Stress balls, or Chinese health balls as they are commonly known, date back to the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644). In ancient Chinese medicine, the use of these health balls was so successful that they were acclaimed as one of the Three Treasures of Baoding, China where they were created. Originally, the balls were solid and it was only later that they were designed to be hollow with sound plates inside that make various tones in the high and low ranges.
According to traditional Chinese medical theory Jingluo (this term refers to the various energy pathways in the body and is important in acupuncture) a person’s fingers and hands are connected to all of the vital organs of the body. Over a period of time, use of the balls provides a strength building technique for the body and the mind. The weight in the balls and the manipulation of them massages the acupuncture points in a person’s hands often relieving tension.
Stress balls are slightly smaller than a tennis ball and usually come in pairs. There are a variety of exercises that the stress ball can be used in. Whether it is squeezing a single ball in your fist creating tension and then releasing it, which allows the muscles to relax. Repeating this process in concert with breathing technique of inhaling while you squeeze and exhaling when you release is called progressive muscular relaxation and it can be done with every muscle group in the body.
Using Chinese health balls or stress balls is a very powerful stress reduction technique. Many corporate office workers play with their balls during meetings or on the phone. In some corporate offices, silly putty and slinkies fulfill a similar purpose, but without focusing on the methods that the Chinese health balls target for the pressure points in your hands.
Many doctors recommend the use of stress balls for more than just stress reduction. The exercises performed with rotating the balls around in your hands as well as the progressive muscle relaxation provides excellent therapy for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Arthritis, Writer’s Cramp and the muscular aches in the forearm. The balls work muscles and joints equally.
Have you ever used stress balls?
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