Balance it out

Another thing I like to work on with my clients that they generally don’t do when I’m not watching is balance.  Most of us don’t love working on it because—news flash—it’s hard.  I admit that we are unlikely to have to teeter our way along a tightrope or commute by unicycle or leap from peak to peak like mountain goats in our daily lives (although some of us may have more interesting lives than others…).  We all do have to negotiate curbs, potholes, uneven surfaces, stairs, and the occasional unexpected pet, toddler, or unidentified lurking object on the floor.  All of those obstacles require us to react with balancing skills.

It may not be fun to find out that our right ankle is significantly wobblier than our left, or that our abs could use a little work, or that one glute doesn’t like to work much.  The thing is, we get better as we practice.  I have clients do single leg squats, or play one-legged catch with me (that way, I get to practice, too!).

At home, I suggest standing on one foot while brushing teeth.  Seeing how long we can balance on one foot (or, if we’re feeling particularly advanced, on the ball of one foot) can help the time pass in the grocery line (and if we have to step out of our balance, we can amuse the other people in line).

All the work we do to improve our core strength and to keep ourselves in good postural alignment helps, too, but nothing substitutes for actual practice.

One note:  when we get too frustrated, we should stop.  We can’t balance without taking ourselves lightly.