[Hooping.org columnist Abby Schwartz takes on the holidays.]
Lately my life has been a blur, and it is not the happy spinning kind created in the hoop. It is that time of the year again, when Halloween skids into Thanksgiving, which careens into Christmas before crashing into the New Year. I don’t know why it surprises me every year, but it does.
For me, the same patterns emerge annually: my intake of sugar increases with Halloween, continues through the handful of family birthdays we celebrate in November (right now there is a piece of cake taunting me from my refrigerator), and it only gets worse as the parties begin and people start gifting cookies and candy and baked treats. Every year, my scale climbs as the holiday season builds in intensity. Add to that the stress of trying to “get it all done” before the end of the calendar year, and it is no wonder I start each January with the same resolutions of losing weight, exercising regularly, de-stressing and finding balance. I could be good all year and then October 31st hits, and boom…it all comes crashing down.
I want to break that pattern this year and I am going to do so using my favorite go-to tool: my friend, the hoop. Here are five ways hooping can help us survive the holidays.
1. Hooping forces us to slow down. When I start getting super busy, I start dropping the things in my life I actually need the most: social time with friends, regular workouts, and playtime. It seems counterintuitive to put aside those things that “should” get done for those that are just for fun, but fun plays an important role in recharging our batteries so we don’t burn out. For me, fun provides the added bonus of bringing creative inspiration — something that I need to perform well in my job as a writer and designer. I am going to make a point of stopping each day to put aside what I am doing and lose myself in the hoop. Even if all I can manage is 10 minutes at a time, it will give me a much-needed opportunity to regroup.
2. Hooping can help prevent the creep of holiday weight gain. Calories in versus calories out. Simple enough, but most of us end up eating more and exercising less this time of the year. Given what we now know (but always suspected) about hooping as an aerobic exercise burning approximately 210 calories per 30-minute session, just a half-hour of waist hooping alone can counteract that extra piece of pumpkin pie that you snuck back into the kitchen to snarf down.
3. Hooping helps balance the blues. Many people have a difficult time emotionally during the holidays, for a number of reasons. This Thanksgiving and the coming holidays will be touched by sadness for me since it will be the first time celebrating without my dad. While it cannot change the circumstances that cause sadness, hooping has been known to boost the spirits with its calming, rocking motion and massage-like feel. I’ve heard countless testimonials from people, including Hoop Path founder, Baxter, who credit hooping with helping them cope with depression. You’ve got nothing to lose but the blues.
4. A hoop is a reminder of what really matters. This time of year, we are bombarded with advertising messages that push us to spend, spend, spend on big-ticket items like electronics and cars and furniture. We are encouraged to be the first in line on Black Friday to fight the crowds for special deals. Seriously, I can’t stomach Walmart at 4 p.m., let alone 3 a.m. Now put all that noise and pressure aside for a moment and consider the joyful simplicity of the hoop. It is a ring of plastic that is decorated with pretty colors. It is fun to play with and makes people smile. Pick up your hoop and remember for a few minutes that for most of us, it is the little things that create happiness. Yes, it is fun to get a new iPad, but the novelty of just about everything fades in time, and what remains are the small pleasures like spinning inside a hoop or figuring out a new hoop move.
5. Establish a hoop habit now and start the new year right. One of my regrets of the last few months has been falling out of my hoop habit. I’d really like to get back to hooping a minimum of 30 minutes a day, most days of the week. Instead of waiting until January 1st to pull the trigger on that resolution, I am going to start right now. They say it takes 21 days to start a habit. By the time New Year’s rolls around, I will be in a happier place mentally and physically thanks to a return to my hoop practice. And, I can take advantage of the post-holiday sales to rock a new pair of jeans. Maybe even a smaller size!
Hoopy holidays, everyone!
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Abby Schwartz lives in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. She also co-moderates our Over 40 Hoopers group.
I love this!
Spot on Abby. We are aiming for a very chilled Christmas. We have no kids and no brothers or sisters. We have elderly parents and friends. But we are aiming to not overspend, overeat or overdo anything. I have presents that I was given for Christmas last year and Birthday that I’ve not had time to play with or read. So I am considering giving them to Dave to wrap and put under the tree so I can have fun unwrapping them this Christmas and then using the holiday time to actually give them some time.
The fewer “do’s” we can get away with the better. 2 weeks off to chill. Sounds perfect. And hoops will be a big part of it.
One of the things I’ve noticed that is more seasonal than simply holiday is a change in appetite. During the summer I literally crave salads, fruits, grilled asparagus, iced tea. And in the winter I simply tune into warmth and substance, comfort foods, pumpkin spice lattes – and I spend a lot more time indoors. Less exercise + more snackage. And while the plants and animals and the world around me seems to slow down and turn inward for a few months, the holiday season starts calling for the opposite. This reminder that the hoop can be my chill space for regrouping as well as an aid for dealing with holiday dietary abandon is most welcome indeed.
“Hoopernating” for the winter, like the bears!
a great article before the craziness sets in. Another reminder: Buy Nothing Day this Friday, Nov 25th. Take a break from shopping and reclaim the holiday from consumerism. keep your money in your wallet. One day. http://www.buynothingday.org
This article just made me think that it would be a fantastic idea to go hoop for the lines of customers waiting to do Black Friday shopping…
I.Love.This.
You read our minds and posted the thoughts of most hoopers. Especially those of us in the colder climates. Thank you for being so open an honest -dang pie! This should also serve as a reminder to get back in the hoop. We have to get lost to find ourselves. So sometimes it takes some craziness to remind us to slow down. Regain balance.
Thank you for the kind feedback. Another thing the hoop makes me thankful for; helping me connect to wonderful people!
Great article Abby! I agree that it is very important to take that little bit of time for ourselves – especially when you are a mother you tend to put everyone’s needs before your own. This year I started a hoop practice that I do try to stick to unless my health was an issue (surgeries got in the way a few times) – I call it my School Day Hoop Practice and once I get the kids on the bus I take my 30 to 60 minutes to play in my hoop and practice whatever I want. This is just my time. I love it – it recharges me and helps me get through a busy day. I make it like an appointment with myself and keep it – I would not cancel an appointment with anyone else for a silly reason so I make sure that the reason to not practice is a good one…not too many good reasons come up!! I hope I can keep off the weight for the holiday with my trusty friend – my hoop and I can’t wait for the New Year to continue this practice!!