The easiest way to hoop is the simple waist hooping motion:
- stand in the middle of the hoop
- place the inside of the hoop against the small of your back
- place your dominant foot about a step ahead of your other foot, comfortably apart, no more than shoulder-length
- lean forward a bit, then push the hoop into a spin with your dominant hand forward (for right-handers, this will cause a counter-clockwise motion)
- gently rock back and forth between your two legs – NOT moving your hips/waist in a circle, but simply forward and back.
- The goal is to push back against the inside edge of the hoop as your weight is on your rear leg, and forward into it as your weight hits the front leg.
It can take a while to get used to, but the main key is to focus on that front-back rocking motion, and synchronizing with the hoop's rotation.
If you run into trouble, you may want to google "hoopdance", or perform a Youtube search on "hula hoop for beginners", for access to many straightforward video demonstrations like this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o…
Good luck and good hooping!
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