How Balanced Are You?

There is a simple indicator test for longevity.

This is something that is integral to physical fitness, brain health, and even mental health.

I’m talking about balance.

Not balance as in keeping a healthy work life balance (although that is important as well, and I consider it more of a harmony thing than balance).

Balance as in the ability to physically balance – like standing on one leg.

It was found that the inability to balance increases all risk mortality…

… as in, the risk of death from any cause increases.

If we think about it, this does make sense.

Proper balance involves muscles, blood flow, brain function, and integrates all three systems in one go.

We can also add the connective tissue system, proprioceptors at the joints, and spinal function to the above list as well.

If someone is dealing with vertigo, this needs to be addressed first.

So, can you stand on one leg for 20-30 seconds without wobbling or feeling like you might fall?

You should stand next to a wall to help catch your balance if balance may be an issue for you.

Ok, let’s say you can do this simple test.

Now, what about with your eyes closed?

A lot of us start using our eyes to keep our balance, but really we shouldn’t have to rely on them for this.

Again, do this by a wall where you can catch yourself, just in case.

If either of these were tricky, the easiest way to improve this is by doing it as an exercise daily (or a few times per week).

Other factors that can impact your balance are:

• Being subluxated (as in, go get adjusted by your chiropractor so your brain gets proper feedback again and can send proper messages again)
• Having overly tight muscles (let’s start stretching and using that full range of motion of joints – those exercises are called CARs)
• Poor posture (this can also be affected by the above two, as well as sitting too much and hunching forward)

Beyond doing single leg stands, to improve your balance, you can also:

• Do yoga to improve strength and balance
• Qi Gong or Tai Chi
• Use a wobble / balance board
• Walk barefoot on grass – this allows new brain mapping

For the yoga, qi gong, and tai chi, just look up some videos online to get you started (or take a class, if that’s your preference).

The beautiful thing with all of these options are that they are great for your brain health as well (which is always an important factor to consider!).