Balance – we appreciate it so much more when we don’t have it. Even the simple act of walking requires so much of it. Just observe the body next time you are walking and notice the different muscles that you are using, the movement of the legs, the placement of the feet, the weight distribution throughout the body, it is truly an amazing thing. Balance is one of the first things that we loose when we age. At the Australian School of Meditation and Yoga we practice at least a few balancing poses in each class to gradually improve poise, stability and determination.
The act of balancing, whether it be on the ground or on a tightrope, it actually achieved through the use of three bodily systems, visual, vestibular, and proprioception. We depend on our vision to keep us orientated with our external environment. The vestibular systems use inner ear fluid and act similarly to an air bubble in a level. The ability to physically feel the things around your body, for example, smooth polished floor boards under your feet, is called proprioception. ‘Dis – eases’ of the body such as Parkinson’s, Meniere’s, labyrinthitis and stroke can rob the body of this much needed skill. When our balanced is interrupted due to a fall or aging, it causes us to feel dizzy, disorientated and nauseous.
Yoga poses, deep breathing and meditation benefit the nervous system, muscles and joints – all of which tend to wear with age affecting our balancing abilities. Twisting asanas and backbends stimulate spinal nerves, benefiting the entire nervous system. Standing and balancing poses build muscle tone isometrically, improving strength, stamina and posture. The suppleness and flexibility that yoga poses facilitate maintains the natural health of our joints. Synovial fluid is stimulated and released into the joints and works just like a grease and oil change would for the engine of a car, keeping the body well lubricated and clean. All these fringe benefits that yoga has to offer contribute to the bodies over all health and balance.
Research shows that brain disease affects balance. Slow, deeply rejuvenating yoga breathing fuels the brain cells with health giving oxygen, nourishing cells that can often be half starved due to short, shallow chest breathing.
The eye inherently has a reflex movement that steadies images on the retina during head movement. Have you ever wondered why the eye rotates in the opposite direction to the head? For example, we can be looking straight ahead and quickly turn our head to the left, unconsciously the eyes move to the right. Another amazing action of the body – this continues to centre the image.
Think back to when you were a child, we all enjoyed creating towers and various structures from building blocks. We can apply these same basic theories to our yoga practice. It is common sense that a strong, solid, stable structure necessitates an even stronger foundation. The foundation of a yoga pose is the area that touches the ground, and it is vitally important that this foundation is well grounded, equally balanced and correctly aligned. We can notice if the inner points or the outer aspect of the foot feels heavy, the toes might grip or lift off the floor. The feet are an excellent way that we can gauge how we are carrying our bodies and our anterior-posterior centering. Once noticed, we work on distributing equally the weight of our bodies into all four corners of the feet.
Moving up the body, we can appreciate that the pelvis plays a vital role in balance and posture. The pelvis girdle carries the weight of our torso and transfers that weight to the legs and feet. Misalignment of the pelvis, be it twisting, tipping and/or leaning, disturbs the lift and symmetry of the spine. Building core abdominal strength is one of yoga’s many attributes that aids in and improves pelvic awareness and positioning. Poses such as the Balancing Cat, Boat Pose and Plank Pose tones the abdominal muscles and increase the strength and health of the spine.
The hip abductors (the muscles that lift the leg out to the side) play an important role in holding the pelvis level. They contract with every step taken when walking and they also must contract firmly in yoga’s many one-legged balancing poses. Strengthening standing poses such as Warriors I, II and III, Triangle and Intense Side Stretch strengthen the abductor muscles.
Bodily awareness that yoga produces is just as important as muscle training, keeping the mind focused, present and in the moment. These qualities assist balance, especially is challenging yoga poses such as The Tree, Eagle Pose, Warrior III and forearm balances and train the body and all its muscles to be centered and strong. This is a benefit that will flood over into your everyday life, enabling you to concentrate better at work and be present and not ‘off with fairies’ with friends and loved ones.
Try to remember a few of these tips the next time you are in a Tree or Eagle pose.
Have fun experimenting in your poses.
Amara
Yoga Instructor
Australian School of Meditation and Yoga
