Hoopdancing Your Way to Health, Even For Dudes

It sits there in the living room. And stares at me as I walk by. And then, in some unexplainable way, it starts to mock me. "Jim" "Jim" "Jiiiiiiiiim."

And then I speak back to it, which may even be weirder. "You are a hoola-hoop, and I am a dude. I can not play with you for that would disrupt my healthy male ego, still intact by the very fact I do not hoola-hoop."

"Jiiiiiiim." "Jimmmmmmm."

OK, so I thought it was a great idea that my wife Jennifer took a "Hoopdance For Wellness" class with Angelica Diablita right here in our own Lemon Grove. It's a course that combines movement, hoola-hooping (called "hooping") and some dance moves. I hear it's great for toning and strengthening the body and even bringing peace and balance to the mind. I'm happy for Jennifer to find a class she can enjoy - for the sake of her happiness and her health. As she says, "It's not only an amazing workout, but it's fun and challenging." She likes it so much, she even had her own customized hoop made by the instructor. It's the one in the living room calling me ... and calling me.

I even got to meet the wonderful teacher Angelica. She is a passionate woman who was able to use the practice of Hoopdance to turn her life around. Hard to grasp for a dude, perhaps because we may see the hoop as a toy that children (female children!) play with. Yet as she spoke of her inspiring story, I found myself uplifted.

Originating from Lemon Grove, enjoying a life of dance and a life in the "best climate on Earth," Angelica found herself and her husband in 2008 living in Portland, Oregon missing the sunny weather and devastated after the loss of a home in the economic crash. Sinking into a state of depression, she needed to move. Move in many ways. Not just back to San Diego, which she did in 2011, but move her body which would in turn help heal and lighten her mind, body and spirit. Now with two dedicated years of Hoopdance under her belt, Angelica's daily practice has her hooping one hour a day and feeling happier than she's ever been.

Presently working to earn her credentials, she looks to "share happiness and healthiness" in the elementary school setting bringing a healthy lifestyle into the school system.

Such a transformation took the consistent commitment to a health protocol, which ends up being a lot more challenging than one may imagine found in a playground game. In her two-day teaching training, she hooped for 16 hours in two days. Her record is hooping 45 minutes in a row.

The practice - truly a workout for arms, back, legs and core - can burn 400-600 calories per hour. Angelica says, "People think it's so easy and say 'I can do it no problem.' But there is more to it. It's not just something you throw around your waste and that's it. It takes strength, technique and endurance."

Even with the tough workout, Jennifer says she hasn't seen any men in class, and Angelica says she has yet to teach a male student. Her husband has said he may try it, but only if he's alone and isn't instructed by his wife. How silly huh? I mean knowing how much of a challenging workout hooping can be, it does in fact start to have me question a few things: if I could handle it, if I could break 45 minutes in a row, if I could find the strength and the endurance and the....

"Jim."  "Jiiiiiiim."

Classes are 1st and 3rd Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Muévete Dance Studio on Main Street.

More information at www.atomichoops.com

James Anthony Ellis is a writer and filmmaker living in Lemon Grove. He can be reached at www.LegacyProductions.org