Miscellaneous: Balance Factors

I’m a little obsessed with balance.  It’s just so important for our long-term health and safety.

Balance depends on several things.

 

One is basic strength.  If we only have one leg to stand on, it had better be a pretty strong leg.  All of our usual strength training habits are good for this one.

 

Flexibility and mobility also play important roles in balance.  We don’t spend our lives like statues.  Our balance has to be a dynamic thing.  That means we need supple muscles and good range of motion at our joints to adapt to changing conditions.

 

Perhaps the most interesting factor in developing balance is novelty.  Our brains really like new experiences and new ways of doing things challenge our bodies to adapt.  That means that some days we need to do tree pose and other days we want to play games with the BOSU or try a slack line.

 

When we play, we learn.