Hooping compliments a sweet or a sour disposition. When I would feel down in the past, I never felt like doing anything active, which I think is very common among depressed people. It's easy to get stuck in the popular rut and almost feel comfortable with feeling down. Sometimes you may even know that being active is the only thing that will help, but yet it would still take several strong people or a heavy crane to lift you out of the self-shaped indent in your couch when you're feeling down. Unbelievably enough, it took quite a long time for me to understand myself that exercise could even help my depression. Well, better late than never, but now I've found that whether I'm in a good mood or a poor mood, all I have to do is put on my favorite "hooping" playlist that is motivating and just go, go, ziga ziga go! Try it for the first time or try it again after years and years and see that you can do it! That is just the beginning, people!
By the way, did I mention that I make custom hoops and sell pre-made hoops too for a little bit less?! Try it out for free and find yourself more happy and falling into laughter with the HOOP!
Monday, August 16, 2010
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Canned Heat Hooping
As I mentioned below, the last couple years, I am sad to say, I have been very unhappy and I always would wonder why. I would wonder what I needed to do to be happier in general. I thought of trying anti-depressants because it was easy (but not cheap). I thought when things started going right in my life, that would make me happy, but it never did. I really struggled with it and I never really understood natural remedies for depression. I know there are lots of things that can make you naturally happy; I was told to get out and get more exercise and meet new people, get into small groups, etc. but the motivation wasn't there. I guess you have to pick things up on your own and in your own time, although it may be frustrating. In the last 6 weeks since I've been hooping, I've been happier than I have been in a very long time and I just can't explain it, people! I'm happy! I have a smile on my face when I even talk about it and the advantages are endless! Below is a recording I made a few weeks ago to a song that I feel is very fitting. (For those who have seen and love the movie, Napoleon Dynamite, you'll completely understand.) The message is no matter what others say or do, don't let anyone get you down, just HOOP your troubles away....Okay, it's cheesy I know, but that's exactly what I did, my dear friends. Enjoy this and I hope you laugh as much as I have been!
HOOP yourself healthy
Some of you may have heard about the healthy advantages of HOOPing from me or someone else at some point..maybe you still didn't try it or you did and you just couldn't do it. The same thing happened to me. I had wanted to try it for over 3 years but as an avid procrastinator, my laziness and indifference got in the way. (I remember really wanting to do it, I just didn't have the right motivation or the right hoop.) I'm gonna tell you something that I learned that will save you a ton of time and trouble......
DO NOT BUY YOUR HOOP AT WAL-MART OR TOYS R US!! Please!! You'll thank me later. They are too light and even the most advanced hoopers may not enjoy or even be able to do it. I bought one a couple years ago and it just stayed propped against the wall behind my TV because every time I tried it I just couldn't do it! How frustrating!
About six weeks ago, I FINALLY bought a good quality one and immediately put it to the test. First I bought one that was too small around. It was still really difficult to keep up. Luckily, I was able to trade it in for a bigger, heavier one. (Usually the weights go up the bigger they get.) Once I got the right hoop, it was up hill from there!
(I should probably mention too that before I bought my hoop, I had recently lost about 15-20 pounds because I started eating a lot less and eating healthier when I did. I started eating more meals a day and while I didn't really limit the foods I ate, I did buy healthier items at the grocery store, such as lots of fresh vegetables and fruits and limited my carbs. Instead of bad fats like cookies, chips, fast food, packaged foods, etc., I was eating small amounts of good fats, such as avocado, nuts, olive oil, salmon. I substituted sandwiches for salads with croutons instead and got creative with them. [Creative salads, wraps, parfaits, and smoothie recipes will also be found on this blog in the future.] You must remember that no exercise alone will help you lose weight. My whole adult life, I've pretty much stayed the same weight, about 170-180 lbs. I would move up and down, but never lost more than 30 lbs. at a time. Because of my changed eating habits, plus more exercise, but not much actually, I was able to lose a good portion to start.)
As I started practicing, constantly at first, and then continuously as I had time, I got better and better and as the days and weeks passed, I started seeing muscles I had never even seen before on my body! As I kept hooping, my already smaller body just started toning up like I've always desired. Wow! This hooping thing was really something!
DO NOT BUY YOUR HOOP AT WAL-MART OR TOYS R US!! Please!! You'll thank me later. They are too light and even the most advanced hoopers may not enjoy or even be able to do it. I bought one a couple years ago and it just stayed propped against the wall behind my TV because every time I tried it I just couldn't do it! How frustrating!
About six weeks ago, I FINALLY bought a good quality one and immediately put it to the test. First I bought one that was too small around. It was still really difficult to keep up. Luckily, I was able to trade it in for a bigger, heavier one. (Usually the weights go up the bigger they get.) Once I got the right hoop, it was up hill from there!
(I should probably mention too that before I bought my hoop, I had recently lost about 15-20 pounds because I started eating a lot less and eating healthier when I did. I started eating more meals a day and while I didn't really limit the foods I ate, I did buy healthier items at the grocery store, such as lots of fresh vegetables and fruits and limited my carbs. Instead of bad fats like cookies, chips, fast food, packaged foods, etc., I was eating small amounts of good fats, such as avocado, nuts, olive oil, salmon. I substituted sandwiches for salads with croutons instead and got creative with them. [Creative salads, wraps, parfaits, and smoothie recipes will also be found on this blog in the future.] You must remember that no exercise alone will help you lose weight. My whole adult life, I've pretty much stayed the same weight, about 170-180 lbs. I would move up and down, but never lost more than 30 lbs. at a time. Because of my changed eating habits, plus more exercise, but not much actually, I was able to lose a good portion to start.)
As I started practicing, constantly at first, and then continuously as I had time, I got better and better and as the days and weeks passed, I started seeing muscles I had never even seen before on my body! As I kept hooping, my already smaller body just started toning up like I've always desired. Wow! This hooping thing was really something!
Before: Probably my highest weight at my cousin's wedding a couple years ago.
After: Still working to tone more, but an incredible difference! The only thing I have been doing in the
last 6 weeks is hooping, people!
HOOPhistory
My name is Grace Gladhill. I'm a photographer with many interests but never really made time for them. Like many people, I've had a few extremely difficult hurdles to cross in the last couple of years. Most of which I had never crossed in the length of the 28 years I've been alive. Everyone overcomes difficulty in their own way and when I say that I handled my stress + difficulty rather poorly, I'm afraid that is something of an understatement. Like many people, I struggled with depression and sadness, stress, anxiety, & doubt. When I first picked up the HOOP, my low point was pretty low. I've always appreciated a good hooper, as I've seen some amazingly talented hoopers in person and on the web, but believe me when I say that I NEVER thought in a million years I had it in me! I saw it as a challenge in my life when that's exactly what I needed. I saw it as a distraction from my continually growing, messy, every day life. I soon found that I would be gaining a WHOLE lot more than just that with my trusty HOOP. Find out other advantages of picking up a HOOP by following along.
I invite you to take this journey with me if you like and if you're so brave, maybe even try it with me! Let me show you how many 'bundles of joyful' you will discover inside yourself if you HOOP yourself happy!
I invite you to take this journey with me if you like and if you're so brave, maybe even try it with me! Let me show you how many 'bundles of joyful' you will discover inside yourself if you HOOP yourself happy!
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