The short answer is flow.
Have you ever been so immersed in something that you completely lost track of time? Where you were so focussed on what you were doing you didn’t notice it get dark and you felt fulfilled, energised and content?
That is what is described by psychologists as ‘flow’. It’s the reason I became hooked on hooping.
FLOW: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF OPTIMAL EXPERIENCE
A very wise psychologist by the name of Mihaly Csíkszentmihályi knows flow. He first wrote about it in 1990 and did an awesome TEDtalk on it a few years ago. He describes flow as a state where you lose your sense of self and move on instinct – which, in hooping requires a balance between learning moves and letting go. For me, and for most of my students, the hardest part is the letting go.
He identified 8 Components of Flow, my favourites are:
- Ability to concentrate for a sustained period of time
- Feeling that the activity is intrinsically rewarding
- Melding of action and consciousness
And two key requirements for entering the flow state are goals and a balance between skills and challenge.
Hula hooping encompasses all of this in the most playful way on the planet! It creates the opportunity for a transformative experience on all levels, both personal and interpersonal.
BENEFITS OF FLOW
The benefits are endless. I see it in my own practise and in that of my students:
- Increased happiness
- Increased positivity
- Better coping skills
- Increased ability to manage stress
- Readiness to take on challenges
- Better performance
- Enhanced learning ability
If you become as fascinated by this as I am, there’s some great info on the science behind it all.
TRANSFORMATION
I’ve seen hooping support mental, physical and emotional transformation. Regularly accessing flow truly enables changes to happen with clarity, a readiness to take action, and positivity
