I started off with Spunk in my outflow. Wearing shorts really is helping me learn to identify the exact point of contact in this other direction. My practice now consists of hooping as long as I can without turning... so theoretically I could be facing straight ahead indefinetely while hooping in either direction. When I first really started practicing this last July, I was consistently turning. Now I face in four directions for several beats of the hoop before turning and again standing still for a few more beats. Bringing lots of awareness to my posture. Head high, shoulders back and down, heart open. Arms consciously held in position with hands on my sitz bones or tight at my sides. I just keep adding extra rotations each time. When the hoop is about to fall, I catch it with my hands and just push it in the inflow direction. I get used the the sensation of effortlessness again, notice the economy of movement in my legs, then go back into my outflow. Did this for a while.
Then back to Snake for a long time with hopping between reversals and lifting the other leg, and just dancing around.
Played with Zest in my outflow direction and it was another adventure... I notice that the timing is slightly off to get into the pocket on the music. Barrel Roll with Snake with reversals and leg lifts is fun.
The interesting thing is that I can do drills in my outflow just fine, but then if I put on a bangin' piece of music and imagine I am performing entirely in my outflow, things have a wobble... a lack of predictableness and control which is challenging. It is a slight drag in response time which take more effort than my inflow. So I am determined to "perform" to at least one song in my outflow each practice time, to put all the elements of moves, expressiveness, precision and fun together.
I finally closed with vertical isolations, one and both handed in both directions. Then I remembered the UTube video about isolations and some moves Baxter did at our Burning Man camp, and found 4 primary ways I can "flip" the hoop during an isolation, before continuing to move it along it's track. With my hand gripped at the bottom, I can flip it so my hand is in the "up" position. I can do the opposite, and flip it from "up" to "down". I can also twist the hoop when my hand is at the top left or right. Finally, with my hand on the left or right side holding it very still, I can flip it in the other direction -- left or right. So much fun! There is a whole universe beckoning me in these hoop flipping isolations. It is very meditative for me.
Off to the day!
so theoretically I could be facing straight ahead indefinetely while hooping in either direction. When I first really started practicing this last July, I was consistently turning. Now I face in four directions for several beats of the hoop before turning and again standing still for a few more beats. Bringing lots of awareness to my posture. Head high, shoulders back and down, heart open. Arms consciously held in position with hands on my sitz bones or tight at my sides. I just keep adding extra rotations each time. When the hoop is about to fall, I catch it with my hands and just push it in the inflow direction. I get used the the sensation of effortlessness again, notice the economy of movement in my legs, then go back into my outflow. Did this for a while.
Then back to Snake for a long time with hopping between reversals and lifting the other leg, and just dancing around.
Played with Zest in my outflow direction and it was another adventure... I notice that the timing is slightly off to get into the pocket on the music. Barrel Roll with Snake with reversals and leg lifts is fun.
The interesting thing is that I can do drills in my outflow just fine, but then if I put on a bangin' piece of music and imagine I am performing entirely in my outflow, things have a wobble... a lack of predictableness and control which is challenging. It is a slight drag in response time which take more effort than my inflow. So I am determined to "perform" to at least one song in my outflow each practice time, to put all the elements of moves, expressiveness, precision and fun together.
I finally closed with vertical isolations, one and both handed in both directions. Then I remembered the UTube video about isolations and some moves Baxter did at our Burning Man camp, and found 4 primary ways I can "flip" the hoop during an isolation, before continuing to move it along it's track. With my hand gripped at the bottom, I can flip it so my hand is in the "up" position. I can do the opposite, and flip it from "up" to "down". I can also twist the hoop when my hand is at the top left or right. Finally, with my hand on the left or right side holding it very still, I can flip it in the other direction -- left or right. So much fun! There is a whole universe beckoning me in these hoop flipping isolations. It is very meditative for me.
Off to the day!