If you like to shop fair trade and also have that extra boho flair that brought you to Global Groove Life’s website then you probably already have an unique home design theme going on. Cheers to that - good for you!

Circular seating continues to build interest in your space and provides seating options that alter from the norm (always a good thing with the bohemian crowd).

Functional And Fun

Need additional seating? Roll in some balance balls from the office or studio instead of having your guest “pull up a chair.” This is way easier to do than carrying chairs around to move them - and it works especially well if you have multiple areas of the house that are used for socializing with people.

Red Flower of Life Cover

Gone are the days of uncomfortable office chairs. If you work from home or are otherwise spending a lot of time sitting at a table or desk then you should really try sitting on a yoga ball. They’re quite comfortable and you can easily find wheeled bases that keep them more stable beneath you if straight up sitting on a ball sounds like a bit of a challenge.

Here are three of our top reasons why we recommend using a balance ball as your new favorite chair:

1. You’ll experience a new level of comfort while sitting on a balance ball! 


Say goodbye to uncomfortable wooden chairs and other unforgiving materials and hello to a flexible, responsive seat. The slight bounce that the ball provides allows you to make constant micro-adjustments instead of stagnating in the same position for hours at a time.

Although sitting in one single position may seem like it would be more comfortable, studies have proven that staying sedentary hour after hour (for example while working, watching TV, or scrolling through the internet) can lead to potentially lethal complications! Sitting on a yoga ball is a simple way to keep your body and life force energy moving.

2. It’s good for you!

We know, we know - we sound like your mother responding to child you when you asked her why you need to eat your vegetables! We’re not trying to dredge up old memories … but just like your mama we see the importance of looking out for your health and wellbeing!

Balancing on a yoga ball strengthens your core muscles. You know, the ones in your stomach, sides, and back that keep you moving around with ease (or not depending on the state of your core). Maintaining a strong core is very important to your overall balance and range of motion. So we’re big fans of anything that can be done to keep this part of the body toned.

3. A new perspective!

You probably know by now how passionate we are GGL are about gaining new perspectives - on everything from style to life. If you are desk-bound for a large part of the day then you could probably benefit from the change of perspective that replacing your desk chair with a balance ball will bring you.

Cobalt Geometric Cover

Changing your point of view can really transform your whole mindset and therefore your entire day! You can funnel your newfound energy and enthusiasm into more productivity and efficiency.

Style It

Naturally as a bohemian (i.e. individual with a strong sense of self and personal expression) you’ll want to explore the unique style opportunities that come along with using yoga balls as seating. Global Groove Life has so many options to transform your balance ball from blah to chic.

Plum Geometric Ball Cover

Want to use your ball as an accent piece? Choose a brightly colored or a boldly patterned yoga ball cover. Here are a few of our favorites below.

Orange Rhapsody cover

Tribal Sand Cover

Alternately, you may want to be able to use the balance ball as a chair in multiple rooms and as a workout tool in your studio. In that case you couldchoose a few different covers - or - go for a more neutral tone.

Black Flower of Life Cover

Olive Geometric Cover

We’re sure that you’ll find your perfect groove however you choose to use and decorate your balance balls. Send in photos of how you’re using your yoga ball in your space - we’d love to see it!

 

Amara Evans is a vibrational healer, collective consciousness-raiser, writer, and devotee of the Goddess. She loves to connect with her global community through writing and speaking about important topics like the environment, spirituality, and fair trade.

The Flower of Life is not only a gorgeous pattern but an ancient sacred symbol which is why Global Groove Life is ever attracted to it! We couldn't simply stop with our Flower of Life Yoga Ball Covers, we've recently added zafu meditation cushions, a travel bag line and yoga headbands to boot!

                    

The Flower of Life is one of the oldest sacred symbols known to man, dating back to the Egyptian Temple of Osiris over 6,000 years ago. The symbol can be found in all major religions of the world. It has deep spiritual meaning and is believed to contain the patterns of creation as they emerged from the “Great Void”.

In Eastern religions the Flower of Life is commonly found in Yantra art (a geometric diagram used as an aid to meditation). The modern name for Yantra is Sacred Geometry.

                 

The Flower of Life embodies the infinite nature of creation. It is our blueprint as to which mathematics, numbers, geometry, light, harmonics and frequency are brought to life. It connects us physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually to the higher teachings of creation.

And that's why we here at Global Groove Life just can't get enough of the Flower of Life print! From balance ball covers to meditation cushions this geometric pattern has some true sacred roots!

In the USA, original Global Groover's Corinne (1999) and Taira (2002) reunite to whip the Santa Rosa Pop-Up Store into shape! Spray painting fixtures, things got a little silly...and a little peacock blue! We are loving this process and it is so fun seeing it come together. We are so excited that a place to buy fair trade goods will have a space in the Santa Rosa Plaza for the holidays. Thanks for all the help guys, the shop is almost ready to go, Santa Rosa! 

We scored some sweet finds for the shop decor while thrifting. It's way more fun to find new uses for old things.

Greg putting up our awesome sign. Getting ready for our pop-up shop to be open on Black friday!

 

Yoga ball covers are starting to become a really popular item here at Global Groove Life. We’ve been making them for a while now, but people are really starting to catch on to how much they can transform a room! 

See, we’re big fans of sitting on yoga balls to work. We have them in our home office, and there are a couple around the house that are used for extra seating (when they’re not being used as a yoga tool).

Yoga balls (or balance balls or exercise balls, depending on what you call them) are extremely functional. They are very versatile to use around the home, and they can really improve your body mechanics over time.

There’s just one problem.

They’re so. Damn. Ugly.

And sticky. It’s one of life’s great mysteries how the things end up with that weird tacky feeling all over them, no matter how hard you try to keep them clean.

So when we started creating yoga ball covers, it was really for us. We wanted our yoga balls to look and feel lovely every time you came across one. And as it turns out, lots of other people were in the same boat.

Since we started getting so much interest, we’ve extended our line of Fair Trade yoga ball covers significantly. They range from teen-friendly prints, to whacky patterns, to subtle and subdued - all the way up to our new luxe range.

 

 

These new luxe covers are handcrafted from Burma Silk.

We head out to Wararot Kad Luang Market and meet our long-time supplier. We chat as she measures out the hand-spun silk in 2-yard sections. It takes several of these large pieces to create one cover, and there’s a long process ahead before the final product reaches us.

Once we’ve purchased yards and yards of the Burma Silk, we carefully transport them to a village just outside Chiang Mai. We arrive at our tailor’s home and hand over the huge folds of material, which she and her team members will cut by hand into small pieces a few inches in diameter. 

Cutting completed, the Burma Silk is loaded into another truck and dispatched to even smaller villages that are even further out of Chiang Mai. There is no industry in these areas, so the arrival of the silk is an event. The tailors hustle around the truck, collecting their portion of the silk to whisk away to their sewing rooms. Ensconced by hundreds of yards of silk, they get to work, twisting each little piece of silk into a bow-shape.

After about two days of work shaping the silk, it’s time for the cover to take shape. The tailors sew up a ball cover, and then begin the long process of attaching each bow to the cover. The silk is delicate, so this process is handled with tender care, and will take the next two days.

 

Four days after they receive the raw Burma Silk, the tailors have each created one Burma Silk Yoga Ball Cover.

It’s a long, intensive process, and by the time that cover is dispatched back to us, they are due for a well-earned break before tackling the next cover. 

However, the cover each tailor has produced is gorgeous. They are the very top of the line in ball covers, and they are quickly snapped up by our style-conscious customers.

Do you have a yoga ball that is ruining the look of a room in your home? We’ve got plenty of new cover options available, all Fair Trade and handcrafted, and they are so varied that there will certainly be good fit for your style and decor. Check them out here!

 

To boil yoga down to a simple catch-phrase is extremely difficult. There are so many different types of practices and flows, and it tends to mean something different to every yogi. But most of us would agree that a central tenet of any yoga practice is that mind, body and spirit are one, and that improving one aspect means improving all three.

It’s at this point that yoga and Fair Trade truly intersect.

Yoga practitioners crave yoga products that have been produced in fair, ethical and safe environments, because they already understand honouring the spirit in others that is a reflection of the spirit in you - a true expression of 'namaste'.

Yoga and Fair Trade beat with the same heart.