yoga balls are made from a durable vinyl, and are designed to support up to 600 pounds of pressure. The balls are shipped uninflated, and can be inflated quickly and easily with a ball pump. Each ball comes with a free pump. Physical therapists and dancers use physio exercise balls in a variety of movements. In yoga, these air-filled balls give support in poses such as backbends, hip openers and restorative poses.

Yoga and Buddhism Main article: Yoga and Buddhism Yoga is intimately connected to the religious beliefs and practices of the Dharmic religions.[46] The influence of Yoga is also visible in Buddhism, which is distinguished by its austerities, spiritual exercises, and trance states.[47][48] [edit] Yogacara Buddhism Yogacara (Sanskrit: "Practice of Yoga [Union]" [49] ), also spelled yogāchāra, is a school of philosophy and psychology that developed in India during the 4th to 5th centuries. Yogacara received the name as it provided a yoga, a framework for engaging in the practices that lead to the path of the bodhisattva.[50] The Yogacara sect teaches Yoga[clarify] in order to reach enlightenment[clarify].[51] [edit] Zen (Ch`an) Buddhism Zen (the name of which derives from the Sanskrit "dhyaan" via the Chinese "ch'an"[52]) is a form of Mahayana Buddhism. The Mahayana school of Buddhism is noted for its proximity with Yoga.[48] In the west, Zen is often set alongside Yoga; the two schools of meditation display obvious family resemblances.[53] This phenomenon merits special attention since the Zen Buddhist school of meditation has some of its roots in yogic practices.[54] Certain essential elements of Yoga are important both for Buddhism in general and for Zen in particular.[3] [edit] Tibetan Buddhism Yoga[clarify] is central to Tibetan Buddhism. In the Nyingma tradition, practitioners progress to increasingly profound levels of yoga, starting with Mahā yoga, continuing to Anu yoga and ultimately undertaking the highest practice, Ati yoga. In the Sarma traditions, the Anuttara yoga class is equivalent. Other tantra yoga practices include a system of 108 bodily postures practiced with breath and heart rhythm. Timing in movement exercises is known as Trul khor or union of moon and sun (channel) prajna energies. The body postures of Tibetan ancient yogis are depicted on the walls of the Dalai Lama's summer temple of Lukhang. [edit] Yoga and Tantra Main article: Tantra Tantrism, is a practice that is supposed to alter the relation of the individual practitioner of Tantrism to the ordinary social, religious, and logical reality in which he or she lives. Through Tantric practice an individual perceives reality as maya, illusion, and the individual achieves liberation from it.[55] This particular path to salvation among the several offered by Hinduism, links Tantrism to those Dharmic practices such as yoga, meditation, and social renunciation, which are based on temporary or permanent withdrawal from social relationships and modes.[55] During tantric practices and studies, the student is instructed further in meditation technique, particularly chakra meditation. This is often in a limited form in comparison with the way this kind of meditation is known and used by Tantric practitioners and yogis elsewhere, but is more elaborate than the initiate's previous meditation. It is considered to be a kind of Kundalini Yoga for the purpose of moving the Goddess into the chakra located in the "heart," for meditation and worship.[56]