Maria: Gary and I always love to celebrate our birthdays! He's not like Ricky on "I Love Lucy" who always has to be reminded of special events. Not at all! We always enjoy trying to find each other fun and interesting gifts. A few years ago Gary outdid himself. I was having one of those "big" birthdays, and Gary presented me with a big package to match! I was intrigued. What could it be, what could it be? So I opened it up, and immediately sensed it was something fun! But....I had never heard of it. Gary had found for me something called an Indo Board. What, you may ask, is an Indo Board?
Gary: Well let me 'splain Lucy...er Maria (Maria has not yet found the all-purpose box of candy in the hall closet with cards for all major occasions to match). Maria is actually so easy to buy presents for - she gets excited about getting any present (ergo the name of this blog). That really motivates me to put a lot of thought into getting gifts for her. Maria has always wanted a trampoline, but, alas, we don't have room for even a small one. So I wanted to find her something that would have similar health and fun elements that would also fit the space we have. And I came up with something a little daring, but that I really thought she would like - the Indo Board. The Indo Board is a balance board, but to just call it that would be falling way short of the mark. My chiropractor had me do some balance board work and that was intriguing, but the Indo Board is a balance board that started as a surfing trainer and it has so many more possibilities and uses than just a balance board. Since Maria always had wanted to learn to surf, I thought that the Indo Baord would be something Maria might like. At least I hoped so.
Maria: Well you guessed right, dear! The Indo Board combines so many fun elements! I grew up body-surfing in the ocean in Southern California every summer when we visited my grandparents. But I never got my hands on a surfboard. However, it's never too late, and by using Indy (did I mention we often name things?), I will be ready when the time comes. The great thing is you can start slowly, and work your way up. The board comes with the Indo Board FloCushion. You place the board on the cushion and move it back and forth trying to keep your balance. This lets you get the feel of balancing on the board in a more controlled fashion. Once you get the hang of riding your board on the cushion you can move on to using the roller. With the roller in place under your board it's a lot more challenging - and fun!- to try to keep your balance. To quote from the website: "The basic goal is to ride the Indo Board as long as possible while keeping the board from touching the ground." We like to do this to Hawaiian music, especially Slack Key. It really gives as that island, surfing feel!
Gary: I really think the FloCushion is what takes the Indo Board from being something mostly for the younger set or for training athletes to something anyone can use. Maintaining and improving balance is something that can be helpful at any age but becomes so much more important as we age. If you want to live life in the slow lane, you can use the Indo Board with the FloCushion to do an almost endless variety of exercises. If you want to get down-right professional in your training, using both the Indo Board with the FloCushion and the Roller gives you the ability to do some industrial strength workouts. And the variety of Boards available from the original to the mini to the pro means there something available for almost everyone.
Maria: There is definitely a great variety of boards - different sizes, different designs, all of them really snazzy. And as Gary mentioned, there is no reason to think this is something just for the younger crowd. In fact it may be something even more important for those of us getting a little up there in years. It's great to know that while we are having fun on our board, we are also strengthening our muscles, tendons, balance, core, everything! So many older people have balance issues and are fall risks. We hope to avoid all that! We've even talked about getting another board, but since space is an issue we have to choose carefully. I have to say, though, that one of my favorite things about the Indo Board that Gary picked for me is the design. Indy is so pretty! It is an "original" model, with a beautiful many-shaded wave of blue and white on it. Just gorgeous! Thank you so much, honey!
Gary: You're welcome, dear. I will have to say, I've enjoyed the Indo Board every bit as much as you have. Maybe I still owe you a present!?!
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