ideas in flow

Hooping, spinning, twirling, object manipulation... these and so many more disciplines are ways of moving our bodies fluidly through space and time. I have found that in addition to being a way to express our inner spirits through manifestation of movement, we can also find insight into our deep inner selves through these motions. One of the more obvious examples is when one hits themselves with the poi. Poi can be heavy and very fast moving... when one is hit it can really hurt; especially if that hit comes to the face or the groin. I was able to grok this pain fairly early in my practice: hitting yourself, whether "by accident" or not, is an intentional act of the spirit. So I listen to it and try to see what my body is trying to tell my self.

I have come to see hooping as a means of manifesting postivity in the universe. After a particularly traumatic incident that took place in my home, I needed to heal my space. Two of my close friends suggested two different techniques, and I combined them. One said to open all the windows and doors and let fresh air cleanse the whole space. Another suggested hooping wildly and transforming all the violence and pain into bliss and joy. I added some really loud music, and voila, wind in my hair, music loud, hooping naked in the living room. It worked.

Since then I have come to see hooping as generation of a positive energy vortex from the core chakras, which is spiralled out into the universe through the revolving action of the hoop.

As a symbol, the circle is universal. In AcroYoga, at the beginning and the end, we "circle up" knee to knee and place our hands on our neighbors knee, then proceed to give eachother neck, back, and shoulder massages while still in circle. Yummy. :)

The circle also shares the same root word as Circus, which refers to the original ring in which performers played... and I find the Circus, in addition to being the best superhero skills training in the world, to be an apt metaphor for this dream we call Life.