Balance Practice, Two Ways

A Shut and Open Case 

Practice I: Eyes closed.  Last week I wrote about what an energy hog lack of balance can be – and I noted that becoming more relaxed contributes to an increased sense of balance.  Want to test the notion? Experiment using the Real Age© test at the end of today's well note.  The first time through, perform it exactly as written (stop and do this before reading further).  Now try it again – and this time add the following step between steps two and three: “Inhale deeply and while exhaling (slowly) consciously relax your muscles (shoulders, abs, calves . . .),” then proceed with the test.  Your balance time is probably a bit longer with the added relaxation step (and your RealAge is bit lower). 

Now PRACTICE:  Commit to practicing (the test) twice a day for the next two weeks (including the conscious relaxation step).  Hint: If you don’t have or don’t care to work with a partner in your balance trial, set a household timer (I use the microwave in our kitchen).  Just make sure you open your eyes and reset your timer as soon as you begin to lose balance if you don’t use a partner.

And you thought it was impossible to grow younger . . . 

Practice II : Eyes open: Now open your eyes. Yep, most of your everyday balance effort is done in real world situations with eyes wide open.  To use your eyes to calm your balance, adopt the dancer’s (skater’s, yogi’s, gymnast’s) trick of “spotting.”  To do this, pick a fixed spot in front of you and train your eyes on it (spotting).  Now, while holding your spot with your eyes, move your balance practice into increasingly challenging positions.  For example, this time when you lift one foot, lean forward at the waist and extend your lifted foot behind you while holding your open-eyed spot.  

How do you use this in real life?  Quite simply, in physical balance (as in work/life balance) we generally stabilize movement in the direction in which we focus.  Keep your focus where you want to go to practice the dynamic balance that you’ll use in activities like riding a bike, skating or trekking on a rugged trail.

Returning to my slack line example of balance from last week, take a look at the guide on the slack line in the adjacent photo.  Notice the orientation of his head.  He is focused straight ahead – along the axis of the slack line to where it is secured to the tree.  Looking toward the photographer may have made for a great photo for mom – but a short-lived traverse.  The slack liner is using spotting to enhance balance.   And you can too!

*********************************************************************************************************

   

The RealAge© Balance Test

1. Find a partner and a watch. Enlist the help of a friend or family member who has a watch with a second hand and five minutes to spare.

2. Take off your shoes. Stand barefoot on a flat, hard surface. Ask your partner to hold the watch and stand close by to catch you in case you start to fall.

3. Close your eyes.

4. Lift your foot. Lift one foot (left foot if you’re right-handed, right foot if you’re left-handed) about 6 inches off the floor, bending your knee at a 45-degree angle.

Ask your partner to start timing.

5. Hold this position. Keep still as long as you can without jiggling or teetering, falling, or opening your eyes.

6. Stop the clock. Stop timing if the raised foot begins to lower or touch the ground, if you begin to sway, or if you open your eyes.

7. Repeat the test three times. Note the time for each test, and calculate the average of the three times by adding them together and dividing by 3.

8. Check your average against this results chart.

What's your balance-based RealAge?
Balance Time	Balance-Based RealAge
4 seconds	70 years
5 seconds	65 years
7 seconds	60 years
8 seconds	55 years
9 seconds	50 years
12 seconds	45 years
16 seconds	40 years
22 seconds	30-35 years
28 seconds	25-30 years