Balance exercises to gain stability and improve harmony

The brain dedicates a significant part of its activity to maintaining the position of the body in balance.

All parts of the body weave a network of correspondences in order to achieve balance both when we are static on the planet, that is, we only move with it through the solar system, and when we advance on foot, running or with any of the displacement systems.

It is such a complicated web of relationships thateven today, when so much progress has been made in the study of balance, remains unknown in some of its parts.

We know that any disruption of balance affects our general health, and vice versa. Any emotional, psychic or spiritual disorder affects the physical balance.

Although the process that leads us to be in balance is unconscious, over time we can adopt inappropriate postures and positions that harm us without knowing how or why. What causes the loss of tools to be able to be better with respect to the Earth, ourselves and the environment. Balance exercises can help restore balance.

what is balance

If standing and looking straight ahead we close our eyes and stand on tiptoes, we will fall if our bodies are not aligned.

Both the eyes and the musculoskeletal system are part of the sense of balance, as well as the hearing, the skin, the nervous system and the brain. that coordinates all of them.

The vestibular apparatus is located in the inner ear. a system of fluid-filled chambers and tubes that control changes in head position.

Nerve impulses are transmitted through sensory hairs that move with the liquid. to the brain about the different states of the position of the head with respect to the body and the place where we are.

Added to this information the one that arrives through the nervous system from eyes and locomotor system (muscles, joints and bones).

From there the brain coordinates the necessary movements to maintain balance when walking, running, dancing, tying shoelaces…

Why do we lose balance?

When one of these systems fails, it is compensated by the others. But the whole body participates in the process and any change in one part requires the modification of the rest.

we have an example when boarding an airplane: the pressure exerted on the ear canals when taking off or landing can change all body sensitivity and cause loss of balance or give the feeling that the head has stayed in the clouds.

Another example to illustrate the following point: if it is not given an impulse, a spinning top falls and finds its static equilibrium lying down. The lower the base of support of a body and the higher the center of gravity with respect to its base, the more difficult it is to balance. But at the same time that base facilitates its movement.

In humans, the base is small (the feet) and the center of gravity is very high (at 55% of its height, in front of the second lumbar vertebra).

That’s why man is a lousy animal to maintain static balance and optimal for dynamic: the relationship of its base with its center of gravity facilitates the fall but also the movement.

The more movement, the more balance. Children who do not require special treatments need and are recognized in physical activity to seek the limits of their physical and emotional balance.

Tall people have difficulty coordinating their movements because their center of gravity is further from the ground.. Achieving their balance is an arduous task and from an early age they require a greater amount of body awareness and movement exercises.

In any case, Become aware of voluntary acts that have become automatic through force to repeat them, distinguish between the movements that are necessary and those that are not, recognize the habits acquired by long hours of work in one position or when standing… they are not easy tasks. But they are necessary to save pain back, cervical or headaches.

Postural re-education methods help to increase body awareness. Both the Feldenkrais method and the Alexander technique, the Mézieres method, RPG or eutony teach to increase it.

The balance is also better harmonized the more favorable the relationship with the base. The exercises and the reflexology massage o Muscular exercises performed in the feet help the whole body maintain a more stable and aligned position.

Why improve balance

The promotion of a harmonious balance has a positive effect in the human being, harmonizing all his forces. That’s how important it is to keep your balance, adopt a correct body position to support it and watch over, arrange and adjust the elements that participate in it.

It is said that the greatest difficulty faced by the animation film directors to create their characters from the computer was to draw human beings that were not symmetrical. Those who were had a pretty nasty looking, somewhat monstrous.

We all have one foot slightly larger than the other., a slightly longer leg. a slight deviation in the spine. Also the capacity of vision is different for each eye and the holes of the nose have each one a different way.

We are asymmetrical and this is natural, what makes us human. No human being is completely symmetrical. But it’s harmonious and that is where its beauty lies. Although that makes it difficult to find the center of balance.

Everything that does not fall is in balance, but this does not mean that this balance is optimal. For know it and improve itwe need to know how we come to adopt the bodily position with respect to the Earth that allows us to relate to it.

How to gain balance?

Become aware of voluntary acts that have become automatic through force to repeat them, distinguish between the movements that are necessary and those that are not, recognize the habits acquired by long hours of work in one position or when standing… they are not easy tasks. But they are necessary to save pain back, cervical or headaches.

Postural re-education methods help to increase body awareness. Both the Feldenkrais method and the Alexander technique, the Mézieres method, RPG or eutony teach to increase it.The balance is also better harmonized the more favorable the relationship with the base. The exercises and the reflexology massage o Muscular exercises performed in the feet help the whole body maintain a more stable and aligned position.Practicing physical exercise helps to gain balance and harmonize it. The more complex it is, the greater mastery of balance is achieved. First you learn the simplest movements and positions, to get rid of harmful habits and internalize the new ones. align with respect to the Earth through different placement exercisesthe Pilates method, that of Pilar Domínguez or the cos-art.Finally, the best exercises are those that combine changes of rhythm, direction, dexterity, ability, play, strength and speed.Among others, we recommend the surf both in the water and on wheels, the scooterthe roller skateshe ping pong, he tennisthe Martial Artsthe dancehe basketball or the volleyballAll this will always depend on what we feel like most and if we want to understand and get closer to the body: pleasure is not incompatible with exercise, on the contrary.

Balance exercises to regain stability

Foot exercise to improve balance

Stand on your right foot as if you were rooting yourself into the ground. Feel the abdominal strength and project your spine towards the sky. Do a half point with your left foot and a full point until you leave the ground while placing your arms in a cross. Try to move the vertical as little as possible and look at a fixed point. Return to the starting position. Repeat the exercise with the other foot.

Work posture: frontal exercise

With your left foot on the ground, bring your right leg up until your foot is level with your knee. Close your pelvis, positioning your leg so that your knee is facing forward, then open it again. At the same time, he moves his arms up and down. An added difficulty is looking to the side of the leg that is not raised. Return to the starting position and repeat the exercise with the other leg.

Work posture: oblique

In the previous position, let the hip decenter towards where the weight is. Stay suspended for a few seconds and let yourself fall towards where you have arched the hip, with the left foot on the ground in front of the right, at the same time that you make a complete turn with the arms. Close the circle by returning to the starting position. Repeat three times and change legs and direction.

Leg movement to develop balance

Stretch your arms and place one forward and the other upward, at an angle of 90º. Throw forward the leg of the arm that you have advanced, totally relaxed. Let her return to the ground to throw her back, also relaxed. Do not stop the movement when you reach the ground. Use abdominal strength so that the trunk does not move. Start at the bottom. To add difficulty, change the direction of your head.

Stay balanced by pushing the leg back

Standing with your arms crossed, bend your right leg back and leave your left straight. Push your right leg back, forward, or to the side until you find your balance and center on your left leg and foot. During the exercise, press the abdominal area against the back and it roots it in the ground through the support leg, and projects it towards the sky.

Balance with straight leg and trunk

In the position of the previous exercise, with the leg stretched back, gradually bend the trunk at the hip joint. Stretch your entire body in this position. Return to the starting point and repeat on the other side. Change direction and don’t forget how important the foot that supports you is as the abdomen-back relationship.

Balance on an inclined plane

Begin as in the frontal exercise, extend your right leg and shift your weight onto your left leg to lean your torso en bloc.Then repeat everything to the other side.The exercise is more difficult if starting from a standing position you step into the right, you pick up the left to take another step with the right and on this foot you perform the exercise.

Stretch the spine while maintaining balance

Support yourself with your hands and feet on the floor. From this position, tilt your hips back to stretch your entire spine. It is important that the impulse comes from the hip and not from the legs. Then try to stretch the right leg back in the same direction in which you have tilted the hip.

What is a balanced posture?

Any action done correctly from a balanced stance has the following characteristics:

It does not denote effort although it implies strength and energy. See the evolution of great dancers on stage, hear a great singer sing,…