Beginning hula hoop classes at Hip Hazel Hoops

THE CLASS: Beginning hula-hoop focuses on the basics of hooping around the waist, arms and chest. Instructor Jen Rose and assistant Anne Lawrence, who are both full-time professional visual artists, lead the class, a full-body workout that increases coordination, balance and flexibility, set to pop and world music. The exact origins of hooping are unknown, although kids and adults have played with hoops throughout history — whether they were made of willow, rattan, grapevines or today’s plastic tubing. Modern hooping became immensely popular in the late 1950s and ’60s, and today hoops find their way into everything from Cirque du Soleil to Guinness World Records. The classes use oversized weighted hoops that are easy for adults to control. The basement classroom space has lots of big concrete columns that are perfect for catching the occasional flying hoop (or hiding behind, if you’re shy).
THE FUN FACTOR: For anyone who had a hoop as a kid, this is nostalgia meets exercise. There’s an incredible amount of satisfaction in finding a physical activity that you can be just as agile at — or more, with practice! — as when you were 12.
WHO CAN DO THIS: The class is appropriate for anyone, male or female, any shape or size, who feels comfortable exercising at a moderately taxing level. Rose says she’ll take students ages 10 and older. “You just have to be tall enough that you’re not eye level with the hoop” when it’s standing up, she says. Most students are in their 30s and 40s.
MY TAKE: It’s definitely an aerobic workout; your heart rate will go up and you’ll sweat, and perhaps feel a tad bit sore afterward. I loved learning how to keep the hoop up when it starts to drop (the “dip and wiggle” move). By the end of the class, I had learned (if not mastered) how to twirl the hoop around my waist, then move the hoop up over my head, switch hands, bring it back down and step in and out of it, keeping it spinning all the while.
SURPRISES: Like belly dance, hooping depends on isolation and coordination to make the steps look right. You really have to pay attention not to only to what your hand is doing as you do a lift, for instance, but also to what your thumb and each individual finger is are up to. There’s a lot of camaraderie in the class, with good-natured laughter for flubs and cheering when people master a tricky move. And if you close your eyes and hoop, it’s almost like meditation.
GOOD TO KNOW: Wear clothes that you’d feel comfy exercising in; yoga pants with a slightly loose (not billowy) or fitted top are good, with sneakers (the floor is concrete). Avoid clothing made of Lycra or anything too slippery; it’ll make it harder to keep the hoop up. Take water.

-- Joy Tipping

Hip Hazel Hoops is at South Side on Lamar, 1409 S. Lamar (just south of downtown), Loft 110. $65 for a four-class session on Saturdays from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. (next session begins Feb. 6; weekday classes are also offered sometimes). Custom-made hoops can be purchased at a discounted price of $30 (normally $35)
when you register for class. Free “hoop group” demo sessions are offered each Tuesday
from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Advanced classes are offered occasionally; sign up at hiphazelhoops@gmail.com to be notified.