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Balance - what it is and how we can improve it
The word balance has so many meanings, it’s a noun, a verb, and is applicable within so many contexts e.g. balancing the cash book, balanced diet, balancing time demands. It also refers to physical balance, the act of managing our body weight to allow us to move efficiently, unconsciously and safely.
We use physical balance all the time, moving about, standing still, getting up, even tying our shoe laces! all without consciously thinking about it. It's a habit we've created from when we started moving as a toddler, if you think about how they move, and fall over, it's a learning process we go through to understand how to apportion our body weight to enable us to move in various directions.
Balance is required to control our movements, understanding where our centre of gravity is at all times. When we stand upright, our centre of gravity is like a line straight through our body from our head to our feet. Once we lean forward and off that centre line we find ourselves falling, and our natural reaction is to move our feet to re-stabilise ourselves, re-setting our centre of gravity.
Balance is a learned habit, it changes as we age and becomes an unconscious movement, known as kinesthesia. When learned what we often find is that we develop 'bad habits', shortcuts to try and do something faster, meaning we do not complete the movement completely, or correctly, resulting in us not achieving it, or in the case of balance, falling over.
Building good balance develops strong muscles, better core strength and in turn improving our posture. As we age, our body’s ability to sense the position and movement in relation to itself, known as proprioception, gets worse, which can contribute to a decline in our ability to balance.
Developing and maintaining good balance reduces the risk of injury to ourselves, helping prevent falls. There are many exercises that we can practise to improve our balance, if you can build these into your daily schedule you’ll find that by taking small steps every days you’re not just maintaining good balance, you’ll see improvements as well.
I started karate at 14, and now, 35 years later, I’m often reminded by my body’s reluctance to do something just how much my ability to perform certain techniques and moves has changed! I’m more conscious of how my body weight is being apportioned and what I need to do to ensure a smooth transition. Years ago I could just do something, and deal with any mishap along the way, now I’d find myself flat on the floor wondering how the floor met me so quickly!
Below are some considerations and exercise suggestions that you can build into your daily life, which will help improve and maintain good balance.
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Exercise 1 - walking with a ball
Using an object such as a ball helps us improve our hand-eye co-ordination as well. Walk slowly, keeping your feet shoulder width apart, as if you’re walking on train tracks. Complete one step before you move onto the next, ensuring both feet are flat on the floor, body weight centered.
Find a spot on the wall and keep your eyes focused on it, it keeps your head up and your spine in alignment. (Stops you looking at your feet as well)
Ensure your body is upright when you finish before you transfer the ball
Sitting down
Try standing up from a sitting position, if you can without using your hands to push yourself up.
- Use a hard back chair, such as a dining chair to begin with
- Sit upright on the chair, feet flat on the floor
- Scoot/walk your hips up to the edge of the chair
- Ensure your toes are underneath your knees
- Lean forward to bring your nose over your toes and push up with your legs to standing position
Feel how your body weight moves as you lean forward to propel yourself forward. Use the support of a table or something solid next to you if required, alternatively use one hand on the chair to assist your initial movement forward.