Philadelphia school replaces chairs with yoga ball

When students at one suburban Philadelphia school work diligently at their desks, they aren't exactly sitting still.
The fifth-graders at Westtown-Thornbury Elementary School learn while bouncing on brightly colored yoga balls.
Teacher Robbi Giuliano has done away with traditional chairs in her West Chester classroom. Instead, children balance themselves on giant rubber spheres also called stability balls.
Giuliano says the added body movement helps students focus better on daily lessons while toning their muscles.
Experts have linked physical activity with better learning. They say the balls are part of a larger movement to modernize schools with equipment including adjustable-height desks and footrests.
Such furniture allows children to naturally fidget without disrupting class.
Related Stories
Virat Kohli's Cricket Legacy: Individual Excellence in Collective Sport
Virat Kohli's cricket career represents one of sport's most sustained examples of individual excellence achieving institutional dominance. From mercurial young batsman with technical flaws to disciplined master accumulat...
Tier-1 City Problems: Congestion, Pollution, Infrastructure Limits
Delhi's air quality deteriorates into hazardous territory with seasonal regularity. During winter months, Air Quality Index readings frequently exceed 400—well into the "hazardous" range where outdoor activity becomes me...
The New Indian Middle Class: Aspirations, Anxieties, Consumption
India's middle class—roughly 250-350 million people with annual household incomes between ₹10 and ₹50 lakh—represents a purchasing power that shapes entire economies. Yet their consumption patterns reveal a psychology di...