News — stability

Partner poses are great for bonding, making new friends, reconnecting, or just having some fun.  Here are 5 poses to get the giggles going with a friend.  Try each one, taking turns and making sure that both partners get the chance to lead.  Then, make up your own poses!

Buddha Jumps over the wall:  This made up pose requires focus and determination.  It will help build confidence and creativity.

Rooftops:  Don't forget to look into each other's eyes when getting into this pose. See who can gaze the longest before blinking or looking away. Start with hands pressed together, standing only one foot apart.  Then, step away from each other and slowly push hands up into the air.  Smile, laugh, and have fun.

 Warrior Friends:  Face each other.  Have each partner put one foot forward.  Then, place the other foot back, bending the knee of the leg that's forward.  Hold hands and stretch.  Try with the opposite leg and experiment with different stretches.  Stay strong and work together. 

Double Dog Variation:  The first partner should get into "downward dog" position, making a triangle with their body.  The second partner will then rest their legs onto the first partner's bottom.  In this double dog variation, both partners can look at each other. See if you can howl or bark like a dog five times. Just make sure not to kick your partner!

Forest of Trees:  We love doing this pose on the balance board because it really requires a lot of balance, stability, and communication.  Try balancing on each leg and take turns describing what kind of tree you would like to be. Or talk about how trees are important to us here on Earth. 

Remember to always breathe and work together when doing partner poses.  Listen to each other's ideas and come up with variations to each pose. Namaste.

A balance board is a board that is a lever and either rocks from one side to the other (think North and South), East and West, or in a circular motion.  It's used for recreational purposes, training, therapy, help in balance and coordination, core strength, brain development, or a wide variety of other purposes. 

In sports, balance boards can help with core strength, focus, and stability.  Skiers, snowboarders, dancers, ice-skaters, martial arts performers, skateboarders, and baseball players are just a few of the people who use balance boards to help them.  Balance boards are great with yoga, too.

Besides sports-related activities, balance boards can help children, too.  Balance boards are used in sensory integration, gross and fine motor development, brain development, core strength, balance, balance, and expand neural network connections. 

Balance boards have been around for decades and come in a variety of shapes and sizes.  Now depending on the balance board type, a person (or other animal) would stand on the balance board.  However, there are types that can be used for sitting and lying down as well. There are also aquatic balance boards.  Some balance boards are extremely dangerous and should not be attempted by your great grandma, whereas others can be used by toddlers and the elderly. 

When choosing a balance board, test them out and find one that fits your needs.  If you can't test one out, I recommend a balance board on rockers, as it can be used almost anywhere and practically anyone can use it.  In other words, you can share it with your family and friends.

If you choose a balance board with rockers, try it out on different surfaces for a variation of instability.  For example, if you use it on the sand, the board will not rock as much, which will be easier for you and your friends.  If you want a little more challenge, use the board on a hard surface such as hardwood floors or cement.  This creates much more instability. 

 Here's a little guy testing out a rocker board.  The board was on a hard cement surface, thus making the balance board very unstable.  It was a teensy bit challenging for puppy.