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Angela Color Me Hoopy Bio

Seated but not defeated: Spinning injury into an asset

Knee surgery! I don’t have time for this! But there it was, smack dab in the middle of my Hoop Love Coach Training 2016.

Ugh! My first ever hoop classes were already scheduled around what I believed would only be a 2-week recovery. The procedure was a breeze but the recovery would require no-weight bearing on the knee for 6 weeks. I immediately pouted & thought how the hell will I keep practicing, complete HLC training,  & teach my first classes?

Knee Surgery Hoop Love Coaching Blog Poast

  1. Stay Positive

    The minute I got home I pimped out my crutches in purple & silver holographic tapes, truly uplifting colors, and I usually tried to coordinate outfits to match them. I also made a hoop to match.

  2. Look for Inspiration

    It’s likely you are NOT the first person in this situation. I found a jaw-dropping “wrecked knee hooping” video on youtube by Jenny Hoopnosis. I made a seated video playlist and a “Recovery” music playlist.

  3. Take a Seat

    As soon as I was off pain meds, I found a big spackle bucket, a pillow, & my new hoop. This was ok for a start, not the most comfortable or portable set up, but I was hooping!!  Later I would find this great little spinning travel stool I could fit in a backpack & crutch along to anywhere. The spinning stool added much more flow to the seated movement, super fun!

  4. Focus on ALL the Movements You CAN Do

    Any manner of isos, hand spins & weaves adjusting to height & knees. Passing breaks. I didn’t do a lot of tossing because I couldn’t chase dropped hoops. Smearing while I spun & coasted on the stool was like flying.

  5. Be Silly and Get Creative

    Pretend you’re on a swing, in a boat, try sneaking a knee into some breaks n paddles. And yes you CAN waist & shoulder hoop seated for an amazing cardio workout.  I also invented “crutch cam” to video these adventures.

Tips: Be Silly by Angela

At last that glorious day came when I could finally ditch my crutches & get strength back in my “shrunken” leg. I never ditched the stool however, I still enjoy seated hooping when my knee acts up.  I submitted my HLC assessment videos during recovery that featured me hooping on a stool teaching my “invisible class”.

In preparation for my first adult class, I went to the room to test my sound equipment & met the Senior Center director. She asked me if it was possible to do a seated version of hoop class for the Seniors. LIGHT BULB! Fresh from weeks of seated hooping I said “absolutely!” And the Senior seated hoop class was born.

Senior Chair Hooping Modifications –

Senior Chair Hooping Event

Most likely for a class, it’s a chair with a back which takes body hooping right out of the equation.  So guess what? Not using the hoop on the waist eliminates the EXCUSE for people to say they can’t do it. Everyone can do seated hooping! Just be sure to sit so there is some space between your back & the chair, and use the smear as the go-to “waist hoop” type dance move for transitions. Basic moves to include are pass breaks side to side, twisting & flipping isos, hinges, hand spins, weaves, swing on the swing, row the boat, shoot the arrow, & anything you can imagine. Any move can be modified for mobility issues to still be a “dance” move.  By the end of class, they are smiling, toe-tapping, & singing along.

It’s nice to know seated hooping is not only an option but a real asset. Whenever I see a seated hoop challenge online (like setting a 41 minute waist hoop record) I’m like “I got this.” It showed me that really positive things can come from a setback.  You can be “Seated but not Defeated!

 

Written by Angela Reitter, Color Me Hoopy (scroll down for contact details)

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Angela Color Me Hoopy Bio

This article is written by a Hoop Love Coach Angela Reitter, Color Me Hoopy

Angela Reitter, Color Me Hoopy Angela began hooping in 2014 & became a HoopLove Coach in 2016. Now she shares the joy of learning to rock out and dance with a hoop in live & local classes for adults, kids, & seated seniors. She also performs demos, hosts themed Hoop Jams, & makes custom travel hoops. When not creating in the hoop her “slightly more adult job” is providing conceptual drawings & designs for a worldwide Christmas ornament manufacturer.

Deanne Love Hoop Love Coach Instructor

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Deanne Love has launched a global revolution inside the hula hoop. Hoopers from around the world tune in to learn from Deanne’s fresh and passionately positive style of hoop dance instruction. The one time primary school teacher and creative founder of Hooplovers.tv shares high energy live and online classes, workshops and performance-based hoop education. Her mission is to inspire global beings to find their true potential through movement and self-expression via hoop dance.

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