops

 I really had a wonderful time introducing hula hooping to kids and adults. And I really appreciated the  occasional references to hula hooping that musician Jay Memory inserted into his songs. He made me smile every time he did that! Remember, Sunday Funday is free. And there's plenty of room for hula hoops. So bring yours, grab the family, and join in the fun!

About Sunday Funday by Wellstar: Located at East Cobb Park, Sunday Funday is held weekly on Sundays from 4-7 p.m., April 15 through May 27 (weather permitting). The weekly event features live musical entertainment performed by Jay Memory. Huge thanks to the the various sponsors who make this family-friendly activity possible for our community---Wellstar, Zaxby's, Willy's Mexican Grill, and Rohan Law PC.

Hooping with Mr. Marietta

Today, Jason Bourne, aka “Mr. Marietta,” honored me with the opportunity to teach him some hooping tricks. He is a natural. I am 100% sure that if hooping piques his interest, he will very soon have some isolation tricks to show me.

Jason Bourne and Lorene Shaw at Marietta Square

Are you interested in learning some hooping isolations? Here’s an online tutorial that includes instruction for several moves. Many hooping moves have more than one name. In the preceding tutorial, the instructor teaches what she calls a "full moon," "half moon," "shooting star," and "milky way." Watch the video to see what they are!

I often teach kids isolations because they're impressive to see and relatively easy to learn. (You should see their eyes light up when I show them the moves!) Personally, I enjoy them because they're a fun way to build some shoulder definition, as well as workout my triceps and biceps.

Hooping tutorial: Butterfly

Here's a pretty (and easy!) move to add to your hoop dance routine. Betty Lucas calls it the "Butterfly." It looks best when done slowly, but I'm sure more advanced hoop dancers could make a frenetic pace look good, as well.

It was like herding cats...

...but with more smiles.

Last Monday was my final hooping session with the A.L. Burruss kids. I always plan to take pictures at my hooping events, but I generally get so caught up in the activity that picture-taking tasks fall by the wayside. This time, though, I was determined to get a photo. Thanks to the (equally determined) efforts of a few adults (THANK YOU, Mrs. Hutchinson, Leigh Borkowski and Jayne Nix!), we did make it happen.

After some tears, confusion, and rearranging, a photo was taken of the A.L. Burruss Alphabet Hoops Class of Spring, 2012.

A.L. Burruss Alphabet Hoops Class of Spring, 2012

And then all mayhem broke lose.

I will most certainly miss hooping with these kids.

12 Schools, 24 Hoops - West Side Elementary Donation

(l to r) Ashley Bagwell, Assistant Principal--Lorene Shaw, Alphabet Hoops--Ken Wakefield, Physical Education.

About the "12 Schools, 24 Hoops" Program

Alphabet Hoops is focused on introducing kids to the joys and benefits of hula hooping. I do as much as I can with the time I have, but I have a family, a full-time job AND a penchant for crafting---all of which occupy a portion of the limited hours in my day.

So, to increase the number of kids that I reach, I also need to introduce hula hooping to adults who work with kids. To that end, my goal for 2012 is to donate two adult-sized hula hoops to the P.E. department of each of the 12 Marietta City Schools. (And, if the teachers are interested, each hoop handover will include a mini-introductory lesson to hooping!)

Check my donation tracking page for a  list of  the 2012 hoop donations to the Marietta City School system that I have completed so far! 

Hula hooping at Holiday Camp!

Next week, I'll be teaching hula hooping to the kids at the Marietta Community School Holiday Camp. I LOVE the way their faces light up when I show them a trick that they, too, can do. Seriously. Their faces glow with joyful anticipation.

Image via Marietta City Schools

Marietta Community School is the continuing education division of Marietta City Schools and has been serving the Marietta community for almost 30 years. They offer child care at West Side Elementary during school holidays. A $10.00 registration fee holds your child's place for all available camp dates, but you must reserve the specific dates your child will be attending. The cost is $35.00 per day, with multiple sibling and employee discounts available upon request. Camp is open from 7:00 a.m. till 6:00 p.m.

If you have questions about the camp offerings visit their Web site or contact their Coordinator:

Annette Kouba
770.429.3170 (ext. 3305)
akouba@marietta-city.k12.ga.us

Yes, I bought a tutu

And a Hello Kitty one at that. It's pink, it's tulle, and it's totally ridiculous. And I love it. I am SO grateful that my hula hooping After School Program allows me to justify this addition to my wardrobe.

Disclaimer: Don't be alarmed. I will be wearing this over leggings. I am over the moon with glee about this skirt, but I haven't completely lost my mind!

12 Schools - 24 Hoops

A. L. Burruss Elementary: Coach Amber Tyler and Alb the Beaver.
(I'm pretty sure this will be my only photo-op, ever, with an over-sized stuffed beaver.)

Alphabet Hoops is focused on introducing kids to the joys and benefits of hula hooping. I do as much as I can with the time I have, but I have a family, a full-time job AND a penchant for crafting---all of which occupy a portion of the limited hours in my day.

So, to increase the number of kids that I reach, I also need to introduce hula hooping to adults who work with kids. To that end, my goal for 2012 is to donate two adult-sized hula hoops to the P.E. department of each of the 12 Marietta City Schools. (And, if the teachers are interested, each hoop handover will include a mini-introductory lesson to hooping!)

Check my donation tracking page for updates on my 2012 hoop donations to the Marietta City School system!

I, too, am a casual hooper!

My goodness, have you visited Hooping.org lately? It's a wonderful information source on all things hooping. Yesterday, there was a write-up by Abby Schwartz  that was coincidentally published on the same day as my "regular people hoop, too" Facebook post!

I, too, am a casual hooper. I LOVE introducing hooping to kids and grown-ups because it's EXERCISE THAT'S DISGUISED AS FUN!!! I will hoop in public (mostly to spread awareness of hooping), but I have absolutely no desire to perform. I am a "regular gal" who's a "casual hooper"!

On a side-note, this Monday will be the first day of my hooping class at A.L. Burruss Elementary! I'm looking forward to all the happy hooping faces I will see there!

Autism: The Power of a Hula Hoop

I haven't had the privilege to work with kids with Autism, but because of its meditative and calming aspects, I've long suspected that they would connect with hooping. This article on hooping.org speaks about the "Power of a Hula Hoop." One of the comments also made a lot of sense to me:

"I think the repetitive sound is soothing for them and it provides sensory input without anyone being in their “bubble” as well."

Hooping most definitely puts you in a "bubble." This is why I, someone who is not keen on drawing attention to myself, am able to hoop in public...I am so focused on my hooping on that I lose most of my awareness of the external world.

Happy World Hoop Day!

(Marietta Center for Advanced Academics) MCAA Rocket---Some of my awesome hoop dance students

This picture was taken a couple of days ago at my very last hoop dance session with a few of the MCAA students. I will so miss seeing them on a weekly basis. As part of our last class, we successfully recorded their entry to the World Hoop Dance project:



It's not the entire choreographed dance, but this clip represents a major accomplishment on their parts---they had a relatively small amount of time to practice and learn the routine. They should be SO proud of their accomplishment, because I definitely am!