A hula hoop DVD helped this 40-year-old learn how to wiggle her hips.
An ex-boyfriend once told me: “You have child-bearing hips.” That was two decades ago and though I barely remember the boyfriend, his comment is crystal clear. I didn’t take it as a compliment; however, there were two times in my life when I thought childbearing hips could be a good thing. The first was when I got pregnant because I thought it would make delivery easier (it didn’t). The second was when my seven-year-old daughter Lily became obsessed with hula hooping and I thought my hips would help me wiggle away alongside with her (they didn’t). So while my little girl effortlessly hooped away, I just wished I could.
And then I saw my chance. I heard that adult hula hoop classes and DVDs were all the rage. I wanted to swivel my hips and burn calories, too, so I got one of the top hula hoop DVD’s – HoopGirl Hoopdance for Beginners (www.hoopgirl.com) – and was ready to shake my thing. All I needed was a weighted hula hoop. According to the DVD’s promotional materials, this weight would help the hoop stick to my hips – even if I’d never been able to hoop before. That was exactly what I needed!
So there I was standing in front of the TV with Lily – by now a hula-hoop expert - and my weighted hoop. I thought for sure it would feel heavy and have some special mechanism to help it hang onto my hips, but it actually looked like a regular hoop. The HoopGirl DVD started with Christabel Zamor, the founder of Hoopgirl, giving a long talk about what to expect, the benefits of hooping and some more esoteric comments about this form of exercise. “Can you just start already?” my daughter asked the TV. (My thoughts exactly!) But finally after the long intro, Christabel went on to demonstrate 35 hula hoop moves and dance combinations you can do using those moves. Unfortunately, I never got past the Pump- the basic move where you keep the hoop up around your waist. Christabel and her very toned abs made it look like a cinch, but I couldn’t keep the hoop up anywhere and winced every time it bumped painfully against my legs. I was certain my lower body would be dotted with bruises by morning. Who knew hula hooping could be so dangerous?
