Transcript
To hula hoop on one leg, you’re going to first practice some balancing positions, because the hardest part about hooping on one leg is, obviously, being able to stand on one foot with the other leg above the hoop, and also make it look nice, you know, you don’t hoop like this because it’s not very pretty.
So we start with hooping around our knees, and what you’re going to do is you’re going to lift one leg out. You can pick whichever one is easiest for you. I like to stand on my left leg. So plant your left leg, make sure your foot is nice and strong, knee is a little bit soft, because you’re going to be moving and hooping on that leg.
Lift your right leg up, so that your foot clears your knee position. So if you have to rotate, sometimes you can practice this tree pose holding the foot, if that’s easy for you, then you can practice taking the foot out to the side, maybe work on your flexibility a little bit, these are some great yoga poses as well.
You can also take the leg behind you and do your scorpion or your standing bow, which is a really pretty position. My personal favorite is arabesque, where I lift my leg out and I extend it straight with my straight knee to the back. So this is the version that I’m going to teach you today, because I find it to be the prettiest and also the easiest to do at first.
Okay, so to start knee hooping, knees together, legs glued together, no space. When your knees are straight, you’re pushing the hoop back, and when your knees are bending, you’re kicking the hoop forward. Notice from the side, as I bend the hoop goes forward, as I straighten the hoop goes back, obviously on a much faster tempo.
So when the hoop comes forward, I’m going to lift my right leg out. Okay so we go front, front, front, front, lift, so my right foot clears the hoop, and then what I’m going to do right away is stretch that leg back behind me and straighten that knee. Notice my body is tilting forward slightly. That’s okay, don’t worry about the hoop on the leg just yet. So we’re going front, front, front, front, front, lift, stretch it back, and I’m bending forward.
All right, so now what is the standing leg going to do? When I lift my leg out and extend it back, my left leg is going to have to stay bent and move to keep the hoop going on my leg, lift it up, extend it back, straight, straight, straight, straight, straight, straight, just like you did whenever you had both knees together. Try to keep that same rhythm. So without the hoop, straight, straight, straight, straight, lift, straight, straight, straight, straight, straight, straight.
So now we’re going to try it with the hoop. Starting around your knees, front, front, front, front, lift it out, legs in the back, straight, straight, straight, straight, straight, straight. Don’t forget to smile at your audience.
And that’s how you hula hoop on one leg.
