Balance is everything

Kids love balance games. My favorite was to walk on the top of our split rail fence. When kids fall, it’s usually not a big deal: they’re short, it’s not as far to the ground, their bones and egos are healthy. It’s just a game after all, and the challenge is part of the fun.

Now fast forward: what if you’re not a kid, just had your first unintentional fall, and perhaps got hurt? It’s scary, right? Unless you know how to nurture your balance, an accidental fall can cause you to lose confidence and move more slowly or in a smaller range of movement, all leading to further erosion of innate balance skills.

Let’s add another layer: we’re experiencing the disruption of a world-wide pandemic and social upheaval. Stress is everywhere. And NOTHING upsets our balance as much as stress. Stress steals focus, so we trip. Stress tightens muscles, so when we lose our balance, we can’t move swiftly enough to catch it. And stress tells us “You’re getting old, just give up.”

I’m here to tell it doesn’t have to be like that!

Qigong offers a plentitude of wonderful balance exercises to explore. The Qigong approach is gentle, flowing and low-keyed. It’s also proven by many studies to be the single best way to improve balance. Once you know what to do and how to do it (especially how to lighten up on yourself as you wobble around a bit at first) rebuilding balance can actually be fun. Join us tomorrow, Thursday, and Sunday and I’ll show you how: I’ll be incorporating some balance strengthening exercises into each class.

Keeping it in balance,
Cris