Welcome to after the Turkey-Day part of the fall.
So far we have been blessed with the most beautiful fall - warm enough for an outdoor Thanksgiving dinner - but
now the cold winds are beginning to blow, and the leaves are starting their dance...
As the weather cools down, many of us put our regular walking habits away. Too slippery, too icy, too uneven.
The challenges of late fall and winter walking and FALLING! -
even if just getting to and from your car - are a real thing, and a real concern for many.
Wouldn't it be nice to feel safe on your feet, sure of your balance enough to go outside in any weather - that is if you choose to brave the cold and the wind?
Check your balance!
"The first thing to know is that the human body is inherently unstable," writes Dawn Skelton, Professor of
Aging and Health at Glasgow Caledonian University, "with a small base relative to its height."
"Our success depends on well-being and integration of many different systems within our bodies, and especially on fine-tuned and coordinated responses from our motor and muscle systems."
There are three main biological systems that help us stay balanced.
- visual (your eyes)
- vestibular (your inner ears)
- sensory - sensation feedback from the joints of your feet, ankles, knees, spine, and
neck.
How much do you rely on your vision for balance?
Try this simple experiment to find out:
- Find a slightly unstable surface: this could be a thick folded blanket, a cushion or a pillow, a yoga bolster, or, if you are feeling adventurous - a balance board. It might be helpful to have a chair nearby for balance insurance.
- Carefully step on this unstable surface with both feet.
Relax and breathe.
Notice the habitual tensions wherever they present themselves.
- Now close you eyes.
What do you feel?
I'd hazard a guess that closing your eyes made you feel a lot less
stable.
You may have felt a lot of tilting, shifting, and swaying; the habitual postural tensions may have cranked up a notch, and the new tension patterns may have emerged. You might even had to hold on to the chair, or pop your eyes open...
Here is the thing: aging affects our vision and hearing, the two systems we rely the most on for balance. To restore our sense of stability an alternative approach is in order - the one that restores the vitality and sensitivity of our feet, improves the responce-ability of our ankles, and rebuilds
body-wide neural communications.
When your feet are not working to their full potential, the effects can be felt throughout the body. Poor foot mechanics can lead to many issues that manifest throughout the entire skeleton - yet, you don't have to head north of the ankles to start the list. Bunions, plantar fasciitis, and hammertoes can all
be created or affected by weak muscles of the feet.
Why Satori classes are different:
You will not get a standard movement prescription -
do this move X this many times a day and all will be well - at any Satori workshop.
What you will get is all the knowledge, and all the tools to create your very own, unique, individual, precise to your needs movement prescription based on your very own lived-in-your-body experience.
This Saturday beyond the usual suspects - like anatomy and movement - we will spend time understanding our tolerance window, unpacking the gate mechanism of pain, and improving our capacity for learning new movements.
Only 3
spots left!
