Come along to the Dee Why Beach ‘Hula Hoop for fun Group’ at James Meehan Reserve every 1st and 3rd Saturday of every month. This is a free open community gathering which welcomes people from all ages, males and females and beginners to advanced.
This kind of Hula hooping is not what we instinctively know it to be back in the days of our childhood. Hooping opens a vast array of artflow movement that can be incorporated such as, hoop dancing, circus hooping, hoop yoga, hoopilates, hoopchi and hoopfit.
Keeping it up around your waist is pretty basic, but it’s far from the end-all-be-all of hoop skills. Exploring dance with the hoop involves learning to give it a spin around arms, knees, feet, chest, shoulders and neck, as well as simply exploring the hoop in space and playing with where it can go and what it can do. Moves such as tosses, hand overs and isolations have nothing to do with that initial spin that so many find intimidating to try, but so liberating when they succeed.
There is an enormous interest in hooping sweeping the nation as the benefits of hula hooping are obvious to new hoopers who are happy to admit that hooping has given their body’s increased strength as their core is being continually worked along with arms, legs, buttocks and hips. Amongst the hooping community there is a great amount of expression about hooping bringing joy, freedom to express who you are through movement and flow, individuality and re-connecting with your fun-loving inner child.
What drew me first to hooping was that it’s so pretty. Hoopers are almost always sleek, skilled dancers in bright clothes, listening to hypnotic music, and there are many cool tricks that appear like magic — and boy, are they happy. More than any other exercise or dance I’ve ever done, hoopers are a joyful lot, taking their love of the hoop to spiritual levels. Hooping can be meditative, and hoopers often use the image of the circle and the feeling of spin to center, ground and de-stress themselves.
Hoop dance and fitness also instills confidence, enhances creativity, unites the breath with movement and heightens your spirits while keeping you toned and fit. But if all of the above isn’t enough to get you to this hoop group, consider this — hooping burns upwards of 600 calories an hour.
You may be wondering if you are capable of learning to hoop, rest assured that it’s easy to learn provided you have the right hoop size for your body and some instruction. Maria, organizer of this group says “The general reason as to why adults find it hard to hula hoop is because they are using a small child size hoop, what’s more, this hula hooping gathering provides as many hoops as possible to allow you to give it a go with the correct hoop size for you, you’ll be amazed at how much easier it is!”
Maria is a Dee Why local who has a passion for hoop dance. Whilst taking a course by Bunny Hoopstar at Manly Village Public School provided by Manly Warringah Community College, Maria has taken the joy of organizing this fun-loving outdoors hula hoop group based out in the fresh sea air at Dee Why Beach.
The success of the first hula hoop group event over the weekend proved that locals are taken by the vibrant mood that hoop dance play brings to the community, so bring your smiles and get ready to de-stress, meet some great people, have a bucket load of fun and re-connect with your inner child, We’ll be hooping to some funky tunes out in the fresh sea air!
When: 1st and 3rd Saturday of every month 10am – 11am
At: James Meehan Reserve opposite the playground near the Surf Life Saving Club, Dee Why Beach.
JOIN the Hoop Group Facebook Group for updates
DETAILED MAP: VIEW EXACT LOCATION MAP (PDF)
[one_half]View Larger Map
[/one_half] [one_half_last] [ait-portfolio width=”260″ height=”250″ cols=”1″ cat_id=”175″ showdescription=”hover”] [/one_half_last] [one_half]