Superhooping

Hooping with a burgeoning pregnant belly, you might think, is no easy task. Throughout nine months, the axis around which my hoop turned changed daily in size and shape. It took a little extra effort, granted. But it was another valuable step in my (r)evolving relationship with my body.

Although I didn't know it yet, I was pregnant during my hooping trip to Anguilla in mid-December.  By Christmas, I was puking during my early morning run.  I was proud to think I'd hoop through all three trimesters. I'm a Superhooper, right?  But it wasn't until my belly got harder and all my internal organs had finished rearranging themselves that hooping felt right.

Well, it didn't feel right, really.  I had no waist, of course.  And even if I could have seen my hips, they were aching.  And hooping is all muscle memory. My muscles didn't have any idea, much less a memory, of how to move for two!  I was terrified I would fall.  Just walking was a challenge -- how  was I going to spin? Still, after several months, hooping was possible again, even if it felt like I was dancing with someone else's body.  And the look on people's faces seeing a very pregnant woman hoop was priceless.  Few people saw our picture in the paper in April, fire hooping at five months along, but I am giddy to have the coolest memento ever for my little one's baby book.

Looking back, I wish I hadn't indulged my frustrations as much as I did.  I wish that I had spent less time annoyed at the tricks I couldn't do and more time playing with this new and changing space.  But there were truly beautiful moments.  I felt strong and powerful.  I imagined what my little girl was feeling in the womb as it rocked in circles. I thought about how hooping was keeping me in top shape for labor and how one day my little hooper and I would dance together to this very song.

The day before my little girl arrived was the most fun I had hooping pregnant. For the first time, moving in and out of my hoop felt effortless.  We danced together for more than an hour and when we stopped, I felt the first hints that she was on her way.