The Flow is Strong with This One

Yes, you read that right, the flow not the force. If you are not familiar with the term flow, I suggest that you search #Flow on Instagram and watch a few videos. And if you are not familiar with the phrase “the force is strong with this one,” than you need to watch Star Wars—all of them—immediately.

Flow is a term used in the community of “flow” artists—dancers, hoopers, poi-spinners and more—and the meaning will vary depending on who you talk to. To me, as a hooper, it’s the “flow zone,” similar to a state of ‘dancing like no one is watching’ and easily flowing from motion to motion. Jaceil Martinez, 28-year-old hooper from Austin, TX has her own definition for flow, “It means to be happy. It means to not worry. It means to be patient. It means to love yourself.”

For Martinez, flow is something much more than just dancing with her hoop. Flow is the way that she feels when she is dancing. Martinez embodies her definition of flow when she hoops.

Martinez was introduced to the art of hooping when she was scrolling through her “videos you might like” Instagram feed. And sure enough, it was for her.

"I saw a video of Isopuppy going at it as she normally does and was like “I need to learn this!”

And, so, Martinez learned. Though many of us hoopers learn on big hoops (somewhere between 36 and 42 inches outer diameter), we usually end up with a smaller hoop once we've got the hang of it. Most of us have a favorite size, Martinez's is 28 inch outer diameter. (MINE TOO!)

When Martinez is dancing with her 28 inch hoops, she likes to listen to chill, futuristic, melodic or house electronic music.

Since she's started her hoop journey, Martinez said, "It has made me a more confident person and happy to know that I am part of this huge movement of creative individuals that will accept you for who you are."

Check out Jaceil Martinez on Instagram, she wants all new hoopers and flow artists to know, "Don’t get discouraged. Everyone learns at a different pace."

Stay tuned for the next flow artist in The Flow is Strong with This One!