A yoga bal l-- also known as a Swiss ball or stability ball -- is an inflatable ball that is burst resistant and is made out of rubber or a strong flexible vinyl. Many fitness professionals and physical therapists use the yoga ball as a tool to improve balance, total body strength and posture.
Benefits
You can use a yoga ball to increase your core stability because of the ball's unstable surface. Your core consists of a group of muscles and connective tissues that include your abdominals, back, hips and parts of your upper thighs. When you sit or support yourself on a yoga ball, you use more muscles and nerve stimulation to keep your body in balance and alignment. It improves your proprioception -- your body's awareness of where it is positioned in space -- which helps you prevent falls and increase hand-eye coordination. Yoga balls also help support your body longer when you do certain yoga poses, such as the back bend or child's pose.
Sizes
Many companies state yoga balls' sizes in centimeters. The common sizes are 45, 55, 65 and 75 cm. Some yoga balls are about the size of a volleyball.
Considerations
When choosing the appropriate size of a yoga ball for your height, select a ball that you can sit on with your hips and legs bent at about 90 degrees. However, different yoga ball sizes provide different challenges, depending on the exercise. For example, for the kneeling lat stretch, where you kneel in front of a ball with your hands on top of the ball in a karate chop position, a large ball provides a greater stretch than a smaller ball, regardless of your height.
Warning
Never use a ball that has a very worn outer layer because it has an increased chance of bursting or tearing. If you have chronic pain in any part of your body, consult with a qualified fitness or medical professional before using a yoga ball. If you are unfamiliar with using a yoga ball, work with a fitness professional to see if this is the right tool for you to use.
Expert Insight
Incorporate different exercise tools and methods with the yoga ball because no single tool or method can train all aspects of human performance. You can create workout stations with different yoga ball sizes, dumbbells, kettlebells, jump ropes and medicine balls. Exercise at each station for 30 seconds, and move on to the next exercise without rest. This is called circuit training, and it helps you burn more calories in less time and develop muscular endurance. For example, do 30 seconds of each exercise: push-ups on a yoga ball, ball hip bridges, kettlebell swings, dumbbell squat presses and medicine ball throws.
References
- "Essence of Program Design"; Juan Carlos Santana; 2004
- "Stretch to Win"; Ann and Chris Frederick; 2006
- PerformBetter.com: Stability Balls
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