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.
