Exercise 2
Place a 10- to 12-foot straight line of blue painter’s tape on the floor down a hallway, across a room, or on the floor running alongside a kitchen countertop. Stand on the tape with one foot in front of the other (heel to toe). Walk slowly, placing one foot in front of the other, touching the heel of one foot to the toe of the other. (You’ve probably seen this same exercise being done by someone performing a sobriety test.) Don’t get discouraged; this isn’t easy to do (and downright impossible when under the influence).
If necessary, start by holding on to a counter, a wall, or someone’s hand. If and when this exercise becomes easy, try the same movement backward. For extreme difficulty, try walking forward heel to toe while reading out loud from a magazine held slightly down and to the side.
Exercise 3
Place a line of objects, such as disposable red Solo cups turned upside down, 12 to 18 inches apart along the painter’s tape. Now walk the line while stepping over each of the objects, trying not to stop or kick any of the cups. You can increase the difficulty by looking straight ahead instead of down at the tape while walking. Or you can sidestep — stand next to the first object, step over it with one foot followed by the other, and continue down the line.
Don’t Forget Hand-Eye Coordination
In addition to these balance exercises, I strongly suggest doing things that develop hand-eye coordination. If you’re capable of participating in sports such as tennis, golf, or shooting hoops, those are excellent options. Also, don’t forget about tai chi or yoga.
If none of those interest you, go back to the games you played as a child. You may think of them as a waste of time, but that’s definitely not the case. Without you knowing it, they calibrated your nervous system when you were young, and they can do the same thing now.
Have some fun and improve your proprioception with games and activities, such as juggling, jacks, marbles, cat’s cradle, pickup sticks, Jenga, yo-yo, washers, bean bag toss, darts, slingshot, 7-up or orange crush, spinning top, ball and cup, horseshoes, and croquet. If you’re more technology oriented, don’t forget about the wide variety of Nintendo Wii games, which have become popular in retirement and nursing homes as well as rehab clinics all over the country. Wii is an easy, interactive and fun way to exercise and build balance and coordination at home. It’s also an effective way to track your progress.
Practice Makes Permanent
Although it’s a great goal, achieving perfection isn’t necessary when it comes to improving proprioception. Instead of “practice makes perfect,” think of it as “practice makes permanent.” The goal is to retrain the nervous system to be able to work automatically and subconsciously when the need arises. It takes repetition to reprogram neurological pathways.
You may notice positive changes almost immediately, but expect a minimum of four weeks before you begin to experience permanent improvements. Recalibrating your nervous system and creating neural pathways doesn’t happen overnight. Studies have repeatedly shown that the full benefit of slow-movement exercise only becomes evident when practiced repeatedly over the long term.
Tai chi is a good example. For many, it’s hard to comprehend how the slow, smooth body movements utilized in tai chi can result in so many health benefits, but a recent Chinese study found this ancient form of exercise could be even more beneficial than vigorous exercise when performed over time.
Repetition is the key. Professional athletes, fighters, and marksmen know that for the body to instinctively perform a certain action or skill, you need to consciously practice and correctly perform that action 2,000 times. If 2,000 repetitions sounds like too much work, then you’re doing the wrong activity. If you find an activity you enjoy and start playing again, getting to 2,000 will be the last thing on your mind.
A medical researcher, biochemist, and chiropractor, Dr. David Williams has developed a reputation as one of the world’s leading authorities on natural healing. For more information, please visit his website DrDavidWilliams.com.
This article was first published in Brain World Magazine’s print edition.
