Hoopgirl’s Hoop Path Retreat Reflections
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Below is a selection from our dear friend Christabel (aka Hoopgirl)’s blog, talking about some of her experiences at our 2009 Retreat. We were so blessed to have her shining company.
Yesterday was the last day in Carrboro at the Hoop Path. The morning began with the usual wholesome breakfast around the farmhouse kitchen table at Beth’s home. Beth has an amazing Craftsman house which she designed with her husband… expansive, lots of neat subdivided rooms for different purposes, full of crafty art projects and good vibes. Surrounded by a meadow, a pasture with a goat and mini pony, chickens, trees and a magical “barn”/dance studio. Nyali, Brecken, Katherine, Michelle, Suprise, Beth and I nibbled toasted olive bread slathered with coconut oil, sliced avocado and ground salt, munched mangos and other fruits and sipped teas before launching off for the day.
The workshop with Baxter was wildly different than any other…
He called it “Hoop Church” and asked that everyone enter in silence. I walked in to the wailing voice of an Islamic call to prayer and sat in my hoop and stretched. I loved the lilting, hypnotic chant. Baxter sat on stage in silence, cross-legged, while various forms of music played, like church choir music and then some blues. At some point Ann and another woman (couldn’t see from where I was) began singing more gospely type music.I noticed resistance come into my body as the switch happened from Islamic to Christian tunes… a stiffness in the back of my neck~ old resentment towards the institutionalization of the sacred… I stayed in my breath and just focused in inhalations and exhalations, allowing my mind to stay open and flexible.
It was entertaining to watch the reactions of students in the room as this all happened. Some were super restless, figeting with their hoops and staring at Baxter. I could sense an expectancy, a desire to be directed and impatience to hoop. Others naturally went into their own centeredness, self-guiding through stretches or sitting in meditative postures. Some just got up and started hooping on their own, oblivious to everything around them.
Finally, Bax held up paper with large words written which said something like, “listen to the music, then movement”. He sat back on a stage and began playing singing bowls in lilting and percussive ways. I put on my blindfold and then just let my body flow with the sounds, taking on the vibratory resonance. It was sweet to let my fingers, wrists, elbow and body sway to the vibrations. As a teacher, I appreciated Bax pushing the comfort level of the students, entraining them to seek their own breath and guidance without overt direction. After this wonderful warm up we were ushered into the Mystery.
The class focused on Warrior and Point techniques. The Warrior material involved explosive and percussive grasping of the hoop, off-body with alternating hands. The emphasis was on clean, fast movements to build precision and to maintain the optical illusion of the hoop staying in the same levitated location. We did this in front of the body with the hoop aligned directly in front of us.
These techniques were combined with Point techniques, which I found a bit more intriguing. With Point, we balanced the hoop on four fingers, on the back of the hand. We swung the hoop to the left and right in front of us, counter-balancing the weight of the hoop with subtle pressure from the hand. It was a great exercise. Then we added vertical Swishes, Point from underneath the whole hoop (as opposed to just inside), and arm and leg synchronizations. Baxter closed with a “performance” where he demonstrated how Point and Warrior can be combined in a series of successive flows. It was neat to be able to see identify ingredients. I am inspired to continue this practice!
Next, Ann took over and taught a mini-class on sustained spinning. We focused on our drishti (gaze) and whirled on a “pedestal’ foot as a pivot, or pitter-pattered both feet, while turning. This practice has really fascinated me over the past few years. It was awesome to sink in deep, respond to the music, alternate between one and two-handed carries, focus on keeping the hoop flat and play with expressiveness in my other free arm. I loved seeing how Ann added many other off-body accents while turning since I mostly just whirl while holding the hoop around my body. She did neat behind the back holds, out to the side, behind her back, around the body swings and more. Ann is a powerful teacher who is more and more articulate every time she facilitates. I am excited for more…
I left the class soaked in sweat, breathless, and filled with an inner quiet and connection which felt precious. It was challenging to interact with those who were wandering in for the next class. Their idle chatter felt like a whole different vibration.
The afternoon took me to Weaver Street Market to share lunch with the Baltimore/Washington DC crowd of Jaguar Mary, Noelle Powers, Surprise, Kelly Jo, Max and a few more… Lunchtime talk was of vibrational flower essences, the therapeutic properties of gemstones, elixers, Sedona vortexes, and more…
Back at Beths, I had a sweet afternoon hoop jam with Katherine. Katherine is an amazingly elegant, artistic and a bad ass hooper from New York City. She is tall, lean and a phenomenal painter. It is hard to believe that she has only been hooping 10 months. Her lines are clean and elegant and she has much of the Hoop Pathian posturing of linear arms, leg lifts and super fast breaks while blindfolded. We hooped to Tina Malia and then some breaks and house music. I focused on leg reversals, kick outs, Point, paddling, drills with Snake in inflow and outflow while holding a volleyball behind my back. This particular exercise with the volleyball, which I am super excited to teach, requires incredible control and muscle isolation to maintain hoop orbit. It really pushes my edges! So it was a great sweaty session of drills and dance.
After a break the whole household began to prep for the Hooper Ball. A flurry of fabrics, outfits, and color. Zoomed there in our car… I was overwhelmed by the effort which had been invested into the decorations and lights, the fantastic sound system, fog machine and fun costumes everyone was wearing. The space was radically transformed from it’s daytime look.
The dancefloor sparkled with whirling led hoops and everyone was moving and grooving. Highlights for me: Watching Ann whirl on diagonal angles, Brecken do jazz-hip-hop moves, body-rolling and rubber leg bends, jumps and leaps with her wicked techniques, Nyali with her fluid double hooping, Rich with minis performing for Brecken, watching Michelle groove expressively. I also LOVED jamming with both Brecken and Michelle one-on-one and watching Geoff.
As for my own experience hooping, it would fall under the category of Hoopgasmic! I fell right into the pocket with the music. The deep bass pulled my center of gravity down towards the floor and I found myself doing lots of rolling, crouches while spinning and low dance while hooping and breaking in Snake. Lots of super high tosses into jumps, which I love, and a blur of other moves and accents. I just totally surrendered myself to the music and allowed pure dance to pulsate through me. I felt connected and remembered the captivating Mystery which the hoop initially held for me. Leaping, twisting, spinning and grooving in the joyous environment dropped me right into accessing this sweet spot again. The new Psi hoop which Patrick made for me spun in a rainbow of light around me and felt healing~ the colors were vibrant and soothing and completely unlike the white in many of the other blinking hoops. It was a pleasure to play with. I was so giddy and grateful! And sharing this experience with so many friends dancing all around me was awesome.
After this, the entire party moved over to a wine bar with wonderful food provided by Baxter and Ann (what a sweet gift) and lots of fun socializing and connection. It was such a treat to connect with so many people. I actually hadn’t witnessed the true hoop power of many until just hours before at the Ball. I was flooded with amplified respect for their pure expression and skills. Lots of wonderful connections until 3am.
Many, many times throughout the evening, I had a sense of this being the best weekend I had experienced all year. It was a super high sense of thankfulness for a renewed connection to my hoop, amazing re-connection with so many friends, many new friends, and of course, the wonderful Vessel created by Baxter, Ann and their community. I loved the town, the people, the authenticity, creativity, generosity and sweat. I was also so flattered by the respect and compliments of so many while there, the praise for the book, book-signings and love, love, love…
After the after party, it was back to Beth’s to sleep, arising to the shining green glow of leaves, a quick breakfast and socializing, then a zoom to the airport. Here I am now, actually posting this from the Wi-Fi access aboard Southwest. Whirlwind… time to rest and integrate… I want to remember all this beauty!