I grew up in Long Beach, California – a medium-sized city with a small-town vibe. A few local musical acts like Sublime and Snoop hit it big and put us on the map, but nothing prepared me for my move up the coast. Four years ago I settled in Venice, a little nook tucked into the Los Angeles metropolis, and home to countless titans of the entertainment industry.
I’ve been fortunate enough to make friends with some of these new boys and girls and am so proud of my community. My neighbors are beautiful and talented enough to leave me occasionally dumbfounded, but as I step deeper into my own power and purpose, I feel less like the small-town girl who doesn’t belong.
Nonetheless, I was a little daunted when our friend Olivia Wilde invited Hoopnotica to hoop in a Glamour Magazine-sponsored short film she wrote and directed called Free Hugs. I wasn’t about to turn down the honor though, so I slammed the Y, E, and S keys into the keyboard. And happily I was in good company. You may recognize musician Austin Bis from one of our favorite YouTube videos (if you haven’t watched it, check it out, as well as the rest of the LA-based Hoopnotica team. The film also features Justin Long—who is so funny it hurts—and of course Olivia herself.
We got to see the finished product at a screening last week hosted by the Director’s Guild of America, and I can honestly say that it’s awesome. Olivia killed it, and her flock of hoopers weren’t bad either ;).  You can now see Free Hugs for yourself, along with films made by her fellow Glamour honorees Eva Longoria and Zoe Saldana, online by clicking here.
We filmed in July, but it’s still hard to express how amazingly surreal this experience was for me. I got the opportunity to play “actress” for the day, and represent my craft at the same time. What I learned was this: I am blessed: blessed to be surrounded by people I love, who are doing what they love. I have worked so hard to be the person I am, and draw deep pride from the knowledge that I have come a long way.
I was about to walk into the office yesterday with Melissa, my amazing partner in crime and Hoopnotica, when I felt a chill. But in that moment, the sun emerged from a cloud and warmed our bodies and faces. We stopped and stood there, eyes closed, and smiled. We reminded each other how exciting it is that we are running a hula hoop company. Her dream and mine, surrounded by shining white light. I will never take this for granted.
Blessed be and enjoy the flick...



Our Health Is Our Own Responsibility.

Many of you who know me personally also know that my husband, Jheri Redding, is battling a very serious, possibly deadly case of Lymes Disease. This disease snuck up on us, and went misdiagnosed for long enough to create serious breakdowns in our family, not in the least being our marriage. I used to know nothing about Lyme. Now, I know more than most people. Although Jheri's case is rare, had it been detected early it could have saved him years of torment and pain.

Becoming obsessed with every health issue that could go wrong is one thing, but educating yourself about your own health risks is your mature responsiblity. No one but you can take accountability for your own health. When it comes down to it, healthcare practitioners will only give you their best advice.

Learning about breast cancer is a must for all women. Early detection could mean the difference between pain and happiness. Here at Hoopnotica, we want to encourage you to adopt healthy practices that promote a healthy, happy life.

My personal experience with disease has taught me that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure: there is nothing I wouldn't give to see Jheri healthy again. And while there is no cure for Jheri's disease, it could have been detected and thus treated more easily.

Hoopnotica recognizes Breast Cancer Awareness month, and honors everyone who has suffered through this disease. We will be encouraging our community to do so as well, by providing resources to educate you about Breast Cancer awareness all month long. I am asking our readers to participate in a Breast Self Exam this week. I learned a lot about the Breast Cancer while preparing for this entry, as I knew a lot of you were wondering how Hoopnotica would be supporting the topic this month. I have pasted instructions that followed, and want you to know that I have already given myself a good groping. So go on- get it out of the way. Better yet, plan on doing one every month or two from now on.

My podcast this week is a special "Hooping for the Heart" program, with a meditation centered in healing. Please enjoy it, while saying a special prayer for those we have lost to this disease and others; those brave in the face of diagnosis; and to the survivors. SPECIAL LOVE out to the survivors! Check out the notes on Self-examinantion and the podcast below!

How to do a self breast exam -

In the Shower
Fingers flat, move gently over every part of each breast. Use your right hand to examine the left breast, left hand for the right breast. Check for any lump, hard knot, or thickening. Carefully observe any changes in your breasts.
In front of a Mirror
Inspect your breasts with your arms at your sides. Next, raise your arms high overhead. Look for any changes in the contour of each breast, a swelling, a dimpling of the skin, or changes in the nipples. Then rest your palms on your hips and press firmly to flex your chest muscles. Left and right breasts will not exactly match—few women's breasts do.
Lying Down
Place a pillow under your right shoulder and put your right arm behind your head. With the fingers of your left hand flat, press your right breast gently in small circular motions, moving vertically or in a circular pattern covering the entire breast. Use light, medium, and firm pressure. Squeeze the nipple; check for discharge and lumps. Repeat these steps for your left breast.

Podcast: Hooping From the Heart
This podcast below is our gift to you, meant to inspire and deepen your hoop practice into a personal moving meditation.Enjoy your journey!

Download The Audiofile | for mac: command + click | for window: control + click

Intention for Audio Podcast

Consciousness |ˈkän ch əsnəs|
• the fact of awareness by the mind of itself and the world : consciousness emerges from the operations of the brain.

Hooping to the DVDs is one thing, but hooping with friends is another. We are committed to empowering you in your hoop practice in all ways. This month, I hooped at the Abbot Kinney Festival in Venice and started teaching classes around the corner from my home. In doing so, I realized that spending time with other hoopers is just as important as hooping by myself. Maybe it’s an energetic thing, like every time we pick up our hoops we tap into a universal consciousness...or maybe there is just benefit in spending time with others. In that moment, I know that somewhere in the world, someone is hooping “right now”. Although we all hoop differently, its nice to know I am not alone.

If you have been following Hoopnotica for a very long time, then you are familiar with my advocacy (tirade?) of developing a highly personal, daily practice. While I will continue to prod y’all to get your solo hoop time in, I now fully support hooping with your friends. I used to get really self-consious when I hooped in front of other hoopers. I would compete a little bit; trying to show off ALL the moves I knew. Either that or I would pull back, and only hoop with the moves I knew. I would struggle between allowing my thoughts to move inward and being aware of the other hoopers around me. On one hand, my goal is always to achieve that blissful state hoopers enjoy when our hoops melt the “outside world” away. On the other, I want to make the most of the time I spend with others- I want to learn, observe, and get to know them…or do I?

If I don’t take the time to develop a balance between these two “states of mind”, I cannot really fully appreciate my community. “Community” is a term that gets thrown around, but at the end of the day my extended family means a great deal to me. Hooping is one way to create meaningful relationships with those who live close by to you, or strengthen the bonds with people you already care about.

At the festival, I was a “performer”. It was my job to be observed, so that it inspired people to learn (and maybe take my class?). I found a balance between talking with other hoopers and hooping myself, and learned that I need to pay attention to both in order to be satisfied with my hooping practice “out in the world."

I am grateful for the role(s) that I play in my community. I am grateful for the opportunity to share Hoopnotica with the world. We are coming up on our 7th year of business, and I find myself wanting to deepen my understanding of my own practice. Seeking to FOREVER evolve and grow and learn…I find myself (again) in the Hoop.

I hope this inspires you somewhere out there…in the world…maybe while you are hooping, too? To help you create environments to hoop with friends we have 2 specials this week in to celebrate World Hoop day and YOU! A 5 pack and 10 pack of TravelHoops, you can read more about these HERE. 

Podcast:Flow

This podcast below is our gift to you, meant to inspire and deepen your hoop practice into a personal moving meditation.Enjoy your journey!

Download The Audiofile | for mac: command + click | for window: control + click

I remember when I began this journey three years ago: to take control of my own eating disorder through my Hoopnotica practice. Over the course of a year, I lost 60 pounds, simply by hooping every day for 30 minutes. It wasn’t just the weight that dropped off- I became stronger in my mind as well, and used that new strength to create healthier ways of being.

Now I find myself in a weakened state. I have been through a lot of stress lately. I am in mid-divorce (challenges abound); have two small children; a business to run; and a social life to maintain. My body has seen a few too many late nights, and I am starting to chub out.

My old way of being would simply let go, and let the chub turn to a serious weight problem. I could start stuffing my face, thinking that “I’m already fat, so what’s the use…?” But the opportunity here is to understand that everything is in a state of decline. Always- it is the natural order of the world. If I don’t wash my face, my skin will age faster. If I don’t clean the counter, it will get covered in gunk. My whole world needs my attention, and I may not neglect any one part of it.

This includes my body. I am going to stop this particular issue in its tracks by stating again: I will hoop every day for a half hour. Perhaps, I will do this for the rest of my life. I am committed to my body in every season of my life, and see that everything is connected. I am not scared of entropy, and intend to work against it for the rest of my life.

Podcast:Entropy

This podcast below is our gift to you, meant to inspire and deepen your hoop practice into a personal moving meditation.Enjoy your journey!

Intention for Audio Podcast

I have been involved in researching, testing, and teaching all things related to the Hula Hoop for almost 7 years. Hoopnotica is still incredibly new; the art of skillfully manipulating a weighted hoop around your body with grace and utter confidence. Over the years of teaching, and learning myself, I have had the opportunity to see that what many students need is inspiration and guidance. There is so much information about the technical aspects of proper mechanics, including the 4 disk instructional DVD set we offer on our site. I was the executive producer of the series, and am very proud of its success. Hoopers all over the world have learned from the content I helped to create.

Saturdays are sacred.  While the rest of my family is sleeping, I rise early and with TravelHoop strapped to my back, I hop on my bicycle, and pedal briskly west toward the beach.

Although I talked in my last entry about being a solitary practitioner, sometimes being alone is impossible. Especially on a "family vacation", there are two little factors who can prevent Mom from having her time to hoop. Because I am documenting this practice to share with you, it has become a source of interest to them.

The adventure of my day was really regarding the "truth" behind traveling in an RV: We are like a rolling dung beetle, and are literally carrying all our $h!*# with us. So today was the first day that we began to notice a certain "ripeness" to the vehicle, and thought it best to explore the possibility of cleaning out the tanks.... hence, adventure begins....

I was raised in a nice family. My mom and Dad kept me in sports... I was never really great at anything, but I played hard as a kid. I'm not sure when that ended, but now, as a 34 year old mom, when the going gets tough.... I quit. I admit it-I'm lazy!