gain balance? how to help please!?

Hi There,

I am a terrible klutz. I have no balance at all.

Its my dream to be a dancer, I know its an impossible dream, but I want to pretend! and everytime I do a "dance" move like hold my leg up or something, I fall over.

Anyone have any tips I can do to increase my balance and stability?

The way to get better at most thing is to practice.  Other than that, have you had your ears checked?

A very dramatic lack of balance like that can be due to inner ear problems or neurological conditions, or just a function of untrained and uncoordinated muscles.You'll want to have a chat with your doctor to see if it's the former.

  If it's the latter, you'll improve your sense of balance by doing an allround conditioning routine with strength, flexcibility and cardio components, like Paige Waehner's routine from the 'exercise' tab - balance tends to improve when you're more at home in your skin and familiar with your own capacity.

 Do take Trhawley's suggestion and have a talk with your doc though, just to be on the safe side.

I have become something of a balance nut.  I used to have a good sense of balance but it seems to have gone away as I allowed myself to get out of shape.  Part of balance is strength in your legs and core, so work on those things as Melkor has suggested.  Then take TRs suggestion and practice.  I just try to do things standing on one leg.  Dry dishes one legged.  Try to take clothes out of the dryer standing on one leg.  When you are a bit more advanced, dress without sitting down.  If you are just standing around, stand on one leg and try to keep your balance while moving your arms and other leg.  Try not to do this in public though, you get some very strange looks if you do.  Yoga is very good for balance too.

I've been a dance teacher for over 15 years... in my experience good balance comes from a strong core. Try pilates to strengthen all your ab muscles (many traditional exercises only focus on the rectus and oblique abdominal muscles, where as pilates focuses on all groups). Pilates is an excellent companion to dance, which is why so many dancers incorporate it as part of their training.

I do agree that practice is also key. Take classes!! It's the best way to improve. The best place to find quality instruction that is affordable is at your local community college. All the instructors have a masters in dance and there is a wide demographic  in every class. Most colleges also have pilates classes for dancers, usually called "alignment and correctives" classes and will be in the catalog under the dance department.

Good luck!

 

do yoga.

Are you trying to do ballet or jazz? If so ask your teacher for advice and practise balances at home. I went from having the worst pase releve balance to one of the best in my class. Try balancing in coupe back on one foot (flat) with good form while brushing your teeth, watching tv, etc. Try to do as many (good) releves in 1st as possible in rapid sucession while barely holding onto a chair or lightly touching a wall.

From what I understand from your post, you do not have vertigo.  With balance there are 3 components: visual, vestibular, and somatosensory.  Vestibular is inner ear which would make you dizzy doing normal things.  Visual is really tricky to goof up and is VERY rarely the problem.  Your problem sounds somatosensory which sounds bad but really is only that your musculoskeletal system is weak and that you do not efficiently use the input from your feet.  Sounds complicated?  Here is the solution: practice what you can't do, stressing perfect form, and you will improve.  Please make checks payable to ME!  -jk  Hope that helps.  It works with my elderly patients who can't walk a straight line.

If you have access to a pool, in shallow water, walk the width of the pool with your eyes closed close to one edge and without touching the wall.

My physiotherapist gave that excercise to an elderly woman recovering from a hip fracture. The advantage of doing it in the water is, that if you lose your balance and fall, you won't hurt yourself.