Juggling is good for you in lots of ways

Here's Scot Nery's list of eight reasons why normal people should learn to juggle. My old roommate, Possum Man, was a hell of a juggler, and though he took it up as physiotherapy for an arm injury, it quickly built to an avocation. Flaming torch and machete juggling was always a favorite at our parties.

#2 Got The Hunchies?
The average person spends 312 hours per day at a computer. Your back and neck get outta whack, your wrists start hurting and your legs fall asleep. You can combat this crappy feeling by doing light exercise - juggling is perfect. To hone the art of juggling, you need to think about standing up straight, relaxing, and using your hands correctly.

#3 I can't de-stress you with my eyes
It's nice to learn something new, do something active and get away from what seems important in your life. You can lose your tension through tons of hobbies, but juggling is a great combination of physical activity, brain stimulation, joy of success, and visual stimulation. Here's another scientific study...

8 Reasons Normal People Should Juggle

(Photo: WJD2008 - 7 JUGGLING BEANBAGS, a Creative Commons Attribution photo from madaboutasia's photostream) (via Kottke)

• [lo6an]

  The average person only spends 312 hours a day at the computer?? I spend at least 400.

• [octopod]

  everyone should learn to juggle, it’s just a fun thing to be able to do.

• [jugglingbuffoon]

  I am relatively sure that that woman is only juggling 5 and it looks like she is juggling Russians, not beanbags.

  Other than that it looks like a good incentive to get people juggling. The more the better.
  Thank you,
  jugglingbuffoon

• [tomfox]

  I was told that the man who gave the world perrier mineral water (an Englishman strangely enough) had gone to Vergèze (where the spring is to be found) in order to recover from a serious ailment. There he took up juggling and drank the local water, which was already celebrated for it’s recuperative qualities.
  The recovery worked so well that he decided to bottle and market the water. The bottles were inspired by the bowling pins that he used.

• [libraryboi]

  Jugglepunk wrote: “the sense of community and the helpful and open nature of jugglers in general is also an incentive”

  That wasn’t my experience. I tried to join a juggling group at the university. I happened to mention to one guy about my interest in dressing up to entertain kids at the library and had said “oh, we don’t agree with that. We want juggling to be taken seriously.” He ignored me when I left and I got the same treatment the next time I attended. Never went back. Considering the important role of the jester in juggling history, it’s ridiculous to disavow wearing costumes for any reason.

• [LYNDON]

  They’re called clubs, and are specially made and weighted for juggling

  And the old wooden, perrier-bottle-shaped ones would be quite capable of breaking your face, I’d think.

  Which wouldn’t help your recovery at all.

• [braininavat]

  NORMAL PEOPLE??? I thought this was a site for happy mutants. Learning any new skill seems to be good for your brain and expand your consciousness according to ‘The Brain That Changes Itself’ by Norman Doidge, MD, a book that I can’t recommend strongly enough. Here’s a great quote from ‘This is Your Brain On Music’-”Learning requires the assimilation and consolidation of information in neural tissue.” But where do you get your juggling coaching – clown school? I briefly juggled four golf balls (two in each hand) around the age of ten but could never repeat the feat. Trying to play Liszt etudes on the piano feels pretty mind expanding to me and I don’t have to leave the house to do it.

• [remmelt]

  Juggling may be good for you in lots of ways, but obviously it’s not good in the Fashion Sense way.

• [Jugglepunk]

  Libraryboi: Let me apologise on behalf of the juggling community. Many professional jugglers dress up and entertain kids, hell, I’ve done it myself. It was probably the fact that the group was university based one. Everyone that age is so damn earnest about appearing cool. (Oh dear, I’m getting old, aren’t I?) If you are still interested, I’d point you towards the juggling workshop database on IJDb: http://www.jugglingdb.com/clubs/ and I can guarantee you’ll find someone a lot more willing to help.

• [Doctor Popular]

  I performed with Scot for a year in San Francisco’s “Dirty Little Secret”. He is a Kaufmanesque performer who would take huge risks to entertain the crowd. Scot was most known for his “freestyle pancake flipping routine” which often the highlight of each show.
  Here is a cool video of Scot from around that time http://blip.tv/file/245543/

• [Jugglepunk]

  Agree with juggling buffoon. That is clearly a five ball cascade, but I reckon it is beanbags, by the squished shape of the blue/purple one at the top.

  As an addition to the article, I would say the sense of community and the helpful and open nature of jugglers in general is also an incentive.
  It really does help you learn how to learn. And the meditation thing is true. When I was learning 3 clubs I spent about four hours one day just juggling a basic cascade. When I stopped, my senses appeared to be heightened, my vision and hearing were very acute indeed, everything seemed to be moving slower than normal, and I felt like I was floating rather than walking. It wore off after about half an hour, but I reckon that is the closest I am ever going to come to a state of enlightenment!

  • [jugglingbuffoon]

    Just look at the pattern on them. Clearly Russians. I have never seen a beanbag with that sort of design. And any squishing that you see (I see none) could just as easily be done by the camera.
    Thank you,
    jugglingbuffoon

• [teducation]

  The lady in the photo has informed me that she was juggling homemade Russian balls. :)

• [Jugglepunk]

  Tomfox: They’re not bowling pins. They’re called clubs, and are specially made and weighted for juggling.
  And sorry for double posting.

• [Anonymous]

  i may be wrong but 312 hours a day on a computer? isn’t there only 24 hours in a day?

• [Anonymous]

  312 hours per day at a computer?

  Sounds a little “excessive” to me…