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| Snagged from Jacinta-Yoga |
As most of my readers know, I consider myself to be pretty fit. I exercise almost daily, taking a day off now and then, but mostly I indulge in aerobic exercise and enjoy it a great deal. One of my regular classes is called "strength and tone" and we use weights to gain muscle strength. I can still do quite a few pushups, so my muscles are well toned. Years ago, I took yoga classes and got pretty good at some of the balance exercises and gained flexibility.
But just as you can't store aerobic fitness, you can't store those other aspects of fitness, either. The letter contains a sidebar entitled, "Steps to better balance." It suggests testing your balance by seeing how long you can stand on one foot with your eyes closed. It says, "Most people over 40 can't go past 15 seconds." Well, guess what? I discovered I can't do it AT ALL any more. Even with my eyes open, I'm wobbly but I can do it. When I close my eyes, I'm unable to find my balance.
Well! Who knew? How often do you ever think of balance as an element of fitness? Older people, it goes on to say, often have poor balance due to loss of muscle strength (not my problem), as well as reduced vision and reaction time (hmmm, maybe). The risk of inner ear dysfunction increases with age. I wonder...
It suggests that one way to increase one's ability to balance is to stand on one foot for 10 to 15 seconds; switch legs and repeat 10 times. Then do it again with your eyes shut. Since I've got TWO bloggers I follow who have recently taken a fall, I am quite motivated to find my balance again. The letter also suggests taking up tai chi, which has been shown to improve balance and decrease falls. I can see I've got my work cut out for myself. What about you? Can you do it?
:-)
You surprise me that your balance is suspect. Rather a lot.
ReplyDeleteMine is definitely not good, a facet of the dread disease and I am as flexible as a brick.
More work required.
Good luck on yours - because I cannot see you lying down and accepting it.
i need to give this a try and see how well i can still balance at 40...oy, considering my grammas falls the last couple years, balance is def something i want to keep..
ReplyDeletecool pic...i wonder if that is a perspective trick, if not that is pretty amazing...
Gee, who knew? I used to be able to stand on either foot for more than 10 seconds, but not now. This is a good exercise to try on a daily basis. Thanks so much for the heads up.
ReplyDeleteNope.. I wibble-wobble all over the place to try and maintain balance. I have always had a hard time standing on one foot. My poor balance is why I've always disliked yoga. It makes me feel awkward and silly. I suspect you'll be well balanced again before too long.
ReplyDeleteI never thought of you as being an "unbalanced" person DJan. But now we have your confession.
ReplyDeleteI've been unbalanced in several ways for years, but that has not slowed me down too much.
Blessings and Bear hugs!
alright. gonna have to try this. thanks for the tips.
ReplyDeleteIf YOUR balance is bad I can definitely assume my is pretty terrible as you are far more active than I am. Yikes! I better get on it.
ReplyDeleteI'll be standing around on one foot a lot in the coming days to check and recheck to see how I'm actually doing. Fingers crossed.
Happy and HEALTHY new year to you.
xo jj
Well, I did try it DJan and no problem with the one foot *with eyes open*. However, as soon as I closed my eyes, things got all wobbly...
ReplyDeleteSince I too took Yoga in the past, I was surprised. But I guess you're right, you can't store fitness.
You're right on with balance. I've fought the balance thing for years. I seem to have problems at slower speeds? If I'm active less problems with balance. Today I cut a narrow path through the snow. I tried to turn and you guessed it flat on my butt. So keep working at the balance. Yes. I can easily stand on one foot. I certainly can't stand on one foot wit my eyes closed.
ReplyDeleteI just read an article yesterday on the forgotten aspects of fitness - balance and flexibility. Something got me started several months ago though, and now I can stand on one leg for 15 seconds easily, and with eyes closed for at least a few seconds. So the good news is that you can improve balance with just a little practice. The other part is stretching for flexibility.
ReplyDeleteHi DJan, Wow, this is just pretty amazing. I thought I would be able to stand on one foot with my eyes closed easily. Not so fast ... ha ha. After working on it for a few minutes I was able to get about 5 seconds by holding my arms out to the side like a person walking a tight wire. Very interesting and something I plan to work on. Thanks for your interesting posts and for you kind comments on John's Island. John
ReplyDeleteI went for 30 seconds with my eyes open but when I closed them I only lasted 6 seconds. I've got to work on that. Thanks for the head's up on this DJan.
ReplyDelete2 seconds with eyes closed and no wobble
ReplyDelete6 seconds with eyes closed a lot of wobbling
So are you balanced if you wobble but remain standing?
That is a good test to try. It is a challenge. I tried it on hardwood floors near a door jam, so I could recover without falling. I found it has a lot to do with the position of the arms and what one does with the raised leg. I use my "triangle of balance" and it helps.
ReplyDeletehttp://reetjann.blogspot.com/2013/02/triangle-of-balance.html
In my water aerobics class we work on balance - standing on one leg at a time. It's pretty easy in the water. I'm afraid to try it on the ground!
ReplyDeleteI'm still in denial that I'm aging! Im afraid to try it.
ReplyDeleteI do balance exercises almost every day and it has really helped. I can stand on one foot for 30 or more seconds, but NOT with my eyes shut. Eyes closed, no balance. Even in the dark my balance goes away. This darkness balance thing needs more research.
ReplyDeleteIn yoga class I learned to stare intently at one spot to help my balance. I just started practicing that again. Will try to master that and then do it with eyes closed. Good reminder for us all.
ReplyDeleteWell darn, now I'm motivated to stand up and see just how long I can stand erect [if you hear a big crash, you know it was me!!].
ReplyDeleteI'll be back.
...seven seconds. LOL
ReplyDeleteDear DJan, my balance is atrocious. It hasn't been good for the past thirty years, and Meniere's made it worse. And I'm not fit in the three other ways either. So perhaps 2014 is a year to work on at least one of those four elements of fitness. I've got to consider which one to start with. Thanks for the prod. Peace.
ReplyDeleteDear DJan, this is a postscript: I've been away from reading blogs for over a month. Are there any particular ones you'd like me to read? If so, please let me know. Peace.
ReplyDeleteBalance is an subject that we really need to take seriously as we age. As you might recall, I had serious balance and dizziness issues a few years ago when I suffered from a vestibular disorder that was the result of a visual dysfunction. It was exacerbated by a fall when I hit my head. I spent six months in therapy working on balance exercises, many of which involved doing the exercise with my eyes closed. At times, when I feel my dizziness coming on, and I know I am at risk of again suffering from being out of balance, I do the exercises. I don't think we realize we are at risk until we lose our balance and tumble down. Take care.
ReplyDeleteYes, I can balance on one leg with my eyes closed. I can go at least 30 seconds, sometimes 60. I can't climb mountains though because of hip issues. And, I get heart arrhythmia at high altitudes. So, you are way ahead of me.
The Tree Pose: that's what it's called. It's tricky. Doing it with your eyes shut is really tricky!
ReplyDeleteIt was hard! I did about 3 or 4 secs. Amazing.
ReplyDelete