Description

Background to Better Balance

Maintaining balance is key to maintaining an independent, healthy lifestyle. Sadly, as people age, a loss of balance can be the start of ill health, injury or even death. The incapacity brought by a loss of balance is hugely upsetting for individuals and their families. As the UK population ages, the importance of maintaining balance will increase, as more people become prone to falls. This is not only important from a personal perspective, but the financial implications are huge, as well as the pressure on the health care system.

An article about balance published in The Guardian, November 2022 outlined the dangers of poor balance (https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/56/17/975): 

“And sometimes, the relationship is causal – the World Health Organization estimates that 684,000 fatal falls occur each year, making falling the second leading cause of unintentional injury death, with a further 37m falls severe enough to require medical attention, leaving many more people dealing with disability or a shortened lifespan. Whatever your definition, a lack of balance is, globally, associated with serious health problems. Earlier this year, the British Journal of Sports Medicine published the results of a decade-long study involving more than 1,700 middle-aged participants, which concluded that an inability to balance was associated with an almost twofold increase in risk of death. Among other health tests, volunteers were asked to stand on one leg with their other leg pressed against it, arms by their sides, eyes fixed straight ahead. After accounting for age, sex and underlying conditions, an inability to hold the position for 10 seconds – given three attempts – was associated with an 84% heightened risk of death from any cause.”

Yoga for Better Balance – the good news!

Fortunately, our yoga practice can really help. Prevention really is better than cure, and regular practice of asana – both static and dynamic – can help to maintain our sense of balance.

During this CPD day we will: 

• Consider the balance mechanisms within the body – the vestibular system, the nervous system, the eyes, and how it all ties together. We will pay particular attention to the feet, which are all too easily overlooked in the role they play in maintaining balance.
• Learn what goes wrong with balance with regard to issues with the vestibular system, neurological conditions such as MS and Parkinson’s, and musculoskeletal conditions.  
• We will consider the physical aspects of balance – the loss of muscle mass and strength as we age is a key factor. Changes in eye sight can be a factor. 
• We will consider the emotional and mental aspects of poor balance, and their links with anxiety.  The vagal nerve will be considered in its relationship to balance, and the fight/flight/freeze response. We will discuss how our yoga practice can help support our parasympathetic nervous system, and tone the vagal nerve.
• Fear of falling often begins a downward spiral – a person who is afraid of falling is less likely to participate in activities that they see as risky, and so their levels of activity slowly start to decline, resulting in poorer balance.

The day will be mainly practical and is suited to student teachers, certificate and diploma course holders.

About the tutor

Kate qualified as a BWY teacher in 2007 having trained with Rosemary Bennett, and has since undertaken additional training in Yoga for People Living with Cancer, Yoga for Healthy Lower Backs, Restorative Yoga and Menopause Yoga along with various other courses. Kate is currently studying the Gentle Years Yoga course.

Kate first developed labyrinthitis in 2010 – a truly scary experience that caused her to be off work for six weeks. The resulting vertigo caused feelings of exhaustion, overwhelm and anxiety. Since then, Kate has had intermittent bouts of vertigo, which returned with a vengeance in late 2021. This led Kate to study vertigo and the vestibular system further, primarily to try and find how best to heal herself. The medical system has not been particularly helpful, but Kate was fortunate to discover The Seeking Balance program, from Joey Remenyi in Australia. Taking time to follow the program, along with plenty of rest, a reduction in workload, restorative yoga and yoga nidra has brought huge changes, but Kate still knows she needs to be careful about taking on too much to avoid future attacks of vertigo.

Additional Information

Zoom link available the week before

What to Bring

Bring the usual equipment needed for a practical yoga class and any props that help you to sit comfortably, along with two pillows, two cushions and two blankets. If there is access to wall space or a chair, we will use that too.