The first time I learned an attention strategy to help my balance was at age 5 in a ballet class. Spinning around on one foot in a pirouette, I was told to look straight ahead at a spot on the wall, hold that gaze as long as possible, and then snap my head around to see that same spot at the end of the turn. Spotting, as it’s called for obvious reasons, keeps you from getting dizzy and wobbly. Not long afterward in learning to ice skate, I was taught that if you don’t want to fall it’s best to look ahead rather than down at the ice. Fast forward to college and Ki-Aikido when, once again, I learned attention strategies to stabilize balance – this time in the fast moving and circular self-defense arts. Given the importance of attention for good balance in practices ranging from ballet arts to martial arts to all kinds of sports, I was surprised years later to discover that it’s rarely mentioned in fall prevention.
The reason for that omission may rest in science from last century, before the advent of brain imaging technology (and when I started Ki-Aikido), that defined balance as a reflex controlled entirely from the brainstem – and therefore beyond the reach of attentional influence.
We now know better. Twenty-first century research reveals multiple regions of the brain to be involved in balance control, including areas of the cerebral cortex. Much more than reflex, neural control of postural stability is a multifaceted process open to the effects of attention. Along with the brain imaging research, clinical attention/balance studies over the last 20 years give credence to long-time practices in sports and the arts (marital and dance) that utilize attention strategies to improve balance control.
Minding Your Balance™ draws on the attention-in-movement lessons from the martial art Ki-Aikido and applies them to the activities of daily living. The mindful movement lessons combine with information about how balance works and insights from continually developing neuroscience. All together, the training empowers you to take control for better balance.
To learn more, check out the Balance Blog, the Minding Your Balance™ YouTube page, and join us for the May 4-Week Class!