Attached is a photo of some of my various neuropathy toys (excluding bean buckets).

The best exercises are the ones you will truly actually do.

For myself & balance, the blue foam mat shown is the best. I can make this as easy or as challenging as I like. I can easily lay this in common places fairly inconspicuously around the house and it is easy to stand on for a bit while doing other things. It's easiest enough that I will actually do it.

Helps to "habit stack". Do this as part of another habit already doing easily.

The round wood wobble board and the round black plastic air cushion shown are both non-slip textured (texturizing difficult to see in photo). They are much more challenging, require concentration (can't do while listening to my podcasts, etc) and so I procrastinate on these. To be frank, I am at a level where they are right on my edge of stretching me so I don't like to do them ..... which is probably exactly why I should do them. I only try them occasionally while doing other exercises and need to go slow and hold onto something.

Probably the balance exercises I like most are ones where I am mentally distracted and enjoying something else. I like when I am into the other things I am doing and so the easy-but-not-too-dangerous-but-effective challenge is not so onerous and I am more likely to do it.

The best example is throwing a bunch of things on the floor around the room and then picking them up with one foot off the ground while I watch TV, talk to other people in person or on the phone, listen to comedy podcasts or topics I am into, etc. Again, this can be made to be as safe and easy or as challenging as I feel is right for the moment.

If anyone has any other tricks to make this a no-brainer or something I will actually do, please let me know.

I get sick of all the health stuff, have to step away from it all sometimes so I am actually living life ..... so feel free to offer any ideas of super easy ways to improve that do not feel like one is spending all their time working on health problems.

Natalie

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