The Story of Lost PSI hoops...

Oh my dear sweet hoopers, I hope by sharing my story with the community I love, several of you can learn from it like I have.




Flying with my beloved PSI hoops has always been a chore, but this trip was a little different. It was 3:30am on Dec. 21st 2010 and my fiance and I were about to head out to the airport. W were grabbing the last of our things, and I glanced at my PSIhoops thought about it and decided, YES I'll bring those. (In hopes of shooting a bad ass 5 year hoopiversary video over break) so I coiled & taped them up and put them by the door, ready to go. The Portland airport wasn't as busy as we had expected, we got through security without any problems and had an hour and half to kill before our 6am flight. Kenny and I shared some breakfast and some caffeine while we waited for our flight to board.

As I walked onto the plane, the flight attendant suggested I placed my psi hoops in the coat closet at the front of the plane by first class. Since it was an extremely full flight, she assured me they were less likely to be damaged in the closet. I obliged and left them with her. and as I walked off the plane, at the Dallas airport, I LEFT my psi hoops in that closet and carried about my way. :heart sinks:

My dear hoop friends, I do not know what to tell you. All I can say, is when it finally hit me, about 2 hours later, on my next flight, there was an overwhelming pain in my gut. I paged the flight attendant and let her know immediately. She said I could do nothing about it until I landed. The last two hours on the flight were tough, so many thoughts were running through my mind. I was so upset with myself, words will never be able to describe the feeling I felt inside. I just let the tears begin to fall. Why had I decided to bring them so last minute? What was I thinking, just leaving them?! Where was my brain?! The saddest part of all of this, I'm in school full time and barely surviving financially as it is, purchasing another set is not even realistic anymore.

I hurried off the plane and as quickly as I could to the baggage service office. There was a jolly man working with a white beard & wearing a Santa hat. When I saw him, I felt hopeful. I told him my story and together we wrote an email that went out to all the lost and founds of each airport that plane would visit for the remainder of that day. I left the Richmond Airport feeling somewhat positive, thinking there was a chance I would get them back. Throughout the holiday I called all the airports on a daily basis, leaving message after message. Days and days went by with no word at all....

Not hearing anything left the entire situation so open ended. Inside I was crushed at the idea I would not get them back, on the other hand my heart said stay positive, don't loose hope! The inner turmoil was eating at me. I just wanted to accept the harsh reality, they are gone.

A friend from facebook gave me the name of someone with connection to the industry. This propelled my case forward, and this past Tuesday Jan 4th I received a call from an american airlines representative. I felt relief hearing a human voice responding to my calls and emails. She assured me everything possible was being done to return my valuable hoops home to me, but after 15 days most cases are closed, but my case will be extended for a few more days. It has now been 20 days since I left my hoops on that plane and I suppose its official to say, I will not be getting them back. :(

Several words became clear in my head after having time to think: Find True Value. Even though psi hoops are one of the most expensive bad ass LED hoops around, they are just hoops. Just a possession, nothing that defines me. I learned not to attach so much joy and pleasure to them. Not to attach my self worth as a hooper or as a performer to these hoops. This may sound silly, but I realized I am just as amazing with or without my psi hoops. ;) I found peace in the reality that I LEFT THEM BEHIND. I forgave myself. But what I found was a higher value in my health, value in the fact we had such a safe trip to Virginia, value in time with my family and friends. The bottom line I found gratitude.

"You must understand how to live through the worst parts of life, so you never take the best parts for granted."



The saga continues!
Today (1/10/11) on my way to work, I swung by the front office to see what in the world FedEx had dropped off and... TA DA!!!!!!! THERE WERE MY HOOPS!!! Just as I remembered them!!!! Coiled down with the sky blue vinyl tape.

I couldn't even believe it! I still can't! This story is a TRUE LESSON of Surrendering...LETTING GO and.... RECEIVING! I am tickled fancy with joy, over the moon with glee! Thanks again for the constant support from my community, I honestly don't know where I'd be with out each and everyone of you.

Sticking with your New Year Fitness Goals

'Tis the season for setting new goals and I'm writing this to hopefully help you follow THROUGH with them! Remember the main aspect of reaching your goals is CONSISTENCY! Stick with your plan and you will reach the finish line!

Some strategies for Overcoming Barriers to Exercise:

Barrier: Lack of Time
Strategy: Take the time to plan and organize your weeks, making exercise a top priority, you will find a way to fit it into your routine. Try signing up at a gym that has access for its members 24 hours a day.



Barrier: Lack of Motivation
Strategy: Try new and different exercise options. Find ways to make the workout more enjoyable, such as playing your favorite music when training. Find new workout material by reading books, magazines or browsing articles on the internet. Or you can always hire a personal trainer. :)



Barrier: Poor body image
Strategy: Focus on your personal accomplishments and do not compare yourself to others! When you find someone at the gym that distracts you with negative thoughts, remind yourself that they are here working hard on their body too! Do not judge them, they are not judging you! Focus on the many health and lifestyle benefits of exercise. Understand it is a PROCESS!


Barrier: Need for support
Strategy: Arrange to have a partner or exercise with a small group of colleagues. Communicate to your friends/family that this is extremely important to you and you need their support to follow through to your goals.


Barrier: Guilt
Strategy: Find how to seek support of your family and/or friends so that you can remove the feeling of guilt about the time spent exercising. For example, explain to them the healthier you are, the more energy and vitality you will have to spend with family and friends.

Make sure to log your physical activity and try adding some variety into your cardiovascular routine!

How often to you plan on getting in some cardio during the week? 4 days a week? 5 days a week? Do you pay attention to your heart rate while you are training? It's a great way to monitor how hard your body is working. Make sure to key in your weight and age, so it's as accurate as possible! Here is an example of a 6 week cardio program.

To determine your maximum heart rate: 220- your age. Ex. For me its 220-25 = 195 MHR

Week 1: 3 days/week at 35 min 50-65% max heart rate

Week 2: 4 days/week at 40 min 50-65% MHR

Week 3: 4 days/week- 2 sessions at 85% MHR other 2 sessions 50-65% heart rate

Week 4: 5 days/week-30 min total, 10 min on treadmill, 10 min on stair master, 10 min on elliptical 50-65% MHR

Week 5: 3 days/week-all sessions at 75-85% MHR High intensity training

Week 6: 4 days/week 45 min 50-65% MHR

Try adding Hoop Dance to your cardiovascular exercise routine!

You burn ~210 calories in 30 min. of hooping according to recent research.

http://www.hooping.org/2010/12/ace-hooping-fitness-study-finds-it-r...

There are 3,500 calories in 1 lb of fat, so if you do the math to loose one pound of fat a week you have to hoop for about 8 hours every week. :)


Good Luck! and as always, I'm here for any questions you have! :)