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?
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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 –
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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