November (Poem-A-Day) : Day One : Striking Thirteen

For my friend, Robert Lee Brewer's 2012 November PAD Chapbook Challenge.

Day One Theme : Matches.


match heads, Amanda Oaks
striking thirteen

i walk backwards
on the second hand
of a clock, one step
a tick, between twelve
& six, counting
how many times
my heart
beats yes
before i slide
like a match
down your arm
pushing me
up & over
eleven

Matches/Heart Photo by Me
Stock credits : . + . + . + .

Crossed posted on WordsDance.com

More Hooping Love!

Since my last post on hooping, I've gotten quite a few questions on where to start so I wanted to address some of them here!

Let me preface this by saying this: I really am a newbie at this but every hooper has been where I am, every single one. So if it seems intimidating to you, don't think about it like that. The art of hooping is a journey. It's not a race, a competition, it is SO-sooo far from those things. The journey is yours, yes, you will meet (insanely amazing + awesome) hoopers on the way, they will help you, encourage you, inspire you, but this is your disco, babe... dance it up! So here is a bit of my journey centered around your questions!

What kind/size/weight of hoop should I get?

This is something I struggled with the night I ordered my first hoop! Everybody's preference is different, right now I have 3 hoops that I seem to change out frequently while practicing. I started out with a 160psi at 42 inches. About a month in, I felt that I needed to get something a little lighter. With the help some sweet hooper friends, I opted for a standard 100psi, that is also 42 inches but will shrink down to 38 inches when I feel ready (which I don't yet!) I am still picking up my 160psi when I want the hoop to go slower or if I am just exercising & not working on moves.

The third hoop is a 42 inch Polypro (which is what I am using above!) from SuperHooper.org which I've been picking up more & more to practice moves & tricks, it's lighter & easier to handle, especially when you are working on arm-centered moves! Awesome thing about these too, is that you can cut them down when you feel you are ready.

Do you do it for exercise?

Yes, it burns anywhere between 300-600 calories an hour & it doesn't feel like exercise because it's so much fun, you forget that you are sweating & out of breath until you take that first chug of water & you're like, holy shit! But it's so much more than that. Likened it to Yoga, it's meditative, calming & challenges you. I've been hooping with my eyes closed to feel the hoop hitting my body, noticing where it lands, to find my flow, it relaxes me.

I've also been taking my hoops with me everywhere & they are fun magnets, people MUST try it & once they do, they want one of their own!

I can't dance, can I still hoop?

Oh hellyes you can! I love to dance but I have a feeling that you lovelies that think that you "can't" dance will be happily surprised at how much the hoop helps you to move in ways you didn't think you could. It acts almost like a dancing partner which in turn makes moving less scary, kinda like pairing up with a friend to brave a new adventure. I'm serious when I say that the hoop is one of my newest BFFs.

Music?

YES! Again, your preference, I created a playlist on Spotify that I pick from when I'm hooping, I gravitate toward a handful of songs on this playlist, it's a learning process like anything else, pick music that feels good, that you can find your flow in. This playlist can get you started though:



Moves, where do I start?!

I suggest learning to move in the hoop first. Keeping it up in the current (the direction the hoop is spinning) that feels most comfortable to you & then working on your reverse current, twisting inside the hoop in both directions, walking forward & backwards while hooping. From there, YouTube is an incredible resource for finding hoop tutorials, I've pinned a few of them here on my : Hooping Love Board!

In need of some Hoop Porn?

Hooping.org... FTMFW! Articles, photos, tutorials galore, multiple times a day! ACE!

Lara from SuperHooper.org's Pinterest page, um, WOW-YES!

I need more Hoop Porn in my life, I'd love to know where you go to get your fix!


Do you have any questions? Leave them in the comments below, I'd be happy to answer them the best I can!

All this hoop talk & I'm dying to hop in, so I think I'm gonna go do that, it's gorgeous outside today!!

I ♥ Autumn!

Love, xox,

My Hoop Dance Love Affair

The video above, that's the video I came across skipping around YouTube one evening on my phone watching Bonnaroo performances.

It floored me.

I was entranced by...

Her joy.

Her fluidity.

Her freedom.

I watched it two more times after that & then decided to search YouTube for more.

2 hours & 30 or so hoop videos later, I was hooked.

I bought my first hoop the same night - that was about a month ago.

I've been hooping almost every day since.

In my dining & living room, in my backyard, at my brother's & mama's... everywhere.

I've connected with some beautiful & encouraging souls in the blogosphere that have been hooping for years along with group of gals that blow my mind with their awesomeness.

I'm moving more.

I'm learning to love this post-baby body even more.

I'm stepping out of my comfort zone & hooping in my backyard, surrounded by neighbors on all sides. I would never go out there alone & just dance by myself. Ever. Maybe with friends, but never alone.

Being inside the circle though, it makes me feel safe, loved. It's like it takes all my inhibitions & spins them dizzy.

It is a form of meditation for me.

It brings me peace. Happiness.

It is revolutionizing the way I feel in my skin.

I feel more alive.

I feel more like myself, more so than I have in years.

It's a gift.

Typeface Love : Free Script Fonts

:|: Sofia :|: Lovers Quarrel :|: Sail :|: Great Vibes :|: Sevillana :|:

Just a few of my favorite (& free!) Script Fonts!

Happy Monday, enjoy!

Love,

Ripping the Scarlet Letter Off My Heart

For all you multi-passionate creatives out there:

Have you felt like you were committing business infidelity?

When the first flash of fire flickered in me to create this space, my emotions were rampant.

Staying true to who I am though, I threw the fuel on & danced around it like a mothertrucker.

Pure wildness, the way all beginnings of all things tend to be.

The passion crackled so fiercely inside of me that I couldn't possibly ignore it any longer. Like any affair, the arrival of these actions intoxicated my heart. Once the breeze carried the cloud of euphoric smoke away though, I sat feeling...

Disloyal.

Like a half-crazy two-timing renegade.

Because I so completely & deeply love Kind Over Matter, I felt like I was cheating it. Not just on the IT of KOM but the YOU of KOM.

I felt like I was being unfaithful to my people & my mission, everything that I have worked so hard on over the last 3 & a half years.

I spent a good chunk of time questioning myself, because really, why on Earth would I want to create this space when I already created one that I loved & that was loved by so many others.

I pulled up a chair, sat down crossed-legged on it & stared into the core of this beast, watched as it fizzled down a bit, debating EVERY LITTLE THING that came up because as a lifelong scanner, this has happened more times than I can count.

I waited it out.

I took weeks off from working on it, just to make sure.

I almost snuffed it out a few times...

This went on for months & months. The gears in my heart started screeching around this vision last December. That's 3 months shy of a year!


cause joy, it has its own justice
& my dreams are languid & lawless
& everything bows to beauty
when it is fierce & when
it is flawless...
—
Ani D

Every single time I came back to stoke the fire though, it was all-consuming, that's when I knew I had to move forward with this.

When I stopped grilling the shit out of the process, that's when the clarity came.

When I took the hand of this beauty instead of handcuffing it to a chair & filling it with guilt & shame, it blossomed with truth & elegance.

Now, it seems really silly that I felt that way, but I did.

This is more of a place for me to explore & share what I so dearly love, more of the ordinary, no structure, just love. I'll refrain from explaining it here but if you feel inclined, click around love. :)

Nothing is going to change with the beautiful well-oiled love machine that is KOM, I love the piss outta that space. I've grown so much with it, timely with its messages, the two most recent posts, The Many Ways of Love + Taking the Space to Find & Share Your Spirit's Calling With the World were not at all planned around me striking the match to send this space into orbit -- but they gently guided my hand to the fuse today.

I had no intention of doing so this time yesterday.

I said, eff the fancypants launch yuck (like I always do!) & just show up woman...

So, this is my beachside bonfire, let's make some s'mores, yo!

Here's a hula hoop, the chocolate & wine are right over there...

Here's to the Lion, the Beast & the Beat...



I love you.

Cheers, xox —