chinese health balls (rotate two in one hand), barefoot walking on sun warmed pebbles

 

Nice article here on some really good exercises. 

http://www.originalpurity.org/gurulin/b5files/f0/f0182.html

excerpt:

Human hands are sensitively connected to the rest of the whole body. Hence, by massaging different parts of the hands, various parts of the body can be stimulated. Feet and ears are similarly related to the whole body. Chinese medicine teaches healing techniques that involve massage or acupuncture applied to these sensitive parts. However, to promote one's general well-being no professional knowledge is needed; all one needs is to adopt some simple exercises on a daily basis. For example, one may adopt the habit of massaging ears whenever one is waiting for a green traffic signal, or one may walk barefoot on pebble paths for fifteen to thirty minutes daily. This article talks about a traditional Chinese hand exercise called health balls.

...

After using the small health balls for a few days, I could hardly feel their presence in my hands. I then switched to the larger balls and felt comfortable with them. While practicing the health balls, I become more aware of the areas on my hands that are tense or sore and, gradually, also other parts of my body that are not at ease. Doing this exercise does help release tension. Whenever I become tired of reading or writing, I walk around and play the health balls. In this way, my body soon returns to a relaxed and supple condition. Sometimes I walk barefoot on pebbles in my yard while simultaneously playing the health balls. (It is so comfortable to walk barefoot on pebbles warmed by the sun.)

Frankk comments:

I've been doing barefoot walking on gravel (concrete driveway with gravel top layer) for a few years now, and highly recommend it. Unlike the author above though, I probably do it between 1 to 2 hours a day total. I do it with taiji quan and qigong, outside, sun warmed gravel, but only when the ground is warm. So probably 6-8 months of the year. When the ground is cold I wear shoes.

If I do taiji in public park with grass, I'll go barefoot if ground is warm, and not too much animal shit on the ground. 

Just like with meditation, yoga, taiji, qigong, you can feel getting sunshine and walking barefoot on the earth feels good, you don't need to read scientific studies to be convinced.

This book, about 10-15$, talks about health benefits of barefoot walking, it's a lot more than you might think. 

https://grounded.com/earthing-the-most-important-health-discovery-ever/earthing-book

You can also google 'earthing' to find free articles that cover most of the basics.

chinese health balls

I have two pairs at home, the noisy steel type. I haven't done them in many years, but tried it out just now, and because of my extensive taiji and other qigong that I do, I was able to very dextrously perform it. Rotate both hands, two balls in each simultaneously, and can do any permutation of independent rotation direction in each hand. 

That's from my taiji training, which I do a minimum of 1-2 hours everyday, but the article had a great suggestion that I highly recommend. When you do your walking meditation, you can do it barefoot walking (if ground is warm), and work up to two chinese health balls in each hand, it's great for your health.