The Five Elements

Recently just read an article on hooping and the five elements. Fire, wind, water, earth, and space. I'm always surprised and inspired by the connections people make with hooping. This particular article was written by Casandra Tanenbaum. She talks about her journey as a hooper, which happens to be very similar to me. Some moves will be easier to learn than others, and everyone will learn those moves at a different pace. Casandra also talks about the meditative side of hooping. I have only been using the hoop for about six months, but I literally lose myself once I pick it up. I have never done serious meditation, but the natural high I get from dancing is one of the best feelings.

But how do these elements specifically relate to hooping...

"FIRE accentuates the passionate side of sensuality. Fire is playful, delightful and creative: moves and styles that evoke spontaneity and charm in the dance show FIRE energy. I find that jumping or stepping through the hoop, rolling the hoop along the body, playing with twins and using the floor or ground to incorporate gymnastic maneuvers in my dance are the ways I express Fire.

WIND: the energy of movement, determined action, and accomplishment. WIND energy feels electric, powerful and athletic: tosses are indicative of wind energy, as is breaking and reversing the hoop in quick patterns.

WATER: clear and precise, organized vision. This energy accentuates the visual stimulation of precise off-body maneuvers, and illusions of isolating the rotating hoop in space, and subtle tricks that require precise timing and placement.

EARTH: rich, abundant, resourceful, hospitable and warm. To me, earth energy hooping involves the core of the body, legs, hips, waist, chest and shoulder, and angles. In my hoop journey, core hooping has always been the foundation for all other moves: it is the ground from which my hooping grows.

SPACE: open, free, ecstatic, transcendent space, exemplified in hooping with sustained spins, and any flipping or folding moves that shift the hoop around an axis, clearly articulating and dancing with three-dimensional shapes made and dismantled in any given moment." - The words of Casandra Tanenbaum

Casandra is really spot on. Hooping is so much like nature, everything working together to make one beautiful earth, or hoop haha.

This article can be found at the link below:

http://www.hooping.org/2012/03/finding-my-element-five-energy-hooping/#more-20091