I Breathe, I Dance

Let me come clean here and say that I have taken a HoopYogini workshop with Jocelyn Gordon before. I am a hooper who is thoroughly involved and invested in the integration of hoop dance with other movement meditation forms including but not limited to yoga. Each time I’ve attended a workshop with Jocelyn, I leave sweaty and happy. It’s extra special to take a HoopYogini workshop at the BaliSpirit Festival. The addition of hoop dance to the yoga, movement, music mix is a deepening trend. The BaliSpirit Festival is definitely at the forefront of recognizing hoop dance and it’s contribution as a modality that brings joy and enlivens community.

Most of the folks in the workshop had never hooped before. Witnessing Jocelyn’s guidance and support of movers new to hooping was inspiring. Several times in the workshop, Jocelyn encouraged attendees. “Hey beautiful lady, look up! Breathe!” The most common reason why adults find hooping to be an impossible endeavor is because they are trying too hard to keep the hoop up. They stare at it, hoping that sheer will power will keep it aloft. Self-empowerment was a theme throughout. Favorite quote by Jocelyn today: “The worst thing is that the hoop will fall. Ask yourself if that is a true disaster.”

During the movement series that she calls, “Inspiration Lifts” Jocelyn introduced the idea of blending movement with intention and inspired focus. As we lifted our hoops in the air above our heads we envisioned our hoops as portals through which the energy of total self-acceptance and connection could pour through. A smile spread across my face when I imagined rainbows and golden light pouring over me. As new age-like as that sounds, the beauty of that image made me happy. I was a kid again, playing with a child’s toy and experiencing heart-opening ecstasy by lifting a plastic ring above my head and imagining that the universe was showering down gifts just for me.

I’ve been hooping for four years and I still have the habit of holding my breath when I’m concentrating on something. During a spontaneous moment in the workshop, Jocelyn started dancing, exhaling and inhaling and moving with incredible beauty. She said, “I breath, I dance.” Afterward, there was a collective “wow”. The whole group was blown away and I was hooked on hooping…again.

Photo by Ulrike Reinhold

Written by : Jaguar Mary