Minding Your Balance

Class #1 - Winter Workshop 2019

Minding balance involves bringing awareness to the perceptual side of balance: Where am I in
space in relationship to gravity as I move through the world?

Multisensory Sense of Balance

  • Vestibular (inner ear sense of motion)
  • Visual
  • Tactile
  • Proprioceptive (muscle and joint info)

Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido

Aikido

AI = To harmonize or connect

KI = Energy

DO = The way or path

The way of harmonizing with energy

Shin Shin Toitsu

Shin = Heart/Mind/Spirit

Shin = Body/Physical self

Toitsu = To thread together as one

Mind body coordination

When Do Falls Happen?

Falls Study

  • Incorrect Weigh Shift - 41%
  • Trip or Stumble - 21%
  • Hit or Bump - 11%
  • Loss of Support - 11%
  • Collapse - 11%
  • Slip - 3%
  • Unknown - 3%

Center of Mass Disturbances - Sitting Down, Standing Quietly, Walking Forward

Tools

Mind Body Techniques for Better Balance

  • Center - place attention at your center of balance. Remember that center is a vantage point from which to act, not a place to lock attention.
  • Compare to be Aware - shift your weight from side to side (and/or front to back) to find the feel of balance between the two extremes. Do the same moving just your attention from side to side or front to back. Do you feel your body move?

Keep In Mind

Attention, intention, and mental imagery are embedded components of movement control. Recognizing that mind leads movement opens the door to purposefully taking control for better balance and coordination.

Practice & Application

Explore Centered Movement

  • Household activities - in the kitchen, working with tools, moving furniture or boxes, shoveling snow, vacuuming, et al
  • Exercise & Sports - working with weights, stretching, yoga, tai chi, et al
  • Walking anywhere!
  • Challenges - slippery or uneven surfaces, poor lighting

Mind Body Balance Inventory

Homework!

  • Make a note of when you tend to be stable on your feet, including when you feel "grounded" or you "stand tall" in personal situations.
  • Make a note of when you tend to be unstable on your feet, including when you feel "on shaky ground" or "thrown" by personal challenges.

Become aware of the simple moments in life when you experience a personal sense of balance: tap your own experience to discover mental imagery that can trigger a balanced state - literally and figuratively.

More Resources

Check out the Balance Blog for more on applying the mind body techniques and on the science behind the balance/mind/emotion connection.