Balance Blog Part 2

Balance Blog – Part Two

Ok, so you’ve mastered the tasks in part one of our balance blog. You’ve got your single leg balancing down pat, your calves are getting stronger as a result of your half rise balances, and soft surfaces and knee bends don’t send you sideways.

Let’s start adding in some more muscle coordination and strength, and help you nail those tricky dance class moves, or that yoga pose that has so far eluded you.

Balancing with your head off centre

This challenges your vestibular system, and helps your body practice for balance tasks where you aren’t able to stare at a spot.

Make this harder by adding components like standing on something soft or on a rise.

 

Airplane

Start standing in parallel, tilt forward raising the leg into an arabesque behind you. Aim to make a “T”.

Using the other leg

Get creative here, or make it relevant! Try using a ball and roll it around you in a circle with the other foot. You could also try frappes or degages, fondu with a toe tap, or even just dropping down into a small lunge.

Add distractions, outside objects (someone throwing a ball at you, throw and catch a ball with yourself, hold a pet), and combine elements.

Keep challenging yourself!!

What you’ve hopefully noticed through all of these tasks is that balance is a lot about problem solving, finding creative solutions to problems and it is constantly changing and dynamic – rather than finding the perfect position or spot like we sometimes feel is necessary.

It is a lifelong task to practice, to hone to challenge not something that is found and put on a shelf.

References:

https://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.iadms.org/resource/resmgr/Public/Bull_2-1_pp14-16_Batson.pdf

https://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.iadms.org/resource/resmgr/Public/Bull_6-2_p13-15_Hutt.pdf

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