Hooping for a Cure at Forest Park Sat. Aug. 13 and Festivale Sat. Aug. 20

from 430-630. I'm going to be hosting this hoop jam to raise money for a cause near and dear to my heart--the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. I'm asking for a $10 donation per hooper, and hoops will be provided!  Then the next weekend, I'll be in downtown Indy at Festivale (with my hoops!) for the CFF.

See here for the hoop jam info and here for Festivale info.

If you can't attend and want to donate, please do so below. Thank you SO much.

Hoopers converge for workshop in Noblesville

Scott Nelson spins LED 'twins' at the HoopPath party

Over thirty hoopers from all around the Midwest “hooped it up” on Jan. 21 through 23 at the Boys and Girls Club in Noblesville. Attendees honed their skills at a HoopPath Indy workshop, the first workshop of its kind in this area.

Hoopdance is a unique, meditative and relatively new phenomenon that has been catching on worldwide for around ten years, incorporating spins, tricks, and a core and full body cardio workout. In hoopdance, also known as ‘hooping,’ larger, heavier hoops are used.

“I love hooping because it makes me feel like a real dancer. I went to HoopPath to work on opening up into that dancer identity,” Bloomington resident Clara Kallner said, “and I came away with a whole new understanding and appreciation of my body and mind. Nothing makes me feel as free as spinning with my hoop.”

Jonathon Baxter, founder of the HoopPath movement, resides in Carrboro, North Carolina, and travels worldwide teaching the HoopPath style of hooping in a series of three day workshops, emphasizing techniques that strengthen the Mind, Spirit, and Body connection.

Students came away with a deeper level of understanding of not only their current hoop practice but the levels to which they could take their practice. “I went to learn and learned more than expected," Noblesville resident Nikki Goodwin said.

Weekly Hoop Classes are held Tuesday evenings from 7-8pm in downtown Noblesville by hoop teacher Lynn Nelson. Classes run in 4 week sessions for $45. The current session is full, and the next session begins February 15.

Newcomers can try the first class of the new session for $15. Hoops will be provided. Contact indyhoopers@live.com or visit the IndyHoopers page on facebook for more information on local classes.

In the Hoop

Here's my second cover story!  My hooping passion.  I'm so thrilled my new friend Lynn has moved to Noblesville.  Our kids even attend the same elementary--she literally lives less than a mile from me.

The link is here.    Story is on p. 9.

Inside the Hoop (October 20, 2009)

                                                    Hooping it up can be exhilarating

We come spinning out of nothingness,
scattering stars…

the stars form a circle

and in the center we dance.

~Rumi

If you’re lucky, you may just see a group of hoopers in a public park sometime, blissed out and hooping it up with some custom, colorful hoops. I love hooping and am excited that it’s experiencing a surge in popularity. These are not the hoops you played with as a kid! Real, customized hoops are larger, heavier, and therefore rotate slower, making it easier to keep them going round and round. People who say they can’t hoop, are amazed to find they really can hoop when they try a real one!

Hooping is a great way to get or stay fit and have fun while doing it. The challenge of learning new tricks and moving to the music keeps it exciting and fun, plus it’s a great activity for all ages. My children love it. Lots of times, I’ll grab the hoops and take them to the front or back yard and we’ll all go out there and hoop. It’s fun have ‘hoop-offs’ with the neighbor children or my own. And sometimes I even let them win.

And then there are times when I spin and twirl—just me in my hoop—lost in the music and the movement, feeling the circle spin around me again and again. Closing my eyes and feeling, just feeling and being in the moment. It’s exhilarating and never gets old. It’s so meditative to swirl and twirl and just move. You know when you’re doing it right, too, because the hoop stays up!

Visit hooping.org for more info on hooping, and if you are interested in either purchasing a hoop or just trying one out, contact me. Happy hooping!


Krista Bocko loves finding herself in the hoop. She and her children (and sometimes her husband) can often be found hooping in the yard. She enjoys making custom hoops and spreading the hooping love & can be reached at kbocko@sbcglobal.net or via her blog: www.cachet-cachet.blogspot.com.