Are you afraid to fall?
When was the last time you did something risky……..
Stepped out of your comfort zone, tried something new or challenging?
As we get older we become more risk averse, we fear falling or even failing. We stick to our comfort zone of movement and experiences preferring what is predictable and safe.
In learning to skate I have had to tackle my fear of falling over and over again. As the song goes I get knocked down, but I get up again.
It has got me thinking about how our movement repertoire decreases as we age if we do not offer ourselves opportunities to step outside of our comfort zone. This, ironically can also increase our chances of falling as our body is less able to manage perturbations.
Our comfort zone feels safe, familiar and we know what to expect. We don’t have to risk falling or failing. Failure seems scary because of all of the stories running through our mind about what might happen.
What if I hurt myself.
What if I break something.
What if I look stupid.
The stories are merely a perception, an illusion and often bare little resemblance to the reality of the situation. When I have fallen on skates it’s often my ego that gets bruised rather than the body. After the initial shock of face planting subsides I usually laugh hysterically as the reality is so far from the story I had created.
In Yoga we call this Māyā, the illusion of the mind. Practices like meditation help us become more aware of the illusions we are creating so we can exist more in the present.
REFRAME THE FALL
Failure or falling is the pathway to success and learning something new.
When we fall, the learning and growth happens. Our brain creates new neuromuscular pathways, finds a new edge and discovers new possibilities.
If we take up challenges that might entail falling or managing increasing perturbations, we can decrease the likelihood of falling and injuring ourselves as we age.
Oh the irony!
So should I practice falling in order to prevent falls?……..ABSOLUTELY
Should I take up new movement challenges?…… HELL YES!
WHY BUILD STRENGTH?
When we stress and challenge the body in different ways our body and mind adapts and we become more resilient. (Wolff’s Law, Davis’ Law)
Building strength is one of the key ways to improve balance and coordination which allows us to catch ourselves as we stumble.
Try out this practice where we play with balance and perturbations.
Strength is the foundation for balance, coordination, power, grace and endurance.
As you age the breaking down of muscle and bone tissue increases leading to conditions such as sarcopenia (muscle loss), and osteopenia (the precursor to osteoporosis). This means we are less able to catch ourselves as we stumble and more likely to break something as we land. Providing opportunities to progressively load the tissue can mitigate this. (1)
A decrease in lower limb strength has also been associated with functional limitations in activities of daily life which can affect our quality of life. (2)
WHAT CAN WE DO?
If we want to maintain our ability to get up and down with ease and catch ourselves if we fall, we need to continue to add load progressively.
I am very excited to announce new classes on YWK online featuring Lizette Pompa. A Yoga and Strength coach born in Mexico and currently living in Europe.
Check out her first class here - Upper body strength. This is a Yoga and Dumbbell flow to build strength in the upper body.
Try to also add more perturbations to your balancing poses:-
Close your eyes,
Swing your arms,
Stand on an uneven surface,
Move out of the sagittal plane,
Fall in and out of poses and vary the speed.
Try these classes out which involve dynamic stability and increasing perturbations.
So step out of your comfort zone and learn or try something new.
Don’t be afraid of falling.
There is freedom waiting for you, on the breezes of the sky.
And you ask, What if I fall?
Oh my darling what if you fly….
Erin Hanson