Hey Dogwood Creek! Are you ready to hoop around? No, I’m not talking about basketball; I’m talking hula hoops. Yes, you read right, hula hoops. You know the plastic circles of fun that you used to play with back in elementary school and beyond? Well, now they’re being used for more than fun; they’re being used for exercise, and Nadia Sophia from the French Riviera Spa in Memphis is there to guide you through it!

Instructor Nadia Sophia, who is also a fire performer with Memphis’ Fire Tribe, brings the joy of “hooping” and its added benefits of weight loss to others. Never learned how to hula hoop? Nadia will be sure to teach you and get your hips shimmying in no time. Maybe these instructions will help:

“Put one foot in front of the other, bend your knees and move pressure from one foot to the other, holding the hoop on a straight plane,” she said. “The minute it starts swirling, shift your weight. If it starts to fall, bend your knees and push harder. If it drops, pick it up and try again.”

~Nadia Sophia, courtesy of Commerical Appeal.

When it comes to the hula hoop workout, most women boast that they don’t even know that they’re working out; they’re having that much fun. Isn’t that essentially what you want; a workout that you enjoy going to? This definitely sounds fun, and a great way to shed some pounds from your mid-section. I know I’m trying it out. Are you?

The classes meet at 9 am on Thursday mornings.

photo credit: MiiiSH