Hi Sal!!

I'm all good thank you - if not a tad frustrated with ma hoop!! I WILL master it though - I'm on a mission now! How are you? I hope you are well!

Thank you for all the info - fantastic that you're doing so well (and so quickly it seems!!) - I'm really pleased for you!! I can easily travel to Basingstoke so I will check that out ! Yay!!! Somewhere to go hopefully!!! My local gym have been very kind and taken my flyers for my hoops and have said that I can go and use the studio to practice in on a Sat afternoon so tomorrow will be my first "session" where I will have ample space to fling both myself and the hoop around (and hopefully not smash their mirrors!!!).

I would love to attend your hoop disco but feel that I'm no where near good enough for that yet! I am thinking of going to the hoop gathering too though! I emailed Gems and she said it was for all levels so maybe I could go there and feel inspired and not too rubbish!!?

I made contact with Jessica the other week as I needed help to learn and she has moved to Brighton now. She kindly offered one-to-one (she doesn't hold classes anymore) but it would have meant her travelling on the train from Brighton to Bournemouth each Saturday to teach me and I couldn't ask her to to commit to that - how sweet of her to offer to do that though?!

This week I have practised every night for 1-1.5 hours and although last night I had an anger fit (oh dear!), I do feel that some moves are "feeling" a lot clearer and I am starting to notice where I think I am going wrong. (I think!). I just wish I could dance with my hoop more easily because I know that as soon as I can I will relax and open up to it a whole lot more!

Thank you so much for your encouragement! Love n hugs xxxx

Hello Sue!!

Thank you too for your kind words and advice! I do always hoop to music (my partner is a dj & he plays soulful & US house music (ace!!) so I am lucky to have loads of loud music around me constantly - plus 15,000 - yes 15,000 vinyl records to choose from!!!).

I will hopefully be in touch soon with a big tape order (sazzypopz) as the hoop class at the gym will see my flyers for the 1st time today so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a few orders!! LOVE making them!!

I fully agree that I need to stop concentrating so hard but at the moment it feels like a catch 22 for me, if I don't concentrate on the moves (i.e. corkscrew) I can't keep a flow going! I have tried to just go with it, but end up in a heap on the floor or with the hoop wrapped round my neck or my arm stuck in a position that I can't get it out of without whacking the back of my head with my hoop! I don't care about injuries though! I JUST WANT TO MASTER IT!!!! (said with a smile!)

I am not as patient as I need to be with hooping - I'm one of these people that if I am really into something I need to master it quickly and I've found it quite difficult to accept that this is actually going to take time!! I am also really keen to get good enough to be able to attend a teacher training session - this is my goal!

I look at hours of youtubes of people hooping and they make it look so easy, graceful and beautiful.. then as soon as I start (always with a positive mind) I look like suck a klutz that I find myself thinking a lot "god, I'm never gonna get this".. which I know is the wrong thing to think, but it's so hard to convince myself otherwise when I look so dreadful!!! Last night my hoop got slammed to the floor a couple of times in frustration - not good!

I have no choice but to hoop in the mirror as the only place I can hoop is my front room (massive advantage from 6 months ago when I had to go to a park as the flat I was living in was so small), but the mirror is properly attached to the wall so I can't take it down (and it's big unfortunately).

Last night I tried facing the other wall and closing my eyes more but felt the need to keep turning back and looking in the mirror to see what my movements looked like. I am trying to run before I can walk I know that - but I need to keep myself inspired by trying harder moves or I'm worried I'll get fed up with just waist hooping which really is the main thing that I feel comfortable with at the moment (but even that not fully though as I still have to pyut in a lot of movement to keep the hoop up).. how do you all make this look so effortless, when I try and limit my movements or move with it the hoop just falls to the floor!? Arghhh!

On a more positive note...! I did manage to suss out floating last night (I know this is an easy one to all of you but to me at the moment it was.. Yeeha!!) and I also held the hoop on my hips for about 4-5 minuts (again YAY!!! 1st time I've done that for longer than 10 seconds!!) so I felt a little more of a "breakthrough"!

I am so keen to get good at hooping that I have asigned myself to daily practice and I am actually loving it!! It beats the boring gym by a mile and already (just this week) I can feel a difference in my tummy! I have noticed that my lower and upper back is weak and this is an area that I need to get strength in before I even think about trying chest hooping! This afternoon I am finishing work at 3pm so can go home and have a good session I hope - with no one around except me and my hoop!

You are all so kind & helpful on here & I'm really grateful to you for the time & effort you have taken in replying to my "cry of help!"

Thank you so so much!!

Love Sarah xxx

Hi Sarah,
I run course in the South West. I have a course in May in Romsey with 2 places left on it if you are interested. I actually live in Salisbury so if you would like to get together in my garden for some hooping practice please let me know. I live in Bodenham just South of Salisbury.