Juggling is one of my favorite computer-work movement breaks
Ball Exercise 21 & 22: Two small-ball exercises that will keep your hands (and brain) busy.
This is twenty-one and twenty-two of a set of 24 exercises that get you back into your body, stretching key tech-influenced body parts, and add a little play and peace to your day.
Computer work doesn’t only keep you limbs fairly stationary, it also casts your hands and eyes.
Day 21: “All-go-rhythm”
While I get a lot of daily physical exercise, I also use the computer on most days. Lately, my favorite computer-work movement snack has become juggling. Not because juggling is great for offsetting muscle loss or regulating blood sugar—it’s not—but because it uses my hands, eyes, and brain in a way that nothing else has ever done before.
A lot of research has been done on people learning to juggle because juggling changes your brain. Brain scans of people before and after learning to juggle (30 minutes a day for six weeks) showed increases in white and gray matter. You don’t even have to nail a bout of perfect juggling, or be a kid. Multiple studies have also confirmed brain changes in “the elderly.” P.S. “The elderly” subjects in this study had the mean age of 60 years old. Any guess on the mean ages of the researchers?
It’s worth noting that this brain adaptation is a “use it or lose it” situation. The changes to the brain that come with juggling go away when you stop.
With both puberty and menopause going on ’round here, everyone in our house is going through some sort of brain transformation these days; and juggling is something we all do during the in-the-house downtime because it makes us feel good. Personally I revel in the inevitable juggling fails because that gets me thirty to forty opportunities to bend over which are great for my legs and back. While juggling may be a hand-eye thing, learning to juggle is a whole-body activity.
So get yourself a couple sets of juggling sets (or make your own with things you’ve got already), set them out on the desk and kitchen counter, and make juggling your new fidget.
P.S. Any soccer player will tell you that you can also juggle with your feet! Kids and adults needing more brain connectivity, don’t forget the hacky sack!
Get inspired to gift movement: A juggling set and hacky sack has been on my Low-Tech, Movement-Rich TOYish Gift Ideas for Kids, Teens, and Adults list for years.
Day 22: “Palm Pilot”
Typing, swiping, and gripping are all repetitive motions for the intrinsic and extrinsic muscles of the hands. For this hand-care move you need a small, flexible ball—e.g. a rubber self-massage/therapy ball or a tennis ball.
My friend Jill will show you how to do this move:
More hand exercises…
Keep Moving
Day 20 EXERCISE for some core and hamstring work