How to Improve Balance With Pilates and the Brain Speedball
Balance is important for injury prevention. Pilates helps you find balance by working with gravity then gradually increasing the challenge against gravity. In Pilates we generally start the movement lying down, move to sitting, then standing. Lately I have found a new toy to help with balance of all sorts.
Have you ever tried standing on one leg with your eyes closed? This is much harder than when you have your eyes open because we take in information for balance through the eyes first. But how much are you exercising your eyes to have better balance? I recently added the Brain Speedball, from McEntire Pilates, to my own Pilates practice and my work with students. I was skeptical at first how a ball with letters and numbers on it could help my balance. After working with this ball, I’ve seen a huge difference in balance, hand eye coordination, reaction time and connection with the rest of the body. I’ve seen these results with my students and my own body. I’ve got a quick exercise you can do at home without the ball to build better balance! You can get it here.
When we first started working with the ball our balance was kind of all over the place. Even with consistent Pilates practice. We also noticed that one arm was better at throwing the ball than the other. After a balance test and using the Brain Speedball, we found our balance to be more stable with eyes open and closed.
Consistent use of the ball has helped us throw better with both arms. When we started we often threw the ball away from the intended person. We had a hard time catching too. After a few months of practice we are throwing and catching much better. We don’t have to run all over the room to get the ball. Each week we test our standing balance. Balance has improved and stayed that way. Reaction time is much faster too. This is with a short amount of time dedicated to this practice at the beginning of class.
The thing that has astounded me most, is how using the Brain Speedball helps with imbalance in the body. We have found ways to use the ball to connect better with one side of the body when one side works harder than the other. Using the Brain Speedball to do this makes the work in Pilates more even and helps students feel more successful with their practice.
Exercising the eyes helps you take in more information. Your brain wakes up better and you are able to do more with your body. You are connecting the brain to the body and asking it to do things like see a letter or number, catch the ball and say what letter or number you saw. Sounds simple right? This is a simple activity, so simple we take these skills for granted and don’t really do things like this until we have to. This is a favorite for many students. We are all amazed at the difference it’s made in our everyday lives and in our Pilates practice. You can work on your balance at home with this quick exercise or you can join my online group classes Monday, Wednesday and Fridays at 9 AM central time to work on your balance with me live. Come see how much fun Pilates can be! Sign up for class here. I’m looking forward to seeing your balance improve!
