So long, Hoops by Gypsy...

I think it was around the time that it wasn't fun anymore...

For two and a half years, I have been on a wild adventure. Albeit this adventure was a lonely one, I was doing it. And I was driven to be successful.

I don't really know how else to say it, but I'm closing down shop.

While I was successful by some standards, running a business by yourself isn't an easy task - the understatement of the year. It was around the time that making hoops stopped being fun and my head wasn't in teaching mode that I realized...maybe it was time to give up.

No, not give up. I'm not giving up. I'm moving on. Two and half years have gone by, and I tried my best to make it work. Some of my family might breathe a sigh of relief ("It's a niche market, you know..."), but please know this: I didn't fail.

I succeeded in running a small business out of my home. I sold a hand-made product and shared the hoop love. I succeeded in completing Hoop Love Coach training...and I succeeded in teaching hoop classes. I succeeded in organizing and administratively maintaining my business. I also succeeded in giving back to my community as well as an orphanage in Nepal. And I succeeded in growing as a person.

By no means did I fail. And in no way am I 'giving up.'

The big elephant in the room that I didn't address, however, was why I started all this in the first place. In retrospect (because that's what all of this is...), I was trying to be someone I don't think I really was. And my reoccurring existential crisis throughout all of this was "Who am I?" And when things got hard and it wasn't fun anymore, I realized that maybe this isn't who I was.

But if I'm not Gypsy...who am I? If hoops aren't my thing...then what is?

Yes, I fell in love with hoops in Nepal. And I had decided there that this was how I was going to give back. But why did this thing come to define me?

It evolved into my identifier, and became an obsession instead of a passion. I started to compare myself to other hoopers, other hoop businesses...and suddenly I was faced with my demise.

Hoops were no longer fun. It had become a competition (in my head.) My reactions became harsher and I started to feel negatively and resentful towards my hoops.

So then one day last week, it dawned on me that all of this...was ok. Not always being the centre of the action is ok. Not letting hoops define me is ok. Closing the door on this adventure...that's ok, too. And by writing this (and to who ever is reading this), I'm not quitting, I'm simply closing a door. So that another one can open.

To all the hoop makers out there, kudos. There is a LOT of energy and time that goes in to what you do. There is a lot of money being invested. And a lot of love being put into it. I'm thankful to have had the experience, but I feel that you have everything covered.

I'm thankful to everyone who supported me and helped me along the way. It's been a wild adventure. I proved to myself that I CAN do it. Thank you to Deanne Love and all the crazy beautiful Hoop Love Coaches. It's not good-bye. I'm just closing one facet of this part of my life.

What does all this mean for Hoops by Gypsy?

I'll still be around. Website in tact, if anyone needs anything they can still find me. Maybe I'll teach a hoop class here and there. Or maybe I won't. Either way about it, not judging myself has been the hardest part of all of this. Someone out there might judge me...but that's ok.

In the long run, you have to do what's right for you. Everyone is on their own journey. Hoops will always be a part of mine, but it's time to move forward.

Stay hoopy (lots of love),
gypsy xx

In the light of the moon...

Tonight is the full moon in Sagittarius.  And as we are also in the 2nd day of Hooplovers 40 Days of Flow, this is a great time to harness this energy.

And whether or not you like to believe in the power of the full moon, there's an energy about it that causes shifts. Being aware of this energy allows you to make the decision to utilize it for the better of you and your higher self.

Today's intention in the 40 Days of Flow was 'heart-opening'. Yesterday the intention was 'balance'...and all day I had that word in the forefront of my mind. Today, the whole 'heart-opening' thing was there, but it I didn't really know what to do with it.

'Balance' was easy yesterday. My current adventure right now is re-gaining the balance that I've lost. Re-discovering my joy. Remembering why I started hooping in the first place. It's been a bit of digression, but it has to be done.

But today...'heart-opening'?

One thing that has become very prevalent to me, is that I don't truly understand what it is to love oneself. I am aware of the concept and the magnificent power of self-love. But I don't really get it.

As I was completing my daily chores this evening, I realized that things like self-love and opening up my heart space isn't something that is going to come in one day. This also became clear to me when my friend and co-worker told me that, while I'm very driven and goal-oriented, I want things to happen...and I want them to happen now.

My expectations of self are setting me up for failure (a word I got heck from a self-love coach for using.) I expect certain things to happen quickly. But not even in a perfect world would things just happen at the snap of your fingers.

Self-love will happen over time. And my heart space will surely open over the next 38 days. But not today. And I need to accept that that's ok.

Re-discovering my joy in hooping is allowing me to do other things that make me happy and remember who I am.

In the light of this full moon, I sit in silence and remember who I am. What makes me tick. I strip away the labels and be who I am. Just be. If I can't do that, the simplicity of being, then I can't expect to do much else.

With acceptance and love,
gypsy

Burnout. The struggle is real.

Go to work. Come home. Work on hoops. Sleep.

The sweet nectar of the gods and goddesses...

Go to work. Come home. Work on hoops. Sleep.

Do event. Don't do as well as you hoped. Come home. Work on hoops. Sleep.

Go to work. Come home. Work on hoops. Sleep.

Teach class. Screw up the flow session. Feel like a terrible hoop teacher.

Go to work. Come home. Work on hoops. Sleep.

Burnout.

And there, my friends, is where Hoops by Gypsy sits today. It's a scary place, but in retrospect, I'm not all that surprised. When your home is also your workplace, you tend to lose balance.

It's important to maintain the very precarious balance of your personal hoop practice, your business, any other jobs you might hold, your relationships (intimate and otherwise), as well as YOU time.

When you have your own business, all you want for it is to succeed. Now, there have been times when I haven't put 110% into my business, but that goes hand in hand with having a life and other work outside your business.

Moving back to Winnipeg in 2014, I had new ground to cover. So it was time to get my poop in a group. I became a certified Hoop Love Coach. I set a LOT of goals. And most of those goals I was able to make.

But after one shitty hoop class (from my perspective it was), and one not-so-great hoop sale...I started to second guess all my hard work.

Was hooping what I really wanted to do? Was it my thing? If I'm not Gypsy, who am I? *cue identity crisis*

And then one day...I didn't even want to LOOK at a hoop, let alone pick one up and actually hoop with it.

I gave it a couple weeks and I've come up with the following conclusions (and don't worry, quitting hooping isn't at all a part of any of them!):

1. If you own your own business (specifically a hoop one), be mindful of your own daily practices (hoop or not.) Do not mix these practices up with your business or other areas of your life. Take time with these practices and focus on what they do for you. Not your business. 
2. Take time (if needed) away from your business. It, too, deserves vacation time. If need be, actually take a vacation so you're not at home and surrounded by more business stuff. 

SO...after some time away from hoops (where I didn't pressure myself to always be working or planning to work on something hoop related), I'm ready to pick up a hoop again. But that means that I have to re-establish my relationship with these great circles before I can really get back into the business side of things. 

Lesson learnt, and hopefully this doesn't happen again; however, I now know that running an entire business by yourself actually IS a lot of work, and taking breaks is entirely necessary. 

So no, Hoops by Gypsy isn't going anywhere. But bare with me while I take some time to get back to why I started this grand adventure in the first place.

I still want to stay connected with all of you, so if you need someone to hoop with, you know where to find me! 

Stay classy,

Gypsy

It's happening...right now...Woah.

As I sit at my work table with my cup of tea, my computer on, hoop journal open and pen in hand, I'm on the line with one of my biggest hoopspirations and mentors, Deanne Love. One by one Hoop Love Coaches from all around the globe pop up on the call. Is this really happening?

A conference call to share where we are in our journey, to share the all the big things (or not so big things) that happened in 2014...and all the AMAZING things we're going to do in 2015.

THANK YOU, Deanne for creating this space (love to your manfriend for taking care of the technical side of things) and allowing us to be able to connect and be open with each other.

It's funny, though. Some of the things that were coming out of my mouth were in-the-moment revelations. Perhaps I sounded like those were things I was already aware of, but I don't think I was.

This happened. So that's something, right? 

For so long I've been wondering when IT'S going to happen. When am I going to be a beautiful hooper, when am I going to be a successful entrepreneur? When are all these things going to happen? I'm WAITING! I feel like screaming at the Universe sometimes.

In true Virgo form, I sit wasting my time, thinking about all the things that have happened in the past, and wondering if any of them have made a difference for my future.

But wait...what's going on right now? As I sit sharing with the small group of Hoop Love Coaches, I realize that...it's happening. Right NOW.

It was an in-the-moment revelation.

Well then, now that we have that cleared up...I can proceed with making space and setting my goals and business plans for 2015!

It's going to be a good year for Hoops by Gypsy. A really good year.
(Stay tuned!)

all of the love,
gypsy

#dancember

December? Already?

Employment Status: Full-Time Gypsy
Mood: anxiously creative/creatively anxious?
Listening to: acoustic versions of pop songs on Songza
Drinking: a very dirty chai latte (not sure why they put two shots of espresso instead of one...) 

I feel every time I come back to this online space, another atrocious amount of time has passed, and I'm left feeling like a bit of a failure. I can't change the past, I can only plan to change the future.

With New Years just around the corner, I felt it appropriate to hop on yet another 'challenge' train and do Deanne Love's DANCEmber. Thirty-one days of hooping. And not a "You must hoop for 30 minutes every day" sort of challenge. But a "here's a calendar of tutorials and suggestions you can use for 31 days, so no excuse!" sort of challenge. Seemed apt.

One of the scariest things I can admit to you (whoever YOU are) is that I don't hoop often. Or at all. Weeks can go by where I don't as so much look at my hoop. What's funny is that I have this dream and desire to be a graceful, beautiful (and fit) hoop dancer...so how am I going to achieve that goal if I do nothing. Actually nothing.

While it's true that I have a 'business' that revolves around these sacred circles, my current level of hoop dance isn't exactly where I think a lot of people might assume that it is. Fortunately for me DANCEmber is paving the way into the new year for me. The better me. (Thanks, Deanne.)

So what's going to change?

This is what everyone loves about new years. A fresh start. Another chance to do things right.

When I start to think about New Years Eve, I suddenly get anxious thinking about how I'm going to ring in the New Year. This anxiety floods my mind with a side of panic to boot.

Without a 'job' that requires me to leave my house, I've had an ample amount of time to work on the things that make my creative mind happy. This in itself is a blessing, but it also gives me more time to think. This leads to creating ideas and placing a lot of pressure on myself, and listing all the things I SHOULD be doing.

Hoops by Gypsy's new look!

My brain goes into overdrive with all this thinking time. I get creative downloads at odd hours of the night...but also all day long. I get excited and then sad, because financially I don't have the means to follow through with some of these ideas. The overwhelming thoughts flood my mind, eventually crippling me because I don't know where to start. (I think there's an app to help with that...)

SO...keeping with the theme of fresh starts...

There's going to be some great things happening in the new year, personally and for HoopsByGypsy...though, those two things are pretty much intertwined. My new logo (created by Miss Amanda Jean of Orange U Creative in Prince George, BC) was a good gateway into the exciting changes about to happen. Perhaps I will be able to follow suit and give myself a makeover, too.

Some may find it cliche to take advantage of a new calendar year, but some of us rely on it.

I hope to maintain some sort of blogging schedule. And no, I won't say "starting in the new year"...this will start now. With the help of a global hoop community, Deanne Love, DANCEmber, a supportive partner, a loving sister, and my gypsy spirit...I am going to pave a positive path into 2015.

love & light,
gypsy

Wild Rose D-Tox - Day 1

While this might not be hoop related, it's pertinent to living a healthy lifestyle. That and the fact that I think it's going to be humorous how this plays out...and with the growing popularity of detoxes, this could help someone out. 

I started today my Wild Rose D-Tox today. This detox is a 12-day whole body herbal detox. Three different supplements as well as a tincture are to be taken twice a day (before breakfast and dinner), and there is are diet restrictions. No dairy. No grains (I infer this as no gluten.) No alcohol or processed foods. No sugar or anything fermented. No tropical fruits. 

I went grocery shopping yesterday, following my very carefully planned list of foods I can eat. They encourage you to get playful with spices and herbs. And considering I'm living off of vegetables for the next 12 days...I gotta get creative. My first creative endeavor was making a tahini lemon dressing last night. I unpacked my mountain of produce and organized everything so that I'm not deterred when it comes to making meals (although I really have no choice.) 

Because you're not allowed salad dressings (nothing with vinegar anyways, because it's fermented), a lot of forums and web pages I've looked at often have this dressing recipe. So it's tahini, lemon juice, water, garlic, fresh parsley, salt and cayenne (optional). It called for 2-4 large cloves of garlic, and in retrospect, I should've trusted my instinct and only put one or, at the most, two in. It's got some kick to it! Tahini comes from sesame seeds and so it's fairly nutty, but the parsley gives it that freshness, and the lemon juice gives it the acidity that vinegar would otherwise provide. 

The recipe only yields one cup (or a bit more depending on how much water or lemon juice you put in it.) But I'll make it through that batch and next batch will be much less garlic and maybe some other spices. 

I took my two of each pills this morning, along with two squirts of the tincture provided. Thankfully the forums I read provided me with the best tip to date...take it with ice cold water. They say you can take it with water, so I put two squirts into a glass and put a little water out of the fridge into it and shot it back. It's mild and not that bad, and the cold water definitely masks the gross taste a bit. 

So now I sit. Waiting. I'm scared of what sort of bathroom fireworks await me. I'm nervous. Both for what could happen, and that it might not work and all this water I'm drinking that seems to be going right through me isn't being absorbed into my bowel like it's supposed to. 

It's still early...I suppose we'll see how the rest of the day goes. 

Over and out, 

(a detoxing) gypsy

Juggling Act

I thought it had only been a month since my last post (still too long...obviously), but it looks like it's been almost two months. If there are any readers out there, I apologize. I honestly can't believe how fast time has gone.

September was a bit of a blur. I began my journey to becoming a Hoop Love Coach with my lovely friend Deanne Love as my guide. I think I may have been a little nuts to think that I could work full time, vend at a street fair (which was also my first vending opportunity vending in Winnipeg - The Sherbrook Street Festival), and do Hoop Love Coach training at the same time.

The small group of hoopers that decided to brave the
cold weather and hoop for a bit on World Hoop Day 2014.

September also saw my 26th birthday, the planning and preparation for my sister's wedding (October 18th), and we can't forget that there was some minor organizing involved as World Hoop Day was the very beginning of October.

I'll be honest...there were times during September that I thought I had definitely spread myself a bit too thin. It was also to the point that at the beginning of October, I had to leave my position as volunteer staff writer with hooping.org. One too many things on my plate and I was no longer enjoying what I was doing. This is usually a clear sign that you need to take a step back and do what's most important while shedding the activities that are no longer serving you or our purpose.

But once my priorities were a little bit clearer, I decided I could bite off a little more once again (not entirely sure how my thought process led me to think that)...and I applied and was approved to be part of the W.E.S.T. group here in Winnipeg. (W.inning E.tsy S.treet T.eam) This group of amazing artisans are local Etsy vendors who are able to participate in great vending opportunities (i.e. craft fairs, etc.) around Winnipeg once every couple of months.

I'm excited to be vending at the next upcoming W.E.S.T. sale - Saturday, November 8 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Holy Cross gymnasium located at 290 Dubuc Street in St. Boniface. There's no admission, so pop by to check out some of my new designs and to support other local artisans...there's definitely going to be some great Christmas gift ideas there!

Now that sister's wedding is over and I've been able to step back and look at what I have on my plate, I'm still busy. But it definitely doesn't seem as overwhelming anymore...and besides, your life's work should be fun. Right?

love & sparkles,
(busy) gypsy