Did you know that a child of trauma has little to no core? This is why they have no sense of boundaries, seem out of their body much of the time and are floppy. A child starts building their core muscles when their mother is carrying them around. A child that doesn't get carried, loved on, bounced, etc. doesn't tend to build core muscles.
Kristy has had J doing yoga since we started with her almost 5 years ago. Planks and tree poses, etc to build core muscles. While we love yoga.....well...yoga typically only lasts a few minutes in each pose and it takes a while to build the core. And typically getting a child of trauma to "enjoy" doing yoga is another thing to have a battle about sometimes.
Enter the hula hoop....y'all knew this was coming.... If you aren't hooping for the fun of it let me give you some other little bitty things to think about.....
I made Kristy a hoop several months ago and she's been using it faithfully. Last week she shared with me that she's started using it with all of her trauma kids in her practice with great success. Because it builds core muscles quickly and it is FUN, FUN, FUN!!!! AND.... a child that is stuck will typically become unstuck because once they pick up a hoop they can't help but have fun. It moves their brain from flight to fun rather quickly. So now I'm making hoops for trauma kids. Yay!
When gets grumpy during school we go outside and hoop our booty off. She can come in and concentrate. DING. DING. DING. Light bulb moment....
Now J's friend, Kara, is getting it added to her IEP at school to use a hoop before tests to relieve stress AND whenever she is stuck. I picture the whole school hooping soon. :)
Not to mention that it is great for proprioceptive part of the brain. Kara was a kid that bumped into everything and fell down every set of stairs. The days that she hoops she doesn't fall or bump into anything. Coincidence???? I don't think so and neither does her mom or Kristy. Kara also typically has a hard time getting started every morning. The stress of school just wigs her out. So she's hooping for 5 minutes in her room before she does a.n.y.t.h.i.n.g. and she gets to do it again before they head out to school if they have time. Watch Kara change her day up instantly. It's a beautiful thing.
We are doing the 30/30 hoop challenge from Pandora's Healing Hoops via Christine. Are you???? We missed today due to traveling to the beach but we'll make it up for it tomorrow.
P.S. Do not buy one from the mart of walls. You'll be doomed to failure for sure. Search on you tube for videos that show how to make them. They are easy peasy to make and will actually work.
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We have got to get our hoops made! Maybe I'll see if I can convince the husband to run out for supplies today for me. That's interesting about the core. The head of the gymnastics division at our rec department was just telling me last week what a great gymnast she'd be if she just had more strength. She's crazy flexible, but a bit of a weakling (unless she's angry - then she's superhuman in strength).
That is fascinating. When I first started reading, I thought you meant a figurative core - like core identity, etc. So cool that you've figured out hula hooping works! How do you make a hula hoop, though? Do they still sell them at toy stores (haven't looked since I was a kid)?
Now, Anastasia is as strong, and graceful and seemingly solid in her physical core as a person can be..... so, hopeful? But sometimes she is like a body without a soul. Or mind. Or human center at all.
I, on the other hand, apparently have lost my core, because while I could hoop as a child, I can no longer do it.
Maybe it is some Steven King thing and she has taken mine. Not that big of a joke.
"The Mart of Walls"....LOVE the phrase...and could not agree more with you the gift hooping has been for our family and children...for me. Great post Lisa...
I wish you were still posting here! :(
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