* Using an exercise ball (ie: Swiss Ball, Posture Ball) helps to improve your balance and forces proper spine alignment. This helps to improve your spinal health and decrease back pain. No matter how aware I am when sitting in an office chair, I always find myself slouching forward a bit at some point. This doesn’t happen on a posture ball. Because the ball is unstable, it forces you sit up straight …just like your Mom always told you to do! The unstableness of the ball also helps you to improve your balance.

* Using an exercise ball can help you burn up to 350 calories per day! I call it "active sitting". Your core muscles (trunk muscles) are constantly engaged when you’re sitting on one of these, so you naturally strengthen them, and the best thing is you’ll burn more calories at the end of the day. Just think, since a 3500 calorie deficit = one pound of weight loss, you could lose 1 pound every 10 days just by sitting on the posture ball on a regular basis!

* Using an exercise ball is Fun and Cheap. You’ll feel more energetic throughout your day because you are not locked into one fixed position like on a regular chair. With that energy comes more creativity, more happiness, and the byproduct of both…more fun! You can pick up swiss balls (posture balls, exercise balls) at Target, WallMart, Sporting Goods stores, and order them online for as little as $15 per ball. They ususally make three sizes: 55 centimeter diameter for people 5’1" to 5’8", 65 cm for people 5’9" to 6’2", and 75 cm for people 6’3" and taller.

This article is dedicated to my friend Deby Harper who passed away recently of Breast Cancer. Deby helped invent and bring to the forefront the "PostureBall". She was an early trailblazer in the wellness and fitness industry, and was motivated to develop and provide ways of bringing health awareness to the world.