The use of baoding balls to improve health is widely known. The effects on the meridians of the hands and the physical benefits of doing the exercises are often discussed when talking about the balls. However, I recently listened to a doctor discuss his experience with using baoding balls in a different aspect regarding the brain which was quite interesting.
You probably remember learning in school that the right side of the brain controls the left side of your body and the left side of the brain controls the right side of your body. So when you are using baoding balls with your right hand, it is activating your left brain because your left side of the brain is controlling the right hand. We also know the left and right sides of the brain have different strengths and functions. We call some people left brained if they are strong in logic and very analytical. Conversely, right brained people are very artistic and creative. Knowing this is how baoding balls can strengthen certain attributes.
Left Side of the Brain
- Analytical / Logic
- Language and Reading
- Math
- Speaking
- Focuses on the Details
Right Side of the Brain
- Creativity / Imagination
- Expressing and Reading Emotions
- Music
- Intuition, Non-Verbal Communication
- Seeing the Big Picture
So if there is an attribute you would like to strengthen, you could activate that side of the brain by using the balls with a particular hand. The doctor noticed this when his patients could communicate their condition better after using baoding balls to stimulate the left side of the brain.
On the other hand, the cerebellum which is located between the brain the your spinal cord is responsible for regulating motor skills and receiving sensory information. Your balance, coordination, posture, and sensory systems are affected by the cerebellum. With the cerebellum, the right side controls the right side of the body and the left side controls the left side of the body. So if a person has trouble with muscle control, balance, or signals causing pain which should not be, they could target the cerebellum by using baoding balls on the same side of the body as the problem area.
The observation was very interesting and makes a lot of sense. It could explain why some people get better in different ways other than health after using the balls. For example, while practicing music, you might want to use baoding balls with the left hand more and with the right more if you are doing math problems. In any case, we should remember to using baoding balls with both hands.
