There are so many different types of balls and there are so many uses for them. Adding balls into our practice adda a bit of challenge, a bit of self-massage and a lot of fun.

Putting your body weight on a ball can add a great deal of instability to the body. We are challenged by this and our bellies (or core) needs to work reflexively to compensate for the instability. What this means is that we need to react in an unknown manner. This is great practice for us when we are out and about and happen upon unstable surfaces.

There’s also the aspect of self-massage and that is where our tune-up balls excel. We can roll around on them and find the areas in the body which are in need of a bit of touch and manipulation. We can do this ourselves, with the most appropriate pressure - in full control of how we target those problem areas to help release tension.

Roll Your Feet on Ball

Why? - because the 26 bones, 33 joints (20 of which are actively articulated), and more than a hundred muscles, tendons, and ligaments will appreciate being massaged and mobilized after taking a beating from hard footpaths, shoes and posture.

 Start with a ball that has some give in it – not too hard- a tennis ball would be a great start or if that is too painful, perhaps something like a stress ball (one of those balls you squash in your hand to relieve tension – I’m well acquainted with these as they give them away a lot in one of my work places – hmmm – there could be something in that).

There are so many ways we can use the ball to roll away pain and I encourage you to be creative with the ball.  We’ll begin here by placing the ball under the ball of one foot (that’s just behind the toes) and put your body weight onto it.  Keep your heel on the floor.  If that is painful, back off with the weight. Try that a few times and then begin to roll the ball from side to side, across the foot.  Then repeat, moving the ball closer to the heel, then repeat again.

You can then place the ball under the base of the big toe, put some pressure onto the ball and roll it along the length of the foot, all the way to the heel.  Repeat this movement beginning under each toe. Lastly make some random scribbly type movements under the whole foot.

Once done, step off the ball and compare the sensations of the foot you have just worked on with the other.  Does one feel more awake and alive?  I certainly hope so. Over time you can experiment with different ball types, sizes and firmness – possibly golf balls and marbles. Once again, be creative.