Balancing Act

Why does balancing get harder the older we get? One major reason is that we tend to make our lives more convenient and comfortable as we age so we don’t practice balancing as much; think about how frequently you bend over or squat to pick things up or get down on the floor, how frequently you walk on ground that isn’t flat and man-made, how many of your daily use items are placed in easy to reach locations.

Here are a few more reasons that balance becomes difficult:

1. Vision changes make depth perception trickier

2. Loss of quickness and coordination asks us to slow down

3. The vestibular system is challenged less frequently, making it more uncomfortable to shift the eyes quickly up and down and side to side

4. Blood vessels become less responsive and bending down or rising from the floor brings on dizziness

The great news is that these changes aren’t inherent to aging. All of these skills can be trained in order to be maintained throughout our lifetimes.

In the final class in our Better Balance Series, we use ground reaches to build skills in visual tracking, weight shifting, cross body connection, and vestibular challenge to improve balance overall. Email me to receive the link to the 15 minute guided class for $10.