Baoding Balls
In today’s world there are a multitude of reasons to be stressed. However with every reason of stress there is a method of distressing. I have a pair of Chinese Zen Balls that I play around with in my hand to try to calm me down, so I can have a calm and logical thought process. Most people try to look for the first answer they can think of at the moment for a problem not taking into consideration their emotions and how those emotions affect the solution they have come up with to solve the problem. The Chinese Zen balls allow you to calm your mind, taking into consideration all parts of the problem rather than just a small point of the problem. They help to release energy to relax the mind and help to improve the thought process. Thus allowing the individual to be in a calm and logical state of mind. There are many uses of the Chinese Zen Balls, such as for meditating, calming one’s mind and even to allow the thought process of the individual/s be clear.The Chinese Zen Balls have been referred to by many names over the time of their creation since the Ming Dynasty. They have been referred to as the
“Baoding Balls, Chinese Exercise Balls, Chinese Therapy Balls, Chinese Stress Balls and Chinese Health Balls” (Baoding balls).
They have also been previously called the Chinese Iron Balls due to the fact that when they were first invented and introduced they were made of iron. They can be bought and are made of stone usually, chrome, stainless steel and jade in today’s society.
These unique object was made in Baoding, China. A small town in the Heibei province of China. These are heavy solid steal/chrome balls that have a sounding plate inside of them that makes a chime whenever they are moved around or collided with one another. The Chinese Zen balls are an amazing creation to deal with stress.
There are multiple health responses that have been told to help the body by using these objects for a little while in your day. This object is said to be very therapeutic in their practices,
“The balls work on the meridians much like acupuncture or shiatsu massage” (2).
According to the Chinese medical theory these meridian are channels or pathways for the vital energy circulates through the body to be passed in and out of the body in a harmonic passage. The Jingluo, which refers to the meridians, are connected to the ten fingers of a person which are connected to the cranial nerve, and vital organs of the human body such as, the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys, gallbladder, stomach and intestines. (2) Through the use of these Chinese Zen Balls, the tips of the fingers allow circulation of energy to move in smooth pace and enhance the blood flow as well. The Zen Balls are a unique and amazing object that is not only fun but healthy to play around with.
These object may look like regular balls with an interesting design shape on them, but in fact hold a mystery to them. There are many ways to use these balls, you could just place them in your palm and keep on moving them around with your finger to make a circular motion. Or the four step process can also help to show how they are properly use. “Step one is, If you’re beginning, it can be best to choose a smaller set of balls (below 40mm diameter is a good reference point). If you have larger hands then anything above 40mm will be suitable. You may have a preference, as I do, for larger balls and that’s absolutely fine too.
Step two is, Hold one with your little and ring fingers and the other with your remaining three. Step three then is, at the same time, push the ball held by three fingers with your thumb and the ball held by two towards your middle and index fingers, so that they swap places. It should be a flowing, rhythmic movement of your fingers. Practice rotating the balls so that they swap places. The last step is, Keep practicing until there is little to no clinking of the balls” (Meditation balls). By going through and doing these easy four steps with the Chinese Zen Balls can you help your body become less stressed and have a smoother flow within yourself.
In my personal experience with these balls I use them for a multitude of reasons. The first reason that I use these balls might be the most important reason out of them all, which the fact that they were a gift from my brother. For this reason I have keep them close to me and use them. Every time that I do use the Chinese Zen Balls I feel a calming and a warmth that allows me to connect with my brother. Another reason that I have for using this object is because I am a person that best thinks when I am interacting with another object. Often times I would be twirling my pen in my hands to expand and keep my thought process going. Hence whenever I am using the Zen balls I am most likely stuck in a thought process to a problem and I need a calm mind to, since I need to think of all the possible outcomes and solutions for the problem, then pick the best solution for it. The last reason that I use this object in my everyday life is, as I mentioned before about the health benefits, to have smooth harmony of energy going through my body, keeping me in a calm harmonic state. I always like to keep my body in a state that is best for my life, hence why the harmonic healthy reason compel me to play with them in my hands.
The steel chrome balls that hold chimes hold many purposes. In the Zen Balls that are hallow on the inside to contain a plate that creates a chime noise and a small vibration hold more of a purpose than just aesthetics. In the article
“The Health Benefits of Chinese Baoding Balls” it states, “By stimulating the fingertips using Chinese Balls, the vibrating connection with the pressure points stimulates the central nervous system, improves brain functioning, removes worries, increases energy, reduces high blood pressure and, relieves arthritis in the hands” (Mullen, Gary).
This shows how there are so many benefits and purposes to each and every aspect of this unique object. The vibration hold a unique aspect of sending message to the nervous system and the brain to create a more relaxing environment within the body. As shown in the articles this object isn’t only fun to have and move around in the hands but also holds great health benefits for the physical and spiritual body. Although these objects hold direct effects to the body in beneficial and health ways, they can also be linked to having many great health benefits from placebo effects. What’s a placebo effect? By definition a placebo is,
“A placebo is anything that seems to be a ‘real’ medical treatment — but isn’t. It could be a pill, a shot, or some other type of “fake” treatment” (Kiefer, David).
This is connected to Zen Balls since many people give other this object as a way to get better or they tell them that by using these balls you will become healthier/better once you have used these balls over a certain period of time. The people that use these balls in this way then believe completely that they will get better start to improve drastically and become better due to the power of their brain and the help of the Zen Balls creating the illusion for them in the first place. Zen Balls create pathways to the brain through the finger tips, this allows for a lot of health benefits, as well as a possibility of creating a placebo effect that allows for people to get better from using this object even though Zen Balls don’t have anything to do with the problem they might be going through.
The Chinese Zen Balls which was first invented in Baoding China, in the Ming Dynasty are an amazing and unique object. They can come in many different styles and sizes that best accommodates the wielder of the balls. Since not everyone has the same hand size they have small ones for people with smaller hands, big ones for those who have larger hands and average sized one for people who have regular sized hands. This object, the Chinese Zen balls have been called many names, depending on where you are and who you buy it from you might call them by a different name but in the end they are all the same object. These Zen balls carry a history with them and reasons for their use. They hold health benefits for multiple reasons. One could be the physical aspect of it, where they connect to multiple organs of the body, or it could be for the spiritual reasons of keeping a harmonic state. Many of us hold different reason for using them besides those, I use to keep connected with my brother and to increase my thought process at times. These balls look so ordinary but carry such huge truths within them that most people don’t even recognize at their site.
Citations
About the Chinese Balls.” About the Chinese Balls. About the Chinese Balls, 1996. Web. 19 May 2015.
Baoding Balls — Chinese Exercise, Health, Stress, Medicine Balls.” Baoding Balls — Chinese Exercise, Health, Stress, Medicine Balls. Baoding Balls, 2015. Web. 19 May 2015.
Kiefer, David. “The Placebo Effect: What Is It?” WebMD. WebMD, 10 Feb. 2014. Web. 28 May 2015.
Meditation Balls: A Buyer’s Guide.” Mditation Balls: A Buyer’s Guide. Stillmind., 2014 Web. 18 May 2015.
Mullen, Gary. “The Health Benefits of Chinese Baoding Balls.” The Health Benefits of Chinese Baoding Balls. Selfgrowth.com, n.d. Web. 28 May 2015.
