This is a very basic tutorial for new hoopers about how to walk while you are hooping.

www.youtube.com/watch

Check out my cat AGAIN! He is in every video! In this one, Icky seems to realize that I'm directing my attention to the camera. He comes up and looks right into the camera at about 6:30. He is such a smart cat. And totally fearless.

I emphasize going front/back, front/back or side/side, side/side a lot. I wish I had commented that soon you will find yourself at a place where you are pushing and pulling in all directions and in varying degrees. You will develop nuance. These ideas just give you a taste of some of the possibilities. You'll discover the places in between, new and different ways to interact with the hoop, to influence the rotation from every side. You will find your center. Just stick with it. It's only a matter of time.

Here are some of the instructions I'd shared in a thread prior to making this video. Perhaps they will help someone also.

Like Glen Campbell sang in Rudolph: "Put one foot in front of the other ... and soon you'll be walking 'cross the floo-oo-oor! Put one foot in front of the other ... and soon you'll be walking out the door!"

To start this process, remember to stand up straight and look forward. Practice lifting one foot and setting it down, lifting the other foot and setting it down. (Look forward, not down.) Practice standing on one leg (which is actually harder than just walking.) Then practice setting one foot out a bit to the right so that you're in a wide stance, then bring the feet back together. Then set the other foot out to the left so you're in a wide stance again. Then bring them back together. Then you're ready to start practicing putting one foot in front, then bringing it back to you, then setting the other foot in front, then bringing it back to you. Do this for a while.

Then do something completely different. Start doing armwork. Hold your arms in prayer position at your chest, then lift them (palms together) above your head, then bring them back to the chest. Then open the right arm out and then return it to the middle. Then open the left arm out and then return it to the middle. While you're working on your arms, forget all about your feet and just walk forward. Keeping your mind above the waist takes a lot of the pressure off. It also helps you not look down. If you're looking down, the hoop is likely to slip down also because you're probably not standing up straight. So look up and think up. Try stepping backwards too. It's all about finding that center.

Then, go outside, get your hoop going and try to take off running across the yard. Seriously. The momentum will keep the hoop going for a while and you will begin to have understandings about how, physiologically, that is happening. Don't be shy. Go for it. What's the worst that could happen?

Good luck. And Happy Hooping!