Balance

"I am one with my body. I am one with my mind". yoga poster

Balance is something to strive for in all areas of life.  Today we are going to focus on your need for physical balance to live your life fully and comfortably.  Falls are the major reasons that keep companies who make crutches and wheelchairs in business.  To remain steady on your feet requires a good sense of balance.  Your brain plays a large part in this act of balancing, even though you are unaware of all the intricate processes going on.

To keep your balance, your brain requires a constant flow of information from various parts of your body including eyes, muscles, joints, semicircular canals in your inner ear, and sensory nerves in your skin.  The cerebellum is the part of your brain responsible for collecting this information and relaying it to other areas of the brain to coordinate all of the movements of your body.  Bet you didn't know how hard your brain works!

As you age, (and we all do every day) your sense of balance may not be as sharp as it once was.  Balancing is an activity that you can practice and improve.  Just as a child learns to balance by walking on a piece of tape on the floor, so can you. Place a piece of duct tape on your kitchen floor.   Practice walking it each day.  You will be amazed at how much effort it takes.  With practice, it becomes easier.  Your brain is being retrained.

A balance practice I use in my classes is to have participants bounce a ball for several minutes each day.  This simple act improves eye/hand coordination, depth perception and balance.  Bounce a ball as you wait for the water to boil or during a commercial on TV.  Floor works better than carpet.  As you improve, switch hands and/or find a spot on the floor and aim for it each time you bounce the ball.  You are training your brain.

Another exercise from the world of Yoga (incredibly good for your brain and your body) is to stand with both feet planted firmly on the floor, shoulder width apart.  Shift your weight slowly to your left leg. Stretch your arms out to the side.  Focus your eyes on a spot in the room several feet away.  Once you are focused, slide your right leg up until your right ankle is next to your left calf.  Begin by balancing on one foot for thirty seconds.  Then switch to standing on your right leg and raising your left knee. Practice this Yoga exercise each day to achieve a greater sense of body balance that will help you in managing to navigate your world.  You may want to begin by holding on to a chair or simply placing the tip of your toes on the floor next to your other leg.

Practicing these simple exercises each day will help you to maintain your balance as you go about your daily routines.  Good balance may help you to avoid falls which cause major problems and often include becoming very familiar with those crutches and wheelchairs.

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