The Hoop Path

With all the hoop happenings now afoot in the nation’s (and world’s) exploding hoop community, it might be hard to know which one is right for you. Some are multi-disciplinary, some are themed, some are a smorgasbord of hoop techniques. Within this growing range, the Hoop Path Retreat holds its own special role. However I’m realizing that role might not be obvious to new hoopers or non-hoopers (or, as we might joke–kind of– “not-yet” hoopers), and so I thought I’d share a few paragraphs to explain our wonderful event to all the inquiring minds out there!

Way back in the spring of 2007 (in hoop terms–ancient history), before there were any hoop gatherings of any sort, a series of discussions on tribe.net prompted Baxter & I to issue an invitation to hoopers everywhere to come down for a summer weekend of workshops and jams with us and our local community. A brave crew of 17 hoopers took a chance and journeyed from far and wide (Arizona, California, Wisconsin, Ohio, & beyond) to our little hometown here in North Carolina to share a weekend of “positive rhythm generation.” Our local hoop family of maybe 15 people, the Hoop Path Tribe of Carrboro, welcomed them with open arms. The bonds we formed that weekend endure to this day. And our tribe blossomed.

The next summer, 25 locals strong, we decided to do it again. Except, this time, 80 out-of-town guests showed up!!! That’s right–eighty. Our home tribe embraced each person with the same warmth and grace they had shown to our First Ring the previous year. And the First Ringers lighted the way for the many newbies who joined us that year.

In 2009, we celebrated HPIII with a larger space, 40 locals, and 100 guests. Even though this was our largest gathering yet, the feeling of family reunion that had characterized our previous retreats was stronger than ever. Tears of joy and gut-busting laughs alike started the moment we opened the event with our traditional Welcome Home Potluck, provided by our local tribe. For the third year in a row we shared the rituals of the Morning Meditation, Live Drum Jam, and Fire Ceremony. Watching this event grow and transform has been an indescribably special experience for us. Most of our hoop family of locals are too busy with jobs and kids to attend any of the national hoop events or Burning Man. But they are as dedicated to and in love with their hoops as any full-time hooper. To see them get the chance to commune with their extended tribe, hug a newbie, maybe even rock out some fake eyelashes, face paint, & hair falls for the Hoopers Ball–well, life doesn’t get much better than that, let me tell you. At least, for me it doesn’t.

To those of you who might be wondering exactly what I mean when I say “local hoop family” or “Hoop Path Tribe of Carrboro”: Our local group has been meeting weekly since April of 2005, when the first Monday night Hoop Path class was held. That Monday night class has continued, uninterrupted, since that day. We’ve added 3 weekly HP classes in the last few years, but that class was the original powerful seed that sprouted our local community. Every change of season we throw a bonfire in which each of us has the opportunity to share what we’re feeling–what we’re *really* feeling–in a completely safe environment of compassionate witnessing. We’ve built that trust through time and also through our shared commitment to our hoop practice. For us, time in the hoop is sacred time. Sharing that space and intention has been much more meaningful and healing to me than I ever could have dreamed possible. My local hoop family is my spirit community. However bizarre that might sound is utterly immaterial to me. My hoop tribe has held and supported an environment that has allowed my spirit to grow and heal. That’s what matters to me.

Our highest hope for the Hoop Path Retreat is that guests from anywhere and everywhere can take these few days to immerse themselves in the special love of this amazing community we are so lucky to be a part of. AND learn to be badass hoopers! If you just want to come and soak up some of the technical insights born of nearly 5,000 hours of flight time (Baxter’s & my actual time in the hoop, combined) you won’t be disappointed. Hoop Path technique is the widest, richest, and deepest of all approaches to the hoop, which I say with the confidence that comes from spending 3 straight years learning absolutely everything I could from Baxter (and still I’m not done!) before beginning to teach on my own. I know how much there is to learn because I’ve spent the most time trying to learn it. Baxter’s insights and ideas about the hoop are literally inexhaustible. I’m now on a mission to dive deep and contribute what I can to this awe-inspiring body of knowledge. It’s the most fun and satisfying thing I have ever done.

So, by now I hope that any of you who didn’t know before now understand what makes the Hoop Path Retreat the Hoop Path Retreat. It really is the highlight of our year–though we’re all wrung out to our very marrow by the end of it each year, we walk on air for days afterward. We’d love to see you this year if you feel like ours might be the retreat for you. Just write me at <ann@hooppath.com> We can’t wait.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 4th, 2010 at 1:19 pm and is filed under Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.