Yoga balls are used often in rehabilitation settings and provide support for back bending, hip opening and other restorative yoga poses. Yoga balls are also a great tool for regular yoga practitioners who wish to increase their overall strength and flexibility. Yoga balls are often used in both yoga and Pilates, as well as other forms of exercise training classes.
Types
Two main types of yoga balls are available--stability and Thera-Band exercise balls. Stability balls come with resistance bands for the arms and provide a challenging workout that helps strengthen not only the core and back muscles but also the arms. Thera-Band exercise balls are designed for rehabilitation and help people strengthen the muscles that are responsible for helping you stand up straight, which thereby helps ease back pain.
Benefits
Yoga ball training often involves doing core or abdominal muscle exercises on the ball, which strengthen both the abdominal and the lower back muscles. Because it is easy for yoga balls to slip away from underneath your body, these balls give practitioners a good core workout, as you have to engage your abdominal muscles to keep the ball in place.
Features
Yoga ball training exercises feature back extension exercises, full body ball balancing exercises, butt lifts, hip extensions, abdominal rolls, ball rotations and ball twists. These training exercises use the yoga ball in different ways. Some exercises involve getting into a push-up position with your feet on either side of the yoga ball; some involve lying on the ball under your shoulders and lower back. Other yoga ball training exercises involve placing the ball under your hips and torso and placing just the tops of your feet on the ball or positioning it beneath your hips and abdominal muscles.
Considerations
People interested in yoga ball training can use a ball as support when practicing challenging yoga poses, like the wheel (full back-bend) pose, balancing poses and to deepen stomach exercises, like crunches and sit-ups. There are several DVDs available that provide instructions about how to use a yoga ball when practicing yoga or Pilates. Another option is to take exercise classes that incorporate yoga balls into the sessions.
Purchasing a Yoga Ball
It is important for people to purchase yoga balls that are appropriate for their height. If you are at least 72 inches tall, you should use a 75 centimeter (cm) ball; 55cm ones work better if you are shorter than 64 inches tall. A 65cm ball is best for those are between those two heights.
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