The other important part to balance
Welcome to the weekly warble here at Ideanthro Movement.
I feel I'm due a warble about balance, so balance we shall talk about today.
When we think about 'good balance', we generally think about someone perfectly poised and in control. This is certainly an aspect of good balance, but it's not the whole story. Just as important is our ability to correct once balance is lost.
Most commonly, when I see people start to practice balancing, they focus on staying perfectly in alignment. This is great. It's really important. But we also need to make time to practice going out of perfect alignment and then recovering. There are several ways to do this. I'll explain using the example of standing on one leg, but this more generally applies to any form of balance practice.
One way to practice going out of alignment is to practice staying in perfect alignment, but when you feel yourself start to loose that alignment, to not just stop, but to fight a little longer. In the case of standing on one leg, that means to stand on one leg. To work really hard to stay nicely aligned. But when you start to loose alignment, resist the temptation to put your other foot down right away. Instead, fight to regain your balance for a little longer. Not so long as to risk a fall, but long enough to give yourself a chance to correct.
The other way to practice going out of alignment is to practice it deliberately. We'll continue with the example of standing on one leg. I start on one leg. Perhaps I even lightly hold onto a nearby table. Now, instead of staying perfectly alignment, I stretch out with one arm as if to touch an imaginary spot in the air. I then return to centre. Now I reach in another direction. And so on. Similar to the above. I don't go so far as to risk a fall, but I take myself to a position that isn't well aligned, and then I correct. And if things go astray I have the table there to secure myself.
And that's it for today's balance warble.
We help people of all different ages and abilities to improve their balance. If you'd like to know more or who like our help with your balance you can contact us here.
Cheers
Jack
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