First Blog Post: Finding Balance From an Upside Down Perspective

20% Time is a self-motivated project intended to promote effective work habits. It allows students to explore something they are passionate about in depth. The name, "20 Time), describes the format of work time; putting aside 20% of class time to work on these projects. For this class, we will be spending 35-40 minutes per week working. 

As a gymnast, I've always been interested in the human body and how it works. Our physical abilities are incredible; overcoming the fear of flipping, gaining strength while maintaining grace are all ways that gymnasts defy the average human being. I have always wondered how we learn to balance, and upon asking this question I would get the same response every time: "Practice makes perfect". Not many people understand the way we adapt to balancing, we just accept it as a conventional wisdom. I want to explore how our bodies keep us upright, and even more importantly, how we can improve our balance for better well being. 

Guided by this question, I have decided to relearn a straddle press handstand, an elementary yet essential hold for a gymnast. When I quit gymnastics around 5 years ago, I lost a lot of strength from unique muscles used in gymnastics. I always had the muscle memory retained in my mind, but I was not physically capable of performing it. It requires balancing on your hands and lifting your legs into a handstand from a sitting straddle position, using your core and balance to stay controlled. Although not everyone is able to do this move, it is definitely possible to improve your balance. We stay upright through sensory input from our environment. It includes motor coordination and visual input, and the question is, "How can this be improved?" 

I have broken my plan down into three different components that need to be practiced daily-- Strength, balance and coordination. 3-4 days a week I will begin incorporating simple ab exercises that engage the deep core, for example: superman lifts, hanging leg tucks, planks and handstand push ups against a wall. The other half of the week, I will practice balance and hand eye coordination because they go hand in hand. Single leg dead lifts, free standing handstands, standing on one leg with eyes closed and then open are all good ways of improving balance, coordination and strength as well. I will record weekly videos and upload pictures as well to track my progress. My final goal is to be able to consistently do a straddle press handstand. By applying balance improvement to an advanced move, I will be able to have a better idea of how to help others improve their balance as well.