As you can tell, it has been a long, long time since I have posted to this page. The main reason I haven't been posting is because quite frankly, I think blogs are silly. The only reason I created one to begin with was because it seemed like the proper forum to share about my post-partum hooping experience, which would hopefully inspire others who found themselves in the same situation. I have had lots of requests for updates and have been meaning to do so, but as you know, life can get very busy! So here I am, finally ready to give you an update!
Every day I tell my better half, David, how happy I am that he affords us a life that allows me to be at home with our baby, Henrietta... and that enables me to pursue something that truly creates happiness for me... hooping and teaching others to hoop. I have been so fortunate to have met so many wonderful women through the hooping experience. Women of all ages, backgrounds, and interests... and with the same passion, the hula hoop!
I guess I should touch on my post-partum hooping before I go off in another direction... I am nine months from the birth of my last child and I turned 36 last week. This has been a long road. I was in such great shape and to be climbing this uphill battle for so long has been very frustrating at times. People say I look great, but I can still feel the things that have yet to return... like my pantsize! I stopped measuring and weighing when I felt that I was hitting a plateau and began to change my focus and stop caring about it so much. I figured things would change when my body was ready, and they have. My weight is now at 120 (which it has been for a while now). I am still 15 pounds heavier than I was pre-pregnancy. And the shape of my body is still mostly settled in the lower region :) I account for about 5 of those pounds to be due to breastfeeding and know that my body has to store fat in order for that to maintain as it has, which is fine by me.
While my weight has stayed the same for a couple of months, I have noticed over the past 6 weeks small changes where I have become more fit... turning the baby fat into muscle! My arms are getting stronger and the definition is now more of a reality than an illusion! I have been hooping (via teaching) approximately 6-8 times a week, and in February added another facet to the hoop...
Hooping the Half Marathon!
Yes! HOOPING the Half Marathon! I will preface this with the simple fact that I HATE running as much as I hate sit-ups, so I thought hooping while walking would be great! However, in my training, it has become quite clear that I hate walking too! I think this might be because of the extra weight that I still have. Before the birth, walking was not something I would have hated. But right now, I really only like to hoop. It takes a lot of energy for me to push through the miles with the hoop and what keeps me going is the women- the connection and laughter that we share. All of the sudden 4 or 5 miles pass and you wonder if you have even already walked a few steps!
I want to give a HUGE shout out to Adele, if she is reading this. I have thought about Hooping the Half for about 3 years now, but quite frankly, didn't want to do it alone. When I randomly presented it to one of my Beginner One classes (because it's marathon season here in TN) she quickly responded that she would do it! As I get to know her, I realize now, that gal will do anything! She is so full of life and so facinating- what an amazing woman! So I gathered some other HoopStar graduates and we started our weekly training at Shelby Bottoms!
In the meantime, I was in North Carolina fly fishing and our guide turned out to be way more inspiring than I ever could have imagined. By the end of the day, ALL I could think about was
Hooping for Hope™!
I am asked quite frequently, why did I choosing breast cancer as my focus. I do have a lot of cancer in my family past, and my great-grandmother had breast cancer herself, but quite honestly, that is not the reason. For me it's simply about giving to someone who needs it and then discovering out of all the people who need it, who makes my spirit move inside. I look at the hoop and I witness every moment I am in class, the hoops giving smiles, freedom to move, reclaimed movement and sexuality, encouragement, self-esteem, laughter, spirit and most importantly, life. And then I think of a woman with breast cancer and how all of that can be stripped of her in moments and that makes me so terribly sad inside, it moves me.
I wanted to do something that makes them smile again, something that not only reclaims their bodies and sexuality, but encourages movement and laughter. I don't care to raise money for breast cancer research. There are a lot bigger fish out there who can do that better than me. I want to touch one woman at a time. One hoop at a time. I want to teach them to hoop, so that they then turn around and hoop with their friends and find laughter together and for even a brief moment don't think about all the things that might have happened.
I will say that I have much larger plans and visions for my
Hooping for Hope™ program. This is only the begining! Every week I tune into the Big Give on my computer nestled into bed and I cry and become more insprired to dream
Hooping for Hope bigger and to see what it is that I can do with it. I know it's out there for me. And I am hooping my way to find it right now!
