Inspired by other blog posts (and sometimes their comments), not to mention the fact that sitting down has comprised way too large a part of each of my days ever since I quit my job at Whole Foods, I have obtained my very own bouncy, bouncy yoga ball!
Super big fun! Whee!
My main reason for acquiring this item is, as suggested by these other bloggers I admire, to use it as a chair in my studio. Since my, um, horizons have widened demonstrably in the last month or so, I am also allowing my ass to be kicked almost every day by the exercise DVD included in the kit pictured above right. Since this DVD contains three very gentle sample workouts, none longer than 15 minutes (including intro and ending credits featuring New Age-y music and pretty nature footage), it is depressing that my ass should be so kicked. I rationalize that, like Ginger doing everything Fred did only backwards and in heels, I am doing everything Suzanne Deason (the instructor on the DVD) is doing -- well, almost everything -- with just one leg and at least fifty extra pounds, plus a somewhat cramped workout space. So there. Still, though, it really shouldn't kick my ass quite this hard. I think Ms. Deason is at least ten years older than I am, and she is clearly not even breaking a sweat.
Now, if all you want is a chair, you can also "cheat" and get one all framed up in a nice chair format with lovely casters and a lumbar support goodie. Check it out. This, however, is not a flexible enough option for me. Besides needing an exercise ball large enough for someone my size to really work out with (and the one that comes with the chair is a "small," whereas I need a "medium"), I actually desire not to have a back or arms on my studio seating (except for the big, cozy, comfy chair over between the bookcases by the window). I want to be able to bounce and roll freely, thus spontaneously burning calories and flexing my lumbar region, hips and adductor muscles, not to mention strengthening my core, improving my balance, and enjoying myriad other free-bouncing benefits.
As you can see in the photo at left, the diameter of the inflated ball reaches slightly higher than my studio chair. That's fine, because it squashes down quite a bit when I plop my 200 lbs. on top of it, and that's fine, too, because my chair, even at the lowest setting, is actually ever so slightly too high up for my computer desk, which causes me to hunch over the keyboard, etc., which causes me terrible neck and shoulder pain.
As you can see by the photo at right, sitting on the yoga ball puts my monitor in just the perfect spot, at face level, and what you can't see is that my wrists when I type or use the trackball or graphic tablet are well supported and fairly level, too.
I did not know this would work for me. I worried that the sharp corners of my mechanical knee would puncture the ball. It's not like I kneel on it though, not ever. Also, if you have one, you probably already know that a transfemoral prosthetic is not exactly cozy loungewear. Most of the time when I'm sitting down in my house, I'm not wearing mine. On hard surfaces, it's just another hard-ish thing between my soft flesh and the, for example, wooden chair. On soft surfaces, it's just another thing to get all tangled up in and flop around awkwardly, plus it's not very nice to fabric. It's hot in that socket, too, and just sitting still in it, my stump often sweats a lot and swells up, which is unpleasant on the tops of my inner thighs.
Even if I did wear my leg all the time in my house, though, I needn't have worried. The plastic these balls are made of is very thick and tough. Regardless, my knee never comes near the ball, as shown below.
As you can see, my fake knee never even comes close to the plastic, even when I'm firmly seated on the ball.
It is clear from that last photo that my right leg is doing none of the work of holding me onto my roly-poly, bouncy new seat. So how on earth am I balancing? Well, when I'm not wearing my prosthesis, a situation I will not be photographing for you, both my thighs are doing a lot of the work, very much like when riding a horse. However, all the stabilizing is happening in my left foot, as shown below.
Here you can see what both feet are doing:
For the purpose of this photo, I have extended both legs. You can see that the right, prosthetic leg is not functional for the purpose of holding me either in place or on the ball. The ankle does not flex, therefore the foot is always at a 45° angle to the shin. Also, though I have the illusion of moving my leg around when I flex my stump within the socket, in fact the leg only bends in one direction, and from this position, I pretty much have to do it by hand, seizing the foot or ankle and positioning the leg as shown in the photo right before this one.
Regard the left foot, however. Notice how the sole is flush with the carpet. You can see even better in the photo to the left of this paragraph, which isolates the left leg and foot in a slightly more obvious position:
I never experienced conventional or military rehab. I had a PT come to my house a few times a week for a few weeks, but I never spent any time in a hospital gym. For all I know, you did and you already know how much these balls, some variation of which are standard physical therapy equipment for a lot of applications, can do for your strength and balance just if you sit on them instead of a chair, not to mention other ways to use them. My balance and my leg and core strength were already quite good, but now they're better, and I'm giving myself better stretches more regularly, all absent-mindedly while I work on other, less physical things. Plus, now that it's so easy to wiggle my hips while I sit, my chair dancing practice, though my musical choices are hardly the hippest, has developed profoundly, and this can only lead to increased happiness. Right?
Plus there's the bouncing. How can anybody not be happy when s/he can just bounce up and down and back and forth whenever s/he pleases with absolutely no discernible impact? It's fabulous.
My true love laughs at me, so easily delighted by something so simple. He also tells me that if I fall over and crack open my head on the sharp corners of the drawing table he built me, he will not feel sorry for me. It's not going to happen, though (as long as saying so is not construed by the universe as an invitation for hubris). Unless the thing explodes -- which it's not supposed to do, being the right size for my height and weight and supposedly possessing "anti-burst" properties to boot -- I'm perfectly stable, even without the prosthetic on. If I'm not, there are plenty of things to grab onto if I lose my balance irretrievably before the fateful event he foretells. There are only three real downsides to this balance ball.
(1) It smells like bad candy. (If it's under my ass, does this make me a "candy ass"?)
(2) Unless I'm wearing long enough pants, it sticks to my thighs when I stand up, and then falls off. It's an odd sensation I could do without, though that very tackiness (texture, not taste level) is part of what keeps me so well planted on top of it.
(3) Sometimes when I'm not seated atop it, it moves by itself in surprising ways. Sometimes this is caused by static or a little breath of wind nudging it along invisibly. Sometimes a little extra momentum I wasn't aware I'd given it when I pushed it away combines with the peculiarities of this apartment's floor to create some rather astonishingly independent-seeming travel choices for the ball. Sometimes I have no explanation.
I keep telling myself I am not a number...
I think I will name it "Rover," though.
I'm trying to imagine how Matt the Cat would react to the introduction of such a um toy. He's already a bit nonplussed because the place has been in a state of total chaos since we started reorg operations on the guest room. (I think he has abandonment issues, and isn't convinced we're not going to move out on him the way his previous staff evidently did.) Maybe I should venture into one of those gawdawful ~fitness~ stores and try one on.
All else aside, however, I must note that "It smells like bad candy" is a line that needs reusing in some other context. Tshirt? Title?
Posted by: Ron Sullivan | October 08, 2006 at 12:23 PM
Because of the timing of things at my house, I'm afraid I cannot tell you how cats interact with these things. I know mine would be sad at not being able to sit in my lap while I work anymore (because of the bouncing). Also, several of them liked to do this stretching thing where they would grab the top of the seat of whatever chair I was planted on and do a whole-body stretch -- claws included -- either to catch my attention for head-petting or food or right before springing into my lap. I am not sure how that would work, even with the anti-burst properties this ball supposedly possesses. And they cost about $30 apiece in stores, so it could be a costly experiment. (I bought mine at Whole Foods, though, and the guy in the Whole Body department assured me that they would take it back even if my fake leg punctured it, so I imagine the same would be true if a cat popped it. They are very good about that 100% return policy.)
You know what, though? Patry has cats, and a yoga ball she uses as a chair. Patry could tell you. Of course, Mat is unique, as are each of Patry's cats. However, population density at her house may be on your side in terms of predicting behavior.
As for bad candy, there used to be a site called "The Page of Bad Candy" which was very funny. These two guys wrote hilarious rants about all the candies that had ever disappointed them. (They really hated tamarind, and salty Dutch licorice.) They would probably have appreciated a T-shirt with that line! Shoot, maybe they even made one themselves.
Sadly, we may never know now, 'cause that page is gone.
Posted by: Sara | October 08, 2006 at 12:54 PM
Dear lovely Sara, I just blogged about this post over at SH.
Um, I mean I blogged about Rover...
Posted by: melissa b. | October 08, 2006 at 07:02 PM
Rover is awesome, definitely blogworthy. I think you of all people would get a tremendous amount of joy from one of your own. You could even have one at work. My true love tells me that several of his coworkers have them, just the balls, no frame. (He says an added benefit to those I've listed is that it cuts down on chair theft. Anyone who's ever worked in an environment where all the chairs simply aren't of equal comfort or quality knows how important this is.)
My true love and I have also discussed the feasibility of replacing my wheelchair, which is how I get about at home when I'm not wearing Susie Dress-Me Walk-Me (the fake leg), with a Hippity-Hop. I think the new neighbors downstairs might not enjoy that nearly as much as I would, though. And if any other cats ever adopt us, I am pretty sure that, though they might be okay with Rover, they will not like sharing the house with a Hippity-Hop.
Posted by: Sara | October 08, 2006 at 10:23 PM
I've had my ball for several years, and it's been tested in every possible way. The cats and my jack russell take turns sitting on my lap when I'm on it; the kids take it out in the yard, rolling it over the stone driveway, and performing the various endurance tests they call "playing with it." Thus far, the only mishap I've had with it occurred when I tried to use it as an extra chair during Thanksgiving dinner, and I ended up falling over when I reached for an extra serving of sweet potatoes.
The family still laughs about that one, but I don't care. It still makes a very handy extra chair for large gatherings.
Posted by: patry | October 09, 2006 at 11:19 AM
Thank you, Patry! That is a very useful (and hilarious) field report.
Others will benefit from your experience, no doubt. Of course, I already have in copying you and MB by getting one of these in the first place. Really can't thank you enough. Major life improvement, so very simply achieved.
Posted by: Sara | October 09, 2006 at 11:34 AM
OK, now I want one. It's either that or hook up the stationary bike to the computer, and I don't quite have the engineering chops for that.
Posted by: Ron Sullivan | October 10, 2006 at 09:14 PM
My wife bought one of these balls a little while ago. Now we mostly roll it to each other while we watch "Lost" on TV.
Posted by: Neil | October 11, 2006 at 03:28 PM
Yay hooray you did it!!! I don't know why this pleases me so much except perhaps that I feel a little less aloooone, along with Ms Patry. But mostly I think it's that I love bouncing on my chair, it's the best way to break up a work day, and I'm tickled that someone else is now going to share in the fun. I'm a bit envious of that DVD, however. Mine didn't come with one, but then I did "cheat" according to you! ;-)
Posted by: MB | October 11, 2006 at 04:33 PM
Ron, I hope you do, and that you also file a field report. And if Mat isn't too threatened (and geez but I harbor ugly thoughts about his previous staff), maybe you can post a photo of him being cuddled atop it -- or at least being cozy and unthreatened on a nearby mat, as is his wont.
Neil, you know upper body agility is very important, too, and so is teamwork! heh heh Just mind the popcorn bowl. Cleanup is a bitch.
MB, yes, I did it, and it's all your fault! Thank you! And the thing is, unless your chair is very different from the one being sold by Gaiam online right now, the exercises on my DVD would not be suitable for the 52cm ball that your chair houses unless you are under 5'5" tall. According to Gaiam's chart, 55cm is for 5'0"-5'5"; 65cm (what I have) is for 5'6"-5'11", and 75cm is for 6'0"-6'3". (I guess if you're taller than that, too bad; no balance ball exercises for you.) However, again assuming it's the same product, your chair should still have come with a booklet of stretches you can do with that setup. An excerpt can be found here.
If that ball is the right size for you to work out with, you can buy a separate beginner's DVD for $15 which I think is actually a bit more complete than the sampler that came in my kit. (If it's not the right size, the kit I bought is on sale online right now for $24, which, after you add in shipping, brings it right back up to what I paid at Whole Foods.) If you are in better overall shape than I apparently am, it might be more satisfying for you. Me, I'll be busy mastering just these three little baby workouts -- one of which is just stretches! -- for quite some time. (sigh) But I always was kind of a remedial student when it came to PE.
Bouncing, though, bouncing I have down. And wiggling. And they are fun. And I have you to thank, you and Patry. So thank you!
Posted by: Sara | October 12, 2006 at 08:20 AM