As I mentioned in an earlier post, Elaine, my name, isn’t bestowed much on modern-day newborns. More often it is found, on tombstones. Even when I was young it was a name for a previous generation.
I am of a certain age, as the French politely refer to an older person. I am almost 64 and on some days I feel older. Of course, in this life, I have never been older than I am right now, so I’m just guessing how older feels. I never used to need a nap and now I often seem to droop around 3 pm. Even if I don’t actually doze, a bit of lie down is refreshing.
Spinning a hula hoop helps me to feel frisky. I had worked up to to being able to whirl that rounded tube around me 600 times. Then I’d take a break for a few minutes and whirl another 600 times. However, one day my break lasted several months before I whirled again. Isn’t it strange how the thought of a bit of effort makes us give up on something we know makes us feel good?
Now, I have started spinning again and the activity really livens me up. Today, in my living room, I was a whirling tornado, completing 800 revolutions nonstop. It took about 15 minutes. Spinning to music is fun too, though today I didn’t feel like getting into anyone else’s rhythm but my own.
After spinning, I work on balance by holding the hoop to my side and putting a foot over and back, over and back 25 times on one side and 25 times on the other foot. It’s not as easy as it sounds. Then for my upper body, I take the hoop and grip it at 4 o'clock with one hand and 8 o’clock with the other. I bring it up high with one arm extended, then down and swing it up on my other side, high on my other extended arm Each arm extends 100 times. Afterwards, I feel energized.
What I like is that my joints don’t hurt the next day. I just made these exercises up and am no expert, but they seems to work for me. A large hoop that is a bit weighted is easier to spin. I bought mine at an athletic store for about $20.
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