Now that you know how to find your center for balance, we can have some fun by discovering just how much play you can have within your body.
Today’s drill is an opportunity to close the blinds so the neighbors can’t watch, because you are going to explore how many ridiculous positions you can get into. Your goal is to find how you can contort your body while leaving your center supported above your legs.
The Drill: Stand on one foot, and start moving around to see what kinds of weird positions you can get into. Try bending your knees, tipping your body, moving your arms, stretching your leg out in any direction, shifting your head, raising onto your toes or even your heel: the sky’s the limit! You (hopefully!) closed the blinds, so see how many odd positions you can move through while remaining balanced.
Take a break when necessary to relax your supporting leg, and be sure to switch legs so you can try this exercise on both sides.
The key is knowing where your center is; if you can keep that part of your body over your feet, the movement of the rest of the body is only limited by your flexibility and muscle strength.
This exercise is an exploration rather than a goal-driven practice. The point is to discover how much freedom you have in your body to move while remaining balanced.
There are a couple of benefits to doing this kind of balance training. First, you are likely to stumble into a cool motion that you may want to use as a styling. Second, you will be more confident in how to move your body without losing control of your center. And finally, you will be better able to recover if you find yourself just about to lose balance; by playing at the edge of your comfort zone, you will refine the body control you need to remain stable at your limits.
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Brian & Megan