by Philo Hagen
February 9, 2012 in Health and Spirit, LED Hoops, Videos
The Hoop Mandala Project created the world’s first large-scale LED hoop mandalas. The project was a collaboration between Buddhabass productions, Hoopcamp 2011, Merlin of psihoops.com and the Pema Osel Ling Buddhist monastery. The project took place on Saturday night at Hoopcamp in the Santa Cruz mountains of California. A Hooping.org Video of the Day.
by Philo Hagen
February 7, 2012 in Features, Health and Spirit
[Hooping.org's Editor Philo Hagen gets smarter with hooping.]
by Philo Hagen
We’d all like to improve and sharpen our memory, so what if aerobic exercise not only did that, but it actually preserved gray matter in the brain? And wouldn’t it be cool if the simple act of meditation honed our connections between our reasoning and our emotions? I, for one, would really love to understand and remember more of what I read and hear and see, to be able to fully grasp and hold onto skills and knowledge and information, and to be able to connect all these tiny bits of knowledge together for better understanding of myself, others and the world around me. And now Newsweek Magazine is reporting that all of these things are possible for us in the modern age – and we don’t need anything newfangled to make it happen. In fact, we can up and improve our own personal intelligence all on our own. While some of the solutions Newsweek offer for getting smarter are as simple as getting plenty of sleep and drinking enough water, others involve us being engaged, active and alive.
We’ve been told throughout our lives that the smarts we have are the smarts we got. Our IQ wasn’t something we really had any control over. Now it seems that simply isn’t true. It can in fact be raised and not just by a mere point or two. A groundbreaking study published this fall in Nature revealed that our IQ can rise by a staggering 21 points over 4 years — or fall by as much 18. How does that translate to real life? Cognitive scientist Cathy Price of University College London, who led the research, said, “If an individual moved from an IQ of 110 to an IQ of 130 they’d go from being ‘average’ to ‘gifted.’ And if they moved from 104 to 84 they’d go from being high average to below average.” It all comes down to neuroplasticity, the capacity of the brain to change and to create new neurons. Research shows we have it well into our 60s and 70s. Price says, “The same degree of plasticity [seen in young adults] may be present throughout life.” And the key to keeping our plasticity alive and well can be easily unlocked by stepping inside a plastic ring. Read the rest of this entry →
by Philo Hagen
February 6, 2012 in Blogs, Health and Spirit
Hooping For Hope
by Philo Hagen
February 3, 2012 in Health and Spirit
On the Family Healthcast at WSYR-TV Channel 9 in Syracuse, New York, they drop in on Sue Benjamin’s hoop class in Skaneateles. “When’s the last time you looked around an exercise class and everyone was was smiling? The initial appeal of hula hooping is that it’s fun. The value is that it works. Ladies in Skaneateles are burning as many calories per minute as step aerobics, boot camp or jogging.”
by Philo Hagen
February 3, 2012 in Health and Spirit
Taylor Tinkham
by Philo Hagen
February 1, 2012 in Health and Spirit
[Hooping.org's Editor Philo Hagen discovers the fitness side of hooping for himself.]
by Philo Hagen
Throughout 2011 whenever Hooping.org hosted one of our 30/30 Challenges to inspire hoopers to hoop it up for a minimum of 30 minutes a day for 30 days, I was committed to making it happen. This was going to be the month that I developed a daily hoop practice of my own. This was going to be the month that I’d get back in tip top shape. This was the time to really make it happen! Only every challenge, somewhere along the way, usually because of a day spent swamped by other obligations here at Hooping.org, a hoopless day would arrive and it would all be over. So when the New Year Hoop Challenge arrived I was hopeful yet skeptical. And y’know what? Something happened for me inside the hoop somewhere along the way that changed everything. I not only completed all 30 days I’m continuing on with my daily practice. I not only spun it up every day for a full month, I lost 8.5 pounds in the process. And after all these years of talking and promoting the health benefits of hooping, for possibly the first time ever I really embraced them for myself. What exactly happened? Let me tell you about it. Read the rest of this entry →
by Philo Hagen
January 26, 2012 in Features, Health and Spirit
[Guest blogger Shea Brock shares her advice for back pain sufferers.]
There are quite a few statements I don’t like to hear people say in regards to hooping, but the one that tops my list has to be: “I can’t hoop because I have back problems.” Yes you can. I am living proof that’s just not true. Two years ago I woke up in excruciating pain, barely able to get out of bed. Having been a nurse for close to 16 years, I chalked it up to a pulled muscle. When the usual ice, rest, and ibuprofen didn’t work though, I started seeing doctors. Many, many doctors. All of them claiming I had “pulled a muscle” or “torn a ligament”. After four months without answers I finally saw a specialist, had an MRI and was told I had 3 bulging discs, a pinched nerve and degenerative disc disease. I was not a candidate for surgery and I would never get better, only slowly worse.
Devastated by the news, I tried drugs, acupuncture, physical therapy, massage therapy and spinal injections. Nothing totally got rid of my pain. In fact, I was in pain constantly. Sometimes the gnawing ache would wake me in the middle of the night. I hobbled around hunched-over like an old lady at 34-years-old. I couldn’t work more than a day or two at a time and even then I could barely move by the time I got home. I sat back and listened to people continuously tell me what my limits were and watched as things I loved were slowly taken from me. I started to spiral into a deep depression. I don’t know what happened or why, but one day I decided I had had enough. Read the rest of this entry →
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