Discovering Global Harmony
There is something about standing on a ball and balancing that gives me joy. I don’t know why – maybe it’s the challenge or maybe it’s because it’s so cosmic and looks so cool. Balancing on a ball, to me, is a form of performance art. In fact, several years ago, while looking for a venue to break the record for the longest time standing on a Swiss Ball (the large, rubber air-filled exercise balls found in gyms), I approached the Museum of Modern Art here in New York City. I suggested that I might be dressed all in red and balance on a bright yellow ball on the sidewalk outside the museum. They didn’t take my idea seriously, but I still can’t understand why!
Anyway, a few months ago, I discovered that Guinness had created a new category for standing on a different kind of ball – a rolling globe – and I was intrigued. A rolling globe is a hard plastic ball often seen in the circus with performers balancing on them while slowly making their way up and down ramps. I figured that balancing on a globe would be easy since, unlike a Swiss Ball, it is stable. I ordered a 24-inch rolling globe from a circus supply company and, when it arrived, I was in for a rude awakening. I guess the rolling part of “rolling globe” is there for a reason! I could only stay balanced on the ball for a few minutes and discovered that, besides being a workout for the quads and abs, it is torture on the arches of the feet!
