She hoops it up for fun, fitness

Her goal is to help everyone hoop their heart out.

“I want to help people discover Hula-hooping as a fun path to fitness, joy and well-being,” Coeur d’Alene resident Muriel Buckner said.

“Hooping” is a term for Hula-hooping with large customized hoops. The hoop has a long history that predates the 1950s Hula-hooping fad.

According to Buckner, who moved to Coeur d’Alene from San Francisco a year ago, hooping is showing up at dance-community events and music festivals in bigger cities across America.

“Hooping is more fun than the Hula-hooping you remember as a child, because the bigger and heavier the hoop, the slower it rotates around your body,” Buckner said.

With a background of ballet, tap and jazz, Buckner became hooked on Hula-hooping when she saw the sport being performed to “Flashdance … What a Feeling.”

“I like the creativity of expression and freedom that hooping offers,” Buckner said.

Buckner Hula-hoops all the time, wherever she happens to be. She hoops while cooking dinner, while she is on the phone, and when she feels the urge to just have fun.

“Hooping feels good and it makes you smile and laugh at yourself,” Buckner said. “Adults need to play and have fun, too.”

According to Buckner, everybody can hoop, regardless of age, size or sense of rhythm. When you’re using a customized hoop, the rotation is slow enough that even amateurs can keep the hoop going, and it’s not too hard to eventually get into dancing and doing tricks.

Another advantage of Hula-hooping, Buckner said, is that as the hoop circles your waist it gives you a massage. Your intestines and organs get a firm rhythmic rubbing.

“Some claim that hooping has other energetic benefits as well, but hooping does work up a nice sweat like any cardiovascular exercise,” Buckner said.

Buckner says that making customized hoops for clients is almost as much fun as hooping itself. She bends different weights of poly tubing and adds colorful candy-cane stripes of electrical tape. She makes collapsible hoops so they can be transported easily.

As one’s skills improve, Hula-hooping can advance to hoop dancing, Buckner said. Hoop dancing is enjoying a resurgence in popularity and was recently performed by dancer Carmen Electra on “Dancing With The Stars.”

Hoop gatherings, like the recent Northwest Hoop Gathering in Bend, Ore., are being held throughout the country to help people learn the sport through hooping workshops.

Buckner recently conducted a hooping workshop at Coeur d’Alene Parkside Fitness and intends to offer more workshops and classes in the future.

“By swinging your hips around, you tone every angle of your torso and get a fantastic core workout. Hooping can also improve your grace and coordination,” Parkside Fitness owner Kara Lemmon said.

Watching Buckner perform hoop moves with fluidity can be captivating.

“Hooping isn’t about how good you are with a hoop, it is about getting into your own personal hooping zone,” Buckner said. “Getting in your hoop zone energizes you and helps you feel balanced.”