For some people the hula hoop is a kid’s toy, while others have found it to be a great exercise tool to strengthen the abs, back and legs. I see the hula hoop as both of these things, and something more. For me the hula hoop has become a device I can use to challenge the gravitational pull of the Earth!
My concept of the hula hoop expanded into the planetary realm a few months ago when I became obsessed with breaking the Guinness record for hula hooping with the world’s largest hula hoop. The rules stipulate that you have to keep the hoop rotating around your midsection for at least three revolutions. The most recent record-breaking hoop measured a whopping 13 feet 4 inches in diameter! I was desperate to get my hands on a giant hula hoop, so I called my mechanically-gifted friend Udar, hoping he would share my enthusiasm about the project. Fortunately he did, and by the next afternoon the two of us were in my backyard assembling an expandable 11-foot hula hoop made out of steel electrical conduit.
When the hoop was complete, I had only two thoughts: 1) that thing is HUGE! and 2) how the heck am I going to spin that massive ring around my body? After numerous failures, I figured it out. First, I had to spin round and round with the hoop to build up momentum and then release my grip, letting my legs and hips bolster the hoop’s energy to prevent it from falling to the ground. Finally, I got the hang of it, and Udar and I were ready to move on to bigger and better things.
Needing more space, we moved to the front lawn and added more conduit to create a 12-foot diameter metal circle. After a bit of a struggle, I got the hoop rotating but had to stop once I realised that on each attempt I was inadvertently slicing off the tops of more and more flowers in the flower bed! Udar again expanded the hoop another foot and, needing even more space, we carried it two blocks down to the wide sidewalk in front of the stores on Parsons Boulevard. Udar was uncharacteristically nervous and kept instructing me to be careful to avoid hitting the low-hanging electrical wires strung across the street. Looking back on it, I guess Udar’s concern was justified, considering the hoop was made of electrical conduit!
While carrying the hoop, we heard for the first time the wisecrack which would follow us throughout our subsequent weeks of practices. Invariably someone would pop their head out of a passing car and quip, “Hey, what is that thing-a giant hula hoop?” And, we would reply, “Yeah, how did you guess?” To which they would counter, “No, are you serious? I was only trying to be funny. Really, what is it?”
Anyway, we got the 13-foot hoop down to the stores without getting electrocuted, and although I was pretty tired, I managed to get the ring going in front of a crowd of fascinated shoppers. I was dying to graduate to an even larger hoop. A couple of days later, Udar and I tested a new 14-foot hoop, just fitting into two of my neighbors’ adjoining driveways. That is when I realised that this record wasn’t going to be a walk in the park. It took an enormous effort to get the conduit hoop going and, once it gained some force, it bruised my ribs each time it whipped around my body. The hoop was actually much too wobbly and Udar speculated that we needed to build a new one out of aluminum. Still, I managed to do 2½ revolutions several times. Udar was impressed enough to blurt out, “Hey, that looks cosmic!” And as crazy as it sounds, I had to agree with him. There’s something about the enormous rotating circle that conjures up images of heavenly bodies trekking across the deep expanses of the Universe!
Udar and Ashrita at P.S. 86
Two weeks later, we finally received the materials to construct a new 14-foot 9 inch aluminum hula hoop and with high expectations we marched over to the large grassy area in front of the local elementary school to try it out. I screamed and yelled and grunted and groaned, but I couldn’t get the much heavier hoop going fast enough to keep it airborne. A bit discouraged, Udar and I carried the super-sized ring to my house and, after sawing a branch off the old dogwood tree, we managed to squeeze the hoop into the driveway. With the hula hoop leaning just below the second story window of my room, I tried to figure out what went wrong, but it wasn’t until my meditation the next morning that the answer became apparent. The grass surface was preventing me from spinning fast enough! I needed a smooth, paved surface to get this more massive hoop in motion.
It happened to be the July 4th weekend, one of those rare times when there were virtually no cars parked on my street. Udar came over and, standing in the middle of the road with the hoop, we celebrated more than just the country’s independence! As I spun around, the hoop picked up a mighty momentum and I unofficially broke the record with 8 revolutions before the hoop crashed back down to Earth!
Later, my friend Homagni found a relatively quiet, large intersection nearby which allowed me to continue my practice. Week by week I got stronger and stronger while, at the same time, my bruises were getting blacker and bluer. We tried taping cardboard and other forms of padding around my chest, all to no avail. One day I even tried wearing my scuba wetsuit which proved ineffective, but it must have been a unique sight: a guy in the sizzling heat of New York summer, dressed to the gills in a full black wetsuit carrying a giant hula hoop down a street named, of all things, Normal Road!
Ashrita in his wetsuit and Udar trying to avoid getting electrocuted!
The time had come to find an exciting venue to officially break the record. My first inspiration was the giant ferris wheel in London called “The Eye.” After some checking, however, it became clear that it was impossible to get the necessary permits. Also, transporting the curved 15-foot aluminum sections abroad would be difficult, so I began looking closer to home. Some friends came up with several good suggestions, but unfortunately each location presented its own problem-the St. Louis Arch (impossible to get permission); the natural rock arches out West (not flat enough); the top of the Sears Tower (too windy); and, inside a baseball stadium (no paved surface).
As a last resort, I called my friend Abakash, “my Guinness consultant,” who has a remarkable knack for solving problems. I wasn’t thrilled, however, with his suggestion of the Unisphere in Flushing Meadows Corona Park until Vinaya and I went to see it. Our jaws dropped. It was the perfect location! Encircling the famous steel globe were three humongous rings that looked exactly like my own humble hula hoop!
Salil’s photo
The Commissioner of the Queens Parks Department was kind enough to rush a permit through. Standing at the Unisphere, I wrapped padding around my ribs and prepared to finally break the record. In front of the media and some photographer-friends including Abakash, Priyadarshan, Vinaya and Salil, I began my routine. I was at 8 or 9 revolutions when suddenly Abakash yelled, “Salil, watch out!” Salil, in order to get a more artistic photo, had laid down on the ground and it seems that the hoop had come dangerously close to smashing him in the head. Salil rolled to safety, but I lost my concentration, and the hoop fell to the ground. Nevertheless, the record was official, the small crowd of bystanders cheered and, as it turned out, Salil got an incredible shot! It looks like some lunatic (me!) climbed up the Unisphere and absconded with one of its rings!
Even though the record was broken, I made several more attempts to surpass the 15 revolutions I had reached in practice. Eventually it dawned on me that the padding was interfering with the spin so I ripped off the taped-on layer and immediately reached 19 revolutions. I was filled with the joy of self-transcendence, and dedicated the record to my teacher Sri Chinmoy who has taught me inwardly and outwardly everything I know about self-transcendence.
Priyadarshan’s photo
The record-breaking hula hoop remained stacked in three large arches against my backyard fence, forming a gleaming silver rainbow. Each time it caught my eye, I wondered just how much bigger I could make it. I didn’t have to wonder long. A week later the Guinness folks called. For the launch of their 2006 book, they invited me to come to London to break the record with an even larger hula hoop! They said they had the perfect place in mind and would arrange for all the permits. They asked me how I felt about attempting the record at -The Eye! Somehow it seems quite appropriate that things have now come full circle 
.
The attempt is scheduled for September 23rd. I’ll let you know how it goes.
