+ Hooping Happy in Atlanta +

I was very lucky to get to be featured in the 20th installment of my dear friend Katherine Callahan's art series, featuring hoop dancers performing in front of public art. (Was an even more awesome experience, because I got to use a song by my brother's band! "Blowin Smoke" by Bird Laww)

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BDf-FVOlYlI&feature=youtu.be
Designer and flow artist Katherine Konzal hoopdances to Atlanta street art by Greg Mike and James Bullough. Music by Bird Laww. You can find these beautiful pieces on Ponce de Leon Ave in Atlanta, Georgia.

I was coming up on my final year of design school and things had been ROUGH. I spent the vast majority of my waking (and several sleeping) hours on campus, eating vending machine dinners and basking in the glow of the computer screen... rendering...rendering...rendering... Not to mention I was barely sleeping and had constant anxiety over every project. Second-guessing myself and staring at the same draft of a logo, examining every detail until my eyes were crossed... This was not an ideal situation for physical or mental well-being. Eventually, this lifestyle took its toll and I found myself sneaking over to the rec center whenever I had a chance. I guess I was hoping to offset things by getting my heart rate up and zoning out for a while.

At some point during my stay in the art building, a friend had told me that she picked up hooping as a hobby. What that really meant remained a mystery until she demonstrated with another hooper at a house party one night. It wasn't just hooping around the waist, it was hooping around the legs and over the shoulders and tosses and spins and everything!

Shortly after, it occurred to me that this hula hooping thing would probably be good exercise maybe I should give it a go. So, I ordered my big rainbow hoop and for about 6 months I practiced on my own, watching YouTube videos in the privacy of my own bedroom. I refused to hoop in front of anyone until I at least got the basics down. After 6 months I signed up for classes (YES! There are hula hooping classes!) and continued doing that and practicing with others. Later I even started hooping with a fire hoop! I do this sometimes for different events and parties. It remains my favorite "niche" of hooping.

This served as a catalyst for my journey towards an overall healthier and happier life. Without it, I'm not sure if I would have had the confidence to begin training jiujitsu (which I'll talk about in a future post) or many other things that I've been able to do.

(^^^I forgot to include one of these in my last post, so here it is! Hello everyone!^^^)