Balance and Stability: A Telling Story and a Deeper Dive
We tend to hear a lot of advice about good nutrition, walking for mobility, maintaining muscle strength, and the like. I’m not sure why, but balance and stability are often overlooked as critical components of physical health. You may recall that I wrote about balance in a previous article. This is such an important subject, I thought I’d discuss some additional thoughts, starting with the following true story.
A friend’s 91-year-old mother lived on her own very happily. She was independent and active, and while her son and his family lived nearby, she preferred her independent way of life. One day she was taking the laundry downstairs and fell on the stairway, breaking a leg and hitting her head in the process. Her leg healed, but she never regained full mobility. Worse, hitting her head caused a blood clot that was inoperable and gave her symptoms of dementia. She now lives in a nursing home. Other than her son, she no longer recognizes anyone from her old life. Sadly, she lost a fulfilling, independent life because of one misstep.
This tragic story reinforces the fact that falling is a great cause of many later-life downturns in health as well as independence. As such, balance and stability need to be part of any core training program to preserve our physical function and minimize the risks involved when we are exercising—and when we are simply going about our daily routines.
Balance is built into every movement we make. It is part of the human condition, which began when we started living and moving as upright creatures millions of years ago. Think of balance as “moving posture.” Like posture, balance is a more subtle aspect of physical training that is often overlooked. Yet it is easily enhanced by specifically paying attention to it. It is literally as easy as standing on one leg, which you can try to do right here and now. (Hold onto a chair or table, if necessary.) The longer you can stand on one leg and introduce movement—for example, bending your knee and becoming aware of the feeling of balance—the better you will get at it.
Yes, balance does involve strength (Deeper Dive Strength article to come) but only partly, as many other faculties in our bodies contribute to it, like the brain, eyes, and semicircular canals in our inner ears that help us keep our balance. You may even come to appreciate the exquisite sense of being “out of balance,” knowing you are actually in full control.
You may be surprised to learn that balance is also required when we stand on two legs, whether standing still or walking. Try this: stand up and slowly shift your weight from side to side, feeling just how microscopically subtle this balancing movement is and how many body parts are involved. There is no more telling sign of immobility than the feeble, fearful shuffling walk of an older person who is afraid of falling with each step, who has lost their ability to balance.
What I Do to Maintain Balance and Stability
Balance is built into every aspect of my daily life and training: my morning routine, yoga classes, leg presses and lunges with added weight, shifting my weight while on a bus or subway, and even getting dressed while standing up, including putting on my socks and shoes! The variations and opportunities to improve balance and stability are infinite and as easy as shifting my weight or lifting one leg.
I pay particular attention to my legs and hips in balancing. Our hips (Hips article to come) are the center of gravity for our bodies. They need to be fully functional, flexible, and strong to balance effectively and contribute to our stability. Keeping my legs strong (Strength article to come) is a vital part of this “balancing act.”
Walking involves balancing with every step, although we hardly realize how much balance is involved until we lose that ability. As we get older the strength of our legs weakens with muscle loss, and no amount of walking will keep that from happening. What will keep that from happening is adding weight with specific exercises, particularly leg presses and lunges, in order to keep our legs strong and even increase their strength. This will also keep the leg joints, feet, ankles, and knees strong as well.
Pay Attention and Be Careful
Have you ever carried “the lazy man’s load” (an extra-heavy load) down the stairs in order to “save a trip” instead of splitting the load into two? Have you ever started walking down the stairs and then stopped yourself, realizing you were heading down the steps while you were texting or looking at your phone? Not falling involves a lot of common sense. Don’t carry something in front of you when going down the stairs and always be attentive. Not seeing each step is a recipe for a fall, no matter how many times you’ve walked those steps. Make sure you wear appropriate footwear in bad weather and take other commonsense steps to retain life-long balance and stability.
Being “in balance” is a joyful experience once we become aware of just how much we rely on it throughout our day.
