Eyes, Balance, Movement
Balance at any age is an issue. As the years progress, and we don’t practice it, balance diminishes. Walking is balancing on one foot, then the other, step after step. Hiking involves balance, as does climbing ladders or scaling rocks in the backyard or the back country.
Balance is a function of the inner ear, which talks to your visual system (eyes), and both of them impact how well you move. Or don’t move. I know, weird, huh? Stay with me…if your vision begins to close in (from lack of use, NOT age), balance is affected: you move slower, stance is wider, and your center of gravity lowers. It means you slouch more, trying to stay close to where you feel safe: the ground. That impacts the spine, causing compression and low back pain.
If pain is ignored, it can travel up the spine, under the scapula, and onto the shoulders. You may experience headaches or stomach issues. Pain will keep moving and increasing until you do something: take a pill, drink 6 beers, or address the issue.
The issue, more times than not, is your visual system (eyes) and your balance (inner ear) system, not working well together. Every system in your body talks to every other system. It’s part of the holism of how the body works. Everything affects everything else, and anything can affect anything else. We spend our lives looking straight ahead, either eye-level (driving, talking with each other, staring at a computer) or down (laptop, phone, books). By increasing our peripheral and distance vision, we aid balance. Increasing our visual capacity and balance will improve how well we move, and the bonus? We may reduce pain.
Here’s a drill to practice every day to increase your visual system and balance: start in a seated position and find a spot (a piece of tape will work) to stare at on the wall. Got it? Without moving your head, move your eyes up, down, side to side, corner to corner, and circles at whatever speed you feel comfortable for 10 seconds. That’s working your visual (eyes) system. Next, stare at the spot and move your head in the above mentioned directions, all the while staring at the spot. For 10 seconds.That helps balance as well. Both improve overall movement. It’s 20 seconds, total. Would it kill you to move your eyes, then head and neck for 20 seconds a day so you can improve overall health and general mobility? You decide.
That’s Aging Intelligently.