Fall Prevention - How to regain control of your body
In the UK 3.4 million people over 65, that is between a third and half of older people suffer a fall in any given year, and about a quarter will result in physical injury that requires medical attention, including broken bones. There are many approaches to staying upright, this is the way we teach, by re-gaining control of balance in your body.
Static Balance
When you stand, if your body is in balance, that is if it is aligned with gravity, then all your weight drops clearly down your structure and into the ground. However most people are posturally asymmetrical, that is the right side is not equal and balanced with the left side or the front is not equal and balanced with the rear. When this happens, then your body, left to its own devices will topple over. Anything which is top heavy and is out of alignment with gravity, is inherently unstable and will topple over, so when you stand in an asymmetrical way, this natural tendency to "go into motion" is controlled in your body by tightening and tensing muscles to hold the body in a sort of status quo. This constant activity of continually adjusting ourselves sets up a continuous disturbance and activity in our muscles which twitch and spasm and in our nerves which are disturbed and ragged. Smooth and relaxed control of your body eludes you, and it requires your constant attention to stay stable.
The way to bring a smooth and relaxed control of your body when you stand is not by some imposed external structural posture, it is to put your mind into your body and to feel what is happening, and then to take control by making a new adjustment. To take control suggests that you need to put in effort to achieve it, but smooth control of your body, (which is ultimately what will reduce your chances of a fall), is the absence of the sense of effort.
To be in a static balance with gravity is only the start, the vast majority of our daily lives is spent in motion of some sort. Static balance is then of no use, because by definition you are always asymmetrical when you move, that is, you can't be in static balance when you are in motion. What you need to achieve is a dynamic motion balance, and how you do that is taught in the classes.
Static Balance
When you stand, if your body is in balance, that is if it is aligned with gravity, then all your weight drops clearly down your structure and into the ground. However most people are posturally asymmetrical, that is the right side is not equal and balanced with the left side or the front is not equal and balanced with the rear. When this happens, then your body, left to its own devices will topple over. Anything which is top heavy and is out of alignment with gravity, is inherently unstable and will topple over, so when you stand in an asymmetrical way, this natural tendency to "go into motion" is controlled in your body by tightening and tensing muscles to hold the body in a sort of status quo. This constant activity of continually adjusting ourselves sets up a continuous disturbance and activity in our muscles which twitch and spasm and in our nerves which are disturbed and ragged. Smooth and relaxed control of your body eludes you, and it requires your constant attention to stay stable.
The way to bring a smooth and relaxed control of your body when you stand is not by some imposed external structural posture, it is to put your mind into your body and to feel what is happening, and then to take control by making a new adjustment. To take control suggests that you need to put in effort to achieve it, but smooth control of your body, (which is ultimately what will reduce your chances of a fall), is the absence of the sense of effort.
To be in a static balance with gravity is only the start, the vast majority of our daily lives is spent in motion of some sort. Static balance is then of no use, because by definition you are always asymmetrical when you move, that is, you can't be in static balance when you are in motion. What you need to achieve is a dynamic motion balance, and how you do that is taught in the classes.
Dynamic Balance
When your body is asymmetrical, and that asymmetry is then taken into movement you always feel awkward and uncomfortable when you move, because you are continuously out of stable control of your balance. Not only is your body using tension continuously to keep you upright, but your nerves are in a state of agitation awaiting the next move, and your mind needs to pay constant attention to your surroundings to give you feedback so you remain upright. That way of moving day after day is exhausting
When we do any movement at a fast speed, then the usual way we do them takes over and we don't notice how we are moving. When you slow down a movement you can start to pay attention to the way your body is moving and more importantly, how it feels as it moves. You begin to notice restrictions and bindings in your movement, parts of a movement where you judder or twitch or painful area's that you work around. Slowing a movement down allows you to feel directly which parts of your body are directly interfering with smooth movement. Slowing down a movement also allows your mind to come into a relaxed focus, and brings you naturally into the awareness of your body with a steadiness of attention. It is being in the awareness of your body with steady attention, that brings the static balance into a dynamic balance.
The practices we do here are all designed to help you find in your body a static balance that releases your muscular tension and brings you into symmetrical balance and one that allows you to find a natural alignment with gravity when you stand. Then to take that symmetrical static balance and by slow mindful movements, create a steady awareness that fills your body giving a dynamic balance and a grace when you move. Inhabiting a comfortable body is one of the great treasures of life.
You always work at your own level, the lessons only move at the pace of the people in the class. The success is in the system, just become quietly committed, turn up and practice - that's it.
When your body is asymmetrical, and that asymmetry is then taken into movement you always feel awkward and uncomfortable when you move, because you are continuously out of stable control of your balance. Not only is your body using tension continuously to keep you upright, but your nerves are in a state of agitation awaiting the next move, and your mind needs to pay constant attention to your surroundings to give you feedback so you remain upright. That way of moving day after day is exhausting
When we do any movement at a fast speed, then the usual way we do them takes over and we don't notice how we are moving. When you slow down a movement you can start to pay attention to the way your body is moving and more importantly, how it feels as it moves. You begin to notice restrictions and bindings in your movement, parts of a movement where you judder or twitch or painful area's that you work around. Slowing a movement down allows you to feel directly which parts of your body are directly interfering with smooth movement. Slowing down a movement also allows your mind to come into a relaxed focus, and brings you naturally into the awareness of your body with a steadiness of attention. It is being in the awareness of your body with steady attention, that brings the static balance into a dynamic balance.
The practices we do here are all designed to help you find in your body a static balance that releases your muscular tension and brings you into symmetrical balance and one that allows you to find a natural alignment with gravity when you stand. Then to take that symmetrical static balance and by slow mindful movements, create a steady awareness that fills your body giving a dynamic balance and a grace when you move. Inhabiting a comfortable body is one of the great treasures of life.
You always work at your own level, the lessons only move at the pace of the people in the class. The success is in the system, just become quietly committed, turn up and practice - that's it.
