People always ask me in class why I started hula hooping? And honestly it was a bit random, some people might even call it fate. Yes even me….it was totally fate, I was meant to find this circular piece of plastic and it was meant to change my life! To start with I went to a circus in London and while all the other performances entertained me, the hula hooper had me mesmerised. I couldn’t take my eyes off her, it really was a magical moment for me. I still don't know who the girl was but when I went home that night, I lay awake imagining ‘what it would be like to be able to move like that’. I was not a dancer, I had never hooped but for some reason that performance captivated me and I fantasised about it for hours.
I had never thought of hula hooping as exercise but a few weeks later I was bored with the gym (as usual) and decided to google ‘fun fitness classes in London’. Guess what I found… of course you already know, hula hooping!!
It took me a while but I finally found a class!! I emailed my friends, most of which said it was the most random email I had ever sent but one friend Gina said yes!
Gina was a natural, which is the worst thing that can happen in your first hoop class!!! You go with a friend thinking, ‘it doesn't matter if I am rubbish, because we will both be rubbish’. My bubble was burst, Gina’s hoop spun steadily around her waist whilst mine spent most of the time on the ground. Not to mention the loud bang my hoop made when it his the wood floor, cringe!!!
The teacher Anna Hulagan, eventually noticed me struggling and suggested I ‘face the wall’. Yes, it was like being the class dunce and I was a little distressed by the suggestion but, it turned out Anna had hit the nail on the head, with out being distracted by what everyone else was doing I was finally able to keep the hoop up.
Something really clicked for me in that class, the obsession was immediate. I wasn't very good but I kept trying because it was worth it for those moments when I finally got it right. I am not a natural but I work hard, really hard.
Bree Kirk-Burnnand