[1] Toss juggling can be used as: a performing art, a sport, a form of exercise, as meditation, a recreational pursuit or hobby.
In toss juggling, objects — such as balls, bean bags, rings, clubs, etc.
The shower is the most commonly depicted pattern in pictures and illustrations of jugglers (although often wildly exaggerated).
There are also amusing stunts such as the Yo-yo and the Robot, which give the illusion that the balls are connected to each other or to the juggler's body.
"Mills" colloquially refers to any pattern in juggling where the hands cross back and forth over one another.
The most common passing combination is where two jugglers throw six objects between them and perform various tricks in addition to that basic pattern.
Passing and feeding patterns and tricks in toss juggling range from the simple to the very complex.
As exercise, juggling is a highly aerobic activity, increasing the heart rate and respiration.
Juggling helps one to develop good hand-eye coordination, physical fitness and balance.
These reflexes are formed through repetition of what are, at first, slowly learned and difficult processes.
The constant rising and falling of the objects, the regularity of the rhythms, can become almost hypnotic, and the attention of a juggler while tightly focused on the juggling pattern may seem to expand and even to "encompass the universe."
Juggling is great for "breaking the ice" at parties and other social gatherings [citation needed].
In 1990 it was estimated by the International Jugglers' Association that twenty-three percent of Americans can juggle a three-ball cascade.