Creating an Inspired and Joy filled Holiday Season! Destress NOW to keep stress away. Meet Joy Bush and Annie Stockdale and hear their tips on making sure the holiday stress and hustle and bustle does not get to you! 

September 11, 2019: Amy Chats with Dr. Fred Harvey and her amazing friend Tony Ferro of Change MS. Give a listen into the evening! 

It is the 29th of July and I have officially been traveling for 11 days. I am sitting in a Panera, getting ready for the next few days with family in IL, just regrouping and pausing to reflect on my travels and the seminar with Dr. Terry Wahls. I still have pictures to post with the Hoop Tour updates below from the Wahls Seminar and Retreat along with my last few events prior to speaking and working with my hero Dr.Terry Wahls. I do hope to get to those update later, once I am home. 

I am truly blessed by the gift I have been given through my MS diagnosis, I found a hula hoop in 2012 and in 2016 I made a commitment at the same seminar I just left, "To follow my hoop where ever it goes." The hardest part of that thought is to remove hurdles that creep in, because it is easy to say, "I'm not sure I can do that" when the real opportunity presents itself to follow my hoop. Let me give you an example, a librarian (I do event programming with libraries in Sarasota during the year) said she would like me to come back and work with a larger group of kids and families next summer. My response was, of course! She went on to explain she was talking about 100 plus attendees. I said with a smile, "Yes, I can do that!" And then my brain immediately went into the overdrive mode of questions, Can you do that? How many hoops do you need? How will that work? What would the program structure look like? and those are good questions. And then the next questions that dream killer question crept into my brain, "Can you really do that Amy?" Quickly thing, That is a lot of people! What if, you.... And I think you can see the slippery slope this thought process is heading down. That is the question that brings in doubt. The question that can stop creativity. That is the kind of thought, if you choose to listen to it, will shut down those dreams. So today I am pondering, next summer how to reach more people at events as I travel to my friend Dr. Terry Wahls. I have my brain noodling on that question. I know from what I have heard and read, moving forward is about asking your brain the right questions and removing limiting beliefs/questions. And I say questions because if I choose to go with, "Can you really do that Amy?" I might stop and believe that I cannot do a really large group activity. In my heart of hearts, I know I can do a large group activity. I am envisioning it RIGHT NOW. I am sitting here on a rainy day in IL, excited about making that opportunity work for next summer. 

For those of you who have just maybe landed on my site. I will give you a bit of background on this post. My name is Amy Raspiller Bradley. I am 56 and live with MS. I was diagnosed in 2012 and picked up a hula hoop at about the same time. My husband thought it might help me. I also heard a TedTalk by Dr. Terry Wahls and through food and movement transformed my life. I got stronger, put my cane down and lost 50+ pounds. In 2016 I met Dr. Terry and I returned to speak at her conference in 2017, 2018, and last week 2019 I once again shared my story and hula hoops with her attendees. My joy in being there is watch people realized that MS, or whatever autoimmune disorder  or health issue they have, does not have to define them. That movement can happen even if you have a walker, or a wheelchair. One lady Debi, told me she hoops everyday (we met last year) and she taught her 5 year old granddaughter how to hula hoop. And her grandchildren think she is a  cool grandma, because she hula hoops. I think she is a super cool grandma. I love that she told me that, because the ripples of what you say or do are not always evident. It leaves me kind of speechless. Another woman name Ann, told me she actually gained muscle in her arms as we were talking about her journey. It was wonderful to see because as we talked I told her that I noticed that she has more balance now and seemed stronger then when we first met in 2016. She is bright, strong and growing in strength and beauty each year. Ann inspires me to continue to work out and get stronger myself. I might added the arm strength is through her working out and I cannot say it is arm hoops that makes her arms stronger. But really - moving is the key. I just like it when people say they use hoops! 

I am going home to Florida to find that book where I wrote down, "Follow my hoop where ever it takes me," because I know that is why I am here now writing in my HOOG (HOop blOG) because I have a hoop to follow and I actually put it out there to the universe, Follow my hoop. 

Today I am pondering how blessed I am that my hula hoop has allows me to meet amazing people where ever I go. I get to hear stories about people and share my story. It was the story of Dr. Terry Wahls that made me believe that I had a choice to be involved in my own recovery. That I had a choice to make, regarding the foods I ate. She inspired me to be a better me! And I hope to inspire others to believe in themselves and the power of the mind and the choices they make. Because truly health eating is great, healthy movement is great, positive affirmation are so important, but none of that is possible unless a choice is made. And only person that can choose to eat healthy, move health and think healthy is YOU. 

Here is to your health - Today July 29th, 2019 - go out into the world and choose to be amazing.
​Amy

I am a really blessed person to be able to hoop my way from Florida to Cedar Rapids, Iowa every year. This is my third year hooping my way to see my friend Dr. Terry Wahls. And honestly I am still tickled to call her, "My friend."  In 2016 I was an attendee with a hula hoop and now I am a helper with like 20-30 hula hoops. I could tell you many wonderful stories from last year's conference, however you can hear those stories on my YouTube Channel: Restorative Hooping with Crazy Amy. Look for videos titled, Stories from the Hoop Circle. And enjoy them. 

My travels started in my home state of Florida this year with my community of people that I hoop with both HealthFit on Clark and my Venetian River Club peeps.  They both helped me kick off my tour this year. And this year's kick off was a little challenging because we were waiting for a biopsy to be done on my husband. A month of waiting can really wipe out a brain! Turns out Rich is all good, but the build up to the biopsy day was exhausting and we really did not know if our summer plans were changing.  That said, I was happy to kick off the tour in Florida and know that I was heading to the midwest!  Below are pictures of the tour thus far. 

The process for touring involves setting up a lot of things. Mostly connecting with people who are interested in bringing Hoola Fit to their community. And this year has been exceptional. Location are blossoming as the day get closer to the event that I am traveling too in Cedar Rapids.  Additionally this year to add some fun, my creative daughter Cassi designed some summer Hoop Tour shirts and I am thrilled with how they came out. Interestingly it was the Awesomized Allie at the TeeShirt Place - Royal Tees, that said off the cuff, "Too bad you can't start you tour here in Florida!" She planted the seed and I ran with it. Because I made hoops in Indiana and started hooping there, it never occurred to me to START IN FLORIDA. Alli had a great idea and the two places I hang out all year long were happy to help! 

I will continue to add to this blog as the tour moves on! 

7/19/19
I cannot believe that today is HERE! My friend Lila Bratten mentioned that I should come to Springfield this year while I hooped across the midwest and HERE I AM! I am grateful for the evening with Florida friends and for joy and fun we are going to have today! What a blessing my hula hoop is that I can travel and share hooping with more people! I am right at home because the weather is HOT! Thanks Lila - I am happy in your colorful world! And Rich - Thanks for the time. Miss you, but love doing this! 

I really did not know what to expect from today at 7 gables park. The heat was radiating off of the parking lot. Made me feel right at home! When I pulled in at noon, the park was super quiet. Not a car or person in sight. At that moment I thought I would be hooping by myself. However the that changed when my lovely daughter Sami and my grandchildren showed up and the hooping party started. Cassi rolled into the parking lot about the same time as the Das family showed up and more hooping happened. Cassi even has some drone pictures - I will add later. Makena showed up and finally the Beccasio family landed a the hoop circle. It was great watching Cassi reconnect with childhood friends. I had the opportunity to stand back and watch and it brought me so much joy. I was truly wonderful to stand with two Moms that I stood with years ago, and take a moment seeing our high school students reconnect. As I packed up my car at 2 PM one more friend stopped in - Sharon Adams. Too hot for more park time, we headed to catch up at Whole Foods over iced coffee. I could write so much more here - but in short, Amy's Hoop Circle was a gift to me today with friends, children, grandchildren and reconnections. I am beyond thrilled I took my hoops to 7 Gables Park today! 

The heat over the last few days chased a number of Andrea's friends off to plan inside activities. However, with a cool breeze and hoops made - we enjoyed the afternoon. I am ready for hooping in Williamsburg tomorrow and looking forward to Iowa City tomorrow night. 

Williamsburg, IA is the community that I moved into as a high school student when I was in 10th grade. I was a little in shock because I had never seen farm yards and fields so big and relatively flat. The community was warm and welcoming and my 3 years in IA were memorable.
I never imagined I would return to Iowa to hula hoop with people. Much less the Recreation Center that did not exist when I lived in IA. Who knew? My journey to hoop in Williamsburg started with the wife of a classmate in 2016. I met Michelle that year. We hooped on her lawn the next year, 2017 and last year, 2018 I was at the rec center twice! So fun. I returned to the rec center and my class this year was a mixture of returnees and new comers. It was in a word, "delightful."
I stopped into the Williamsburg Public Library to find that a high school friend of mine, Meg was the librarian. I am hoping to add a Kids Hooping Event Class to my travels next year in July. We had a good chat about summer planning.  

Iowa City/Coralville was a BEAUTIFUL day! Temperature was great, sun beautiful and not too warm. It was perfect. I want to thank Dr. Julia Buchkina of Upstream Functional Medicine for inviting me to hoop at the park. It was a truly wonderful time. My day ended with the sun setting over the park and the pond at North Ridge Park and I could not have been happier.

My day was filled with friends, from different stages of life and new friends made. My hula hoops were used and some found new homes! I was completely exhausted and so very happy as I loaded up my car one more time to head to Cedar Rapids, IA. 

For fun - I stopped into WHS and walked the old halls and the new hallways too. Good times. 

Fun night and I am totally stoked that Donna invited me back. Every year - so much fun and joy! Resting up - I have a lot to do tomorrow and I am excited about seeing peeps at the Seminar and Retreat and of course I want to make sure that what I do for Dr. Wahls - is exactly what she needs. 
​Metamorphosis peeps were so fun and the laughter was infectious. The group just kept hooping and laughing and learning. It was like recess only better. And fun fact. Kay the women in blue was a high school friend of my brother in law. She posted a picture and he was like, Hey that is my sister in law! He grew up in Cedar Rapids. It is fun when the dots connect. Hey any Metamorphosis people that have a non blurry picture of the group - I would love it. 
​

This year was amazing and it was amazing because so many people were there, gaining as much knowledge as possible about MS, autoimmune disorders and living the best life possible with food, movement, environment and mindfulness. More to come. Dr. Terry had awesome speakers and so much information for all those that attended. 

August 3, 2019 
The Tour itself is technically over. Well maybe not yet because my dad had a saying, "Trip's not over until the car is unloaded!" So I still have things to unload once we are home. We left our lake place in Indiana Thursday and landed in Savannah, GA to visit the area and see the Savannah School of Art and Design. It is one of my daughter's schools of consideration and we are enjoying the pause before we head home today or tomorrow. It is for that reason this note is short today. I plan to do a riverside video this morning and post it on my facebook page. 

I will be doing a series of short videos for anyone that I met and connected with that is following me and interested in new ways to use their hoop. My hope in leaving hoops across the midwest, is that people continue to hula hoop and move - because I think hooping is kind of magical.  Those are already in process on my Facebook page: Amy's Hoop Circle. You can find them there. 

& Finally - WAHLS SEMINAR AND RETREAT WRAP-UP 
August 7, 2019 
I cannot possibly share all that I learned from speakers at this seminar. Every year I return I am blown away by the people that Dr. Terry gathers for the people who come to the seminar. While she will revisit some information, because first time people need the basics, she does an outstanding job of making sure everyone who comes gains in knowledge. The seminar does whole group and split group education and that way the returnees gain in knowledge and continue to grow in what we know about function medicine, food, nutrition and our how our bodies function. Dr. Terry has a wonderful group of people that assist in making sure each and every person who attends gains in knowledge. People who come are not just people like me with autoimmune issue. She gathers together, a variety of folks who are in the health field and people who may has issues and think food maybe be helpful to their healing. 

I will continue to share on this blog some of the inspirational speakers who came and/or vendors who were there because they are all in that healing wheel house of functional medicine. 

As for me, the conference has been over for a week and a half and I am still there in mind and spirit. Dr. Terry not only asked me to hoop with people who come to this year's event - I actually introduced Dr. Terry to the gathering. I am still wondering - Did I do a good enough job. She is my hero and I, to this day, am grateful for her TedTalk. 
This year I spend every break, lunch and evening hooping with people who wanted to move. I am sharing a bunch of smiling faces here who decided that hooping would fun. And this year like the years before, I was there and I had the honor of PLAYING with adults who need and wanted to play. The smiles of someone who is walking with a walker, but can hula hoop - is just WOW. So many wonderful faces. 

Dr. Terry - for me the hula hoop is my Magic Wand and this year as I came home, I resolved to follow my hoop where ever it takes me once again. That you Dr. Terry, your drive and humble spirit leaves me in awe of all you are doing and for every life you touch you create a ripple. I am so looking forward to hula hooping with you again. And next time we break out the hoops let's make sure the groovy music is cranked up! 
​

This picture gallery is in no specific order - It is joyfulness from throughout the seminar. I am terrible about taking pictures while I am hooping with people. I just keep putting people in hula hoops and stand closer for assistance if need be. I LOVE THIS GATHERING.  
I am super grateful for the pictures I have and the memories I have with them with them. If you are a warrior with more pictures. Send them to me - I am happy to include them! 
Again - Dr. Terry - I love playing and sharing laughter, joy and play with your community of warriors.
​Onward peeps! 

I have learned a lot over the last year. And I really am amazed at the ground I have covered in my hooping world. I am grateful for the avenues that have opened up to me that allow me to share hula hooping, fun, fitness and flow. As I sit here today and reflect. I am very grateful. Interestingly my "hoop year" is the school year. I run with the school schedule, the library system programming schedule and then the snowbird schedule. I see my years in school years here in Florida! 

This summer marks my second year hooping with the Sarasota County Library System. I am truly grateful for one really kind librarian, Rebecca at the Jacaranda Public Library for giving me the opportunity to bring hooping into her library programming in the summer of 2018.  Just last week I visited her library for the first of two events planned this week at that library this June. I am truly honored to be in such a unique setting. The elementary teacher in me just LOVES being in the library, with kids and books and hoops. The best part is, we do not have to be quiet, we are loud and have fun together. 

Additionally, last summer I hooped my way to Iowa again from my lake house in Indiana to Cedar Rapids, Iowa. There I speak at the Wahls Protocol Seminar and hoop with people for three days. It is just AMAZING!  The trip there and being at that seminar. I am totally honors to be invited to be there again this summer. My SUMMER HOOP TOUR fuels me for the fall and into winter! Thank you Dr. Terry Wahls. 

HealthFit has been a wonderful place to reach more people who want to work out. Sarah and Kayla have given wings to my programming and I am so very thankful for the opportunity to be at the HealthFit powered by Sarasota Memorial, location in Sarasota. They invited me into their kids programming and again - my heart signs. I am visiting their camp for the second time this month before I leave for Indiana in July. 

Being a Hoop Ambassador is just a great job for this 56 year old lady! I am so very lucky! 

Lila is my awesome model - Thank you for sporting the new threads! The tanks are colorful and comfortable and in that super summer burnout fabric! Sizes are small to XXL, cost $25. The hood shown here is also in the summer burnout fabric, light and comfortable. It is a perfect quick grab when heading out the door! It currently comes in black, more colors will be added soon. The cotton blend hoodie (not shown here) comes in pink. The styling is a little bit different. Burnout black hoodie has a cuff on the sleeve and banding the waist. The pink hoodie has no cuff or banding. Sizes for both small to XXL.
​Hoodies are $35. Email or call - and shipping is completely possible. amyrbradley@icloud.com - 630.453.7896 

Upstream Functional Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa - Awesome growing class - so fun!

Metamorphosis Pilates Center, Cedar Rapids, IA - We took it outside and the rain stayed away. Thanks for having me back this year Donna - Your place is just inspiring! Ahhhhhh

Wahls Protocol Seminar - Happening now! I started my day hooping with my hero.