Dear LPG,  

I read the article that you recently posted about things that you can do to improve the state of your brain and, while I know that, just as in all things, there is no single solution that will fit everyone’s needs, the article taught me that throwing balls in the air might just be one of the things that can help.   

In more recent times, brain health has become a very serious business as we all know and with that thought in mind, working out what will best help you to improve what is going on with yours has to be a positive and worthwhile preoccupation.   

I have always felt that mine could do with a little therapy and acknowledge all the activities and exercises that WD left links to at the bottom of his message, and it was while looking at those that I found information about one activity that I would never have associated with brain health. 

I have always thought it would be pretty pointless to learn how to juggle.  Until I read that article, it never occurred to me that there were any benefits to throwing and catching anything at my time of life.  Let’s face it, the balls go up and down and, in the end, one of them is bound to fall to the ground.   

Most children are introduced to it by watching some old film and it would nearly always be the court jesters or circus clowns who indulged which, to my mind, implied that it is something that only really stupid people bothered to do.  basically, I saw it as an occupation for fools. 
   
But I am learning that this foolish pastime can be very good for focussing the brain and improving some other characteristics that can sometimes change as we get older, although the practice offers no ‘one size fits all’ answers.  

I found an internet video which points out five benefits that learning to perfect this pastime can help one to achieve.   The initial process of learning will have most people doing a lot of dropping the ball thereby improving the skill of becoming more patient, and the need to do different things with each hand is said to teach lessons to do with dealing with the different situations in life that need to be sorted simultaneously.  

All this became evident before I got to the more scientific effects that have been proved.  Did you know that it has been scientifically shown that a bit of regular juggling can improve hand-eye coordination, cognitive health, relaxation, mindfulness and so much more while, practising this ancient art can actually improve the time it takes you to respond to all manner of other life situations? 

There is minimal financial outlay.  While you are getting started, rolled up socks make harmless props for the beginner and the fact that they don’t bounce when they fall is advantageous too.  You can do it safely (with minimum risk to you or your treasured ornaments), behind closed doors while no one else is watching, or work with a friend, but while arthritis and a few other ailments might make it an activity to miss out on, it is a great way to exercise the upper body too.  

Not being one to blow my own trumpet until I can make a decent sound, I decided to be a closet juggler until I am sure of a few skills.  My very slow attempts at improvement have become a five-minute part of my daily routine, which sometimes last a lot longer without my ever realising.   I did more reaching to pick up dropped socks to start with but a bit of personal tenacity has kept me going through that initial ‘teething’ stage of my journey. 

Now that I am not having to reach down to the floor so often to retrieve the dropped socks, it is gradually becoming a really relaxing hobby.  For some, it gives something to concentrate on while you forget all your other worries for a few minutes a day.  It has become a personal achievement for me because I am just graduating from the two to three ball stage after a couple of weeks, which I see as a definite move forwards.  There are so many really complicated tricks to look forward to being able to do in the very distant future and beating your own personal best record can do wonders for that inner sense of attainment that gets you smiling to the point where your friends can see the positive change in your mood although they cannot quite put a finger on what is causing it.    

Keeping all your balls (whatever they are made of) up in the air for a couple of seconds longer than ever before, or adding another ball to the number you can keep aloft, will give you another item to add to your list of daily achievements and, if you are as bad as I was when I started another thing you will have to learn is determination and perseverance, and that is not a bad trait to translate and incorporate into so many other aspects of life …  

SE, Crofton Park  

 

 

SE shares some getting started videos…

 

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… some virtuoso demonstrations and other related information…

 

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