Patent Application
20240408429
The present disclosure relates generally to a weighted block that could be used as a weight and as a support during yoga exercises and methods of making and using the same.
At a high level, yoga is generally associated with physical balance, meditation, breathing, etc. However, many yoga practitioners, and even individuals with no personal experience of yoga, view yoga with a much deeper meaning. These individuals may view yoga, for example, as being a higher version of health. Yoga is also widely viewed as forming a mind-body connection. There are meditative aspects to this mind-body connection that can profoundly impact mental health, which may explain the depth many practitioners experience. Additionally, practitioners often notice changes in their stress levels, and partake in techniques to better control their breathing.
Unfortunately, there are also misconceptions about Yoga. For example, people frequently equate yoga with injury prevention. When discussing injury prevention measures, people often refer to the number of times per week they practice yoga. However, in many cases, practicing yoga may actually contribute to injury and pain. More specifically, commonly practiced yoga poses may actually cause various overuse injuries and muscle imbalances due to its repetitive nature.
When considering the gentle, low impact, and restorative nature of yoga, it may seem counterintuitive to think that yoga can cause pain. Under close analysis, however, some yoga poses present a greater risk of muscle injury and pain than others. Traditionally, there are very few props for yoga (e.g., resistance bands, weighted props etc.), except for foam and/or cork yoga blocks used for alignment purposes. As generally appreciated in other forms of movement, a prop can be an excellent aid to enhance an exercise and target specific muscles.
For example, a foam block could be used as a balancing point to create alignment if someone is attempting to round their back to touch the ground during a yoga balancing pose. In a triangle pose, for example, a yoga block might be used similarly as placement for one's hand to prevent misalignment by reaching down for the floor, or to shorten the distance between the hand and floor for lack of hip mobility. Thus, yoga blocks are used in different ways and in different poses, to regain and maintain alignment.
For example, in Vinyasa yoga (most widely practiced in the US) common poses such as Down Dog and Low Plank (known as Chaturanga) require immense muscle strength to execute properly, especially Deltoid and Pectoralis strength. Alternately, muscles such as the Rhomboids, Middle Trapezius, and Rotator Cuff, are virtually untargeted in yoga, causing an imbalance. Even worse, the muscles on the back side of the body are not only weak, but yoga places a huge emphasis on stretching and increasing the flexibility of these muscles. Over time, this imbalance between a strong anterior chain (front body), and weak and lengthened posterior chain (back body) creates poor movement patterns and can often result in injury. Currently there are no yoga poses or yoga props that will correct these posterior chain muscle deficiencies.
Another muscle commonly injured in yoga is the Hamstring, typically experienced by people that do lots of yoga for flexibility purposes. The two most common poses are the Down Dog and the Forward Fold pose, both of which significantly stretch and lengthen the hamstrings. Due to the nature of yoga and props, and in relation to the discussion above, there are no poses that strengthen the hamstrings. Thus, after consistently practicing yoga for months or years, where most of the poses are focused on stretching a weakened hamstring muscle, injury can often occur at the proximal hamstring attachment on the ischial tuberosity of the pelvis.
Dumbbells, and other types of weights can be effective tools for strengthening the Hamstrings, Rhomboids, Middle Trapezius, Rotator Cuff, and other weakened or underdeveloped muscles groups. Most yoga studios, however, generally avoid displaying dumbbells because of aesthetic reasons. That is, the appearance or display of sets of dumbbells can disrupt or destroy the mind body aesthetic of yoga studios. Even yoga studios that occasionally use dumbbells during classes rarely display dumbbells in the studio. Instead, the dumbbells are usually hidden away in closets or storage bins.
Traditional yoga blocks enhance the aesthetic vibe of yoga studios, but they are not heavy enough to provide muscle strengthening to the back body. Additionally, traditional yoga blocks lack handles, and other practical physical features that would allow them to be easily picked up, if they were to be of heavier weight. Thus, yoga blocks can be awkward and ineffective to use to perform strengthening exercises (e.g., rowing motions, pulling motions etc.), which is necessary to target the back body.
Given the aforementioned deficiencies, what is needed, therefore, is a solution for performing yoga exercises that could also be used for strength training, from a physical therapy health perspective, without disrupting the mind body aesthetic vibe associated with yoga studios. What is also needed is a solution that can be used for balancing and/or alignment when performing Triangles, Half Moons, Warrior 3′s, Eagles, and other common yoga poses.
Under certain circumstances, an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a weighted block with a hexahedron shaped block body having a cavity, a top opening to the cavity, and a bottom wall opposite to the top opening. The block also includes a front wall opposite to a back wall, and a left wall opposite to a right wall. The bottom, front, back, right, and left walls are interconnected and surround the cavity to form the hexahedron shaped block body. The block body includes a rod inside the cavity connecting the left and right walls. The cavity has a depth measured from the top opening to the bottom wall, a length measured from left wall to the right wall, and a width measured from the front wall to the back wall. The block body maintains its integrity when a weight or force is applied to the front, back, right, left walls, or the rod when its respective opposite wall is positioned against an immobile surface.
The embodiments provide a weighted block that can function both as a support for body weight and a weight for strength training during a yoga exercise. The weighted block can be used to allow a yoga participant to move in and out of poses without picking up and setting down weights. In one embodiment, the weighted block has a hexahedron shaped block body including a cavity and a handle inside the cavity. These features allow the block to be used as a weight during physical therapy and strength training. The block additionally has the physical integrity to be used as a support for body weight during yoga poses.
Additional features, modes of operations, advantages, and other aspects of various embodiments are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is noted that the present disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments described herein. These embodiments are presented for illustrative purposes only. Additional embodiments, or modifications of the embodiments disclosed, will be readily apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s) based on the teachings provided.
The figures are not necessarily to scale and some features may be exaggerated or minimized, such as to show details of particular components. In some instances, well-known components, systems, materials or methods have not been described in detail in order to avoid obscuring the present disclosure. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present disclosure.
As required, detailed embodiments of the present disclosure are disclosed herein. The disclosed embodiments are merely examples that may be embodied in various and alternative forms, and combinations thereof. As used herein, for example, “exemplary,” and similar terms, refer expansively to embodiments that serve as an illustration, specimen, model or pattern.
The following description is presented to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the present disclosure and is provided in the context of a particular application and its requirements. Various modifications to the disclosed embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments shown but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the claims.
Many yoga practitioners lack strength outside of traditional yoga postures, demonstrating strength in movements like push-ups and planks, but weakness in movements that require pulling, such as rows and deadlifts. Referring to
Additionally, overstretching the back body muscles and under strengthening them is also common in yoga exercises. For example,
Much of the pulling movements in strength training are difficult to accomplish using a practitioner's body weight alone, without equipment such as a dumbbell or resistance band. Using dumbbells in yoga classes, however, can be awkward when a practitioner has to reach down and pick up a dumbbell, then set it back down, which interferes with the flow that a yoga practitioner experiences.
Disclosed herein is a weighted block that can function both as a support for body weight and a weight for strength training during a yoga exercise. The weighted block can be used to allow a yoga participant to move in and out of poses without picking up and setting down weights. As shown in
For example, if a practitioner is using the weighted block disclosed herein as a support in a triangle pose as shown in
The strength training exercise is believed to balance the yoga poses and provide much needed strengthening of the posterior chain muscles, such as the hamstrings and rhomboids. After the strength training exercise, the yoga practitioner can optionally place the block back on the floor to provide support for subsequent yoga poses such as warrior three followed by an eagle pose in step 506.
The present disclosure describes a weighed block, referred to herein as a “Bili Block,” to be used as a weight for strength training and also a body weight support. As shown in
While the handle 104 is visible through the top opening 106, the handle 104 is not visible from a bottom side of the block body 100. That is, the bottom wall 108 encloses the bottom side of the block body 110. Thus, from the bottom side, the block body 100 still functions as a typical yoga block and maintains the aesthetic appearance of a typical yoga block. The handle 104 also permits a yoga practitioner to grab and grip the block body 100 and perform rowing motions, bilateral rowing movements, and other muscle strengthening exercises.
The handle 104 has a diameter selected such that practitioners with smaller and larger hands can grip the block in the same manner and comfort that a dumbbell can be gripped. Additionally, the handle 104 is uniquely positioned and structured within the cavity 102 such that all yoga practitioners, from those with very small hands to those with very large hands, can comfortably grip the block body 100 and comfortably perform yoga exercises.
At least one of the handle 104, the bottom wall 108, the front wall 110, the back wall 112, the left wall 114 and the right wall 116 comprises a material such that the block body 100 has a weight of at least 0.5 pound. For example, one embodiment could be in a range of around 0.5-50 lbs. In one example, a yoga studio may have sets of the Bili Block, where individual blocks within a set will have different weights. However, the Bili Block is designed such that blocks of different weights may have the same physical dimensions. That is, blocks of different weights will be formed of materials with slightly different compositions and consistencies such that blocks with the same physical dimensions can have different weights.
The cross-sectional views of the block body 100 are shown in
For example, the length L1 of the block body 100 can be within a range of around 190-280 millimeters (mms). In one embodiment, and by way of example only and not limitation, the length L1 of the block body 100 can be about 229 mm. The width W1 of the block body 100 can be within a range of 125-185 mms. The height H1 of the block body 100 can be within a range of about 85-125 mms.
The position of the handle 104 and the thickness of the walls of the block body 100 are designed such that during use, the block body 100 maintains its integrity when a body weight of a practitioner is applied to one of the handle 104, front 110, back 112, right 116, and left 114 walls when its respective opposite wall is positioned against an immobile surface such as a floor. The walls of the block body 100 therefore are constructed with enough thickness and strength to such integrity.
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In one embodiment, as shown in
The dimensional data of the block body 100 outlined above including the degree of roundness or bevel in the edges or vertices can be generated by a computer and used in a three-dimensional (3D) software such that the block body 100 can be printed based on the dimensional data with thermoplastic material to form the weighted block body 100. Thermoplastic used in 3D printing include ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene), PLA (polylactic acid), HIPS (high impact polystyrene), Nylon 618, Nylon 645, Nylon 680, Nylon 910, PP (polypropylene), PT (polyethylene terephthalate), LayBrick (finely crushed chalk and other minerals suspended in a thermoplastic resin), or LayWood (fine wood particles are suspended in a thermoplastic resin). In one embodiment, the thermoplastic is ABS. In another embodiment the thermoplastic is PLA. In some embodiments, the 3D printed block body 100 can be further coated with other materials to provide a smooth and durable surface. For example, the 3D printed block body 100 can be coated silicon, rubber, or a similar polymeric material.
Alternatively, metal can be used to produce a mold based on the dimensional data outlined above, which can be further coated with other materials to provide a smooth and durable surface. For example, the metal mold of the weighted block body 100 can be coated with silicon. In one embodiment, the metal used to produce the mold is stainless steel. In one embodiment, the metal used to produce the mold is an alloy. Cement/concrete or similar materials may also be used.
In some embodiments, the handle 104 portion of the block body 100 is made of a material that is different from the material used for the walls of the block body 100. In one embodiment, the handle 104 contributes most of the weight of the block body 100. In some embodiments, the handle 104 contributes to at least 50% of the weight of the block body 100. In other embodiments, the handle 104 contributes to about 50%-95 of the weight of the block body 100.
In some embodiments, the walls of the block body 100 are made of a material that is different from the material used for the handle 104. In other embodiments, the walls can contribute to 50%-90% of the weight of the block body 100. In yet other embodiments, the walls and handle of the block body 100 can be formed of an exterior shell of one material (e.g., plastic) that is filled with a different material or substance (e.g., water).
An ornamental design of an embodiment of a weighted block body 100 of the present disclosure viewed from different directions/perspectives are shown in
The embodiments above are intended to be illustrative and not limiting. Additional embodiments are within the claims. In addition, although the present disclosure has been described with reference to particular embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that changes can be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Any incorporation by reference of documents above is limited such that no subject matter is incorporated that is contrary to the explicit disclosure herein.
