A little bit of magic, to keep your body safe and healthy. Intrigued?

If you’re over 60 and feeling like your balance just isn’t what it used to be, you’re not alone. Maybe you’re catching yourself grabbing onto furniture more often or hesitating before stepping off a pavement. Maybe walking across the room just feels different; unsteady.

Most of us put it down to aging, but is this what you want to be seen as – old and dodderey?

But it doesn’t have to be that way, because today we have three, exceedingly  simple-to-do exercises that done for five minutes every day, can change your life for the better. Get you back walking with confidence, like you when you were twenty or more years younger.

Let us explain:

In a way, as we age, we allow the key systems in our body, our inner ear, and our feet – “our coordination,” to forget what they should be doing for us. The consequence if we accept this as it is, is that we are at greater risk of falls and hip fracture – with all of the complications that this brings.

But there’s good news:

You can wake these systems up by practicing three simple balance exercises. Balance isn’t just about strong legs, it’s actually a conversation between your muscles, joints, inner ear and brain; and after 60 that conversation can start to break down.

Why?

Three important, major systems are involved in your inner ear. (a) The vestibular system which senses movement and rotation. (b) The proprioceptors, the tiny sensors in your joints that tell your brain where your body is, and (c) your vision, which helps you orient in space. All are linked to each other, and the brain gets the messages via our central nervous system.

It’s a constant communication system, if this is, we use it. The problem is as we get older, and especially if we sit too much, or move less, these systems weaken. Not from damage, but from lack of use. The brain stops reacting as quickly, and you lose awareness of your feet. Posture slumps and that’s when stumbles and hesitation begin.

But here’s the key. These systems can be retrained.

There are three specific exercises that target each of these systems directly, which have been shown to reactivate coordination, posture control and fast muscle responses. And all of this in just a few minutes a day. It’s where you can achieve what you may have thought was impossible.

The first movements are known as Heel Walks – a powerful tool to retrain your brain-foot connection and prevent forward falls.

As you watch the video (link attached), you can notice what’s happens as the person walks forward with their heels on the ground and toes lifted up toward the ceiling. To be honest, when we first saw it, it looks funny, and we laughed. But then we began to realise what it is all about.  It’s a serious exercise that everyone over 60 should be taught; and while it may look simple, it’s doing something very important by reactivating a muscle known in medical terms as the tibialis. An anterior (in the front of the body) muscle of both lower legs that helps lift your toes off the ground when you walk.

And when you lift your toes as you walk, it plays a massive role by preventing toe stubs trips (we have all done it, I am sure), and forward falls. And for many people over 60, it’s underused and undertrained.

As you watch the video, take note of the form the person keeps with their heels in contact with the floor at all times, while the toes stay lifted. This is the key part. Letting the arms swing naturally helps maintain our balance and rhythm.

Why does this work so well?

The answer is that every step you take involves a micro-second where your heel strikes first, and your foot rolls forward. But if the muscles that lift your toes aren’t strong you’re more likely to drag your foot or catch your toe, especially on uneven surfaces.

The beauty of this simple exercise is that ‘heel walks’ directly strengthen that lifting motion. But here is the clever part. As you walk in this unusual way, your brain has to pay attention. It educates your neuromuscular system. In return, the  connection’s between the brain, feet and legs become more responsive. In what is what’s called a “motor learning loop,” where you challenge your balance in a safe controlled way, and your brain responds.

Just 30 to 60 seconds of heel walks a day can help us achieve better foot clearance and fewer trips, and we encourage you to try it. It’;s use may just save you from something dire in the future. The video can be viewed at:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PYCneL8P8D0&pp=ygU3U2VuaW9yczogd2h5IHRoZXNlIHRocmVlIGJhbGFuY2UgZXhlcmNpc2VzIHdvcmsgc28gZmFzdA%3D%3D

Exercise No 2:

Regaining and keeping your side-to-side stability is critical for balance. It’s such a simple exercise, we don’t know why there aren’t classes everywhere teaching this to every one of us as we age?

In the video, the person is standing tall, feet about hip-width apart arms relaxed by their sides. All they are doing is simply shifting their weight slowly from one side to the other. This is known as a side-to-side weight shift and it’s one of then most effective and overlooked ways to retrain your body’s awareness of where you are in space, and having tried it, we think it’s magic.

Keep your posture upright, and breathe freely as you shift the weight from one leg to the other. Imagine the weight of your body being transferred from the sole of one foot to the other – but the feet stay stuck to the ground.

So, why is this important? The answer is that when you walk, turn or adjust your position, your body makes constant micro adjustments involving the ankles, knees, hips and core – and especially your lateral stabilisers; the muscles that keep you upright when you sway or lean. These muscles weaken not because of age, but because modern life doesn’t challenge them. We walk in straight lines, we sit in chairs that limit movement and we rarely train ourselves to handle sideways motion, which is actually one of the most common directions people fall when they lose balance stepping sideways or turning too fast.

The genius is that this exercise restores that ability by retraining your balance line from the soles of your feet through your ankles and hips all the way to the top of your head. And as they shift side to side they’re practicing something called grounded awareness. This means we stay connected to the floor not by gripping or tensing, but by allowing the weight to move naturally.

Exercise 3:

This is called Vestibular Reflex, and while it may have a scary sounding name, it’s once again, simple to do. All it takes is 60 seconds of your time per day.

Notice in the video how they’re not holding their breath. That’s intentional, because deep, natural breathing during this balance work helps your nervous system stay calm, focused and responsive. It trains your proprioception, the internal body sensors that waste away with disuse; and it builds confidence, because once your body remembers how to shift safely, the fear of falling begins to shrink.

In this exercise, we are going to challenge your inner ear and your visual coordination at the same time, and here’s how to do it:

Stand on one leg with the other foot placed lightly against the wall. Don’t lean back or use your hands to support your posture. Let them hang relaxed by your side.  Then slowly and deliberately turn your head from side to side without twisting the shoulders. This is called a vestibular challenge drill as it targets the inner ear system which is crucial for balance. It’s one of the most powerful ways to retrain your fast reflexes.

Every time you turn your head, the inner ear sends signals to the brain about direction and speed. If these signals are delayed, or if the brain has stopped processing them efficiently you can feel dizzy, wobbly or disoriented. But by regularly doing this exercise, you can fix the problem – and importantly keep yourself safe.

The person in the video keeps their head level and the movement slow and controlled. They’re not whipping their head around, which is important, because fast head movements can cause dizziness, while gentle consistent turning allows the brain to recalibrate safely.

Try this for 20 to 30 seconds per side once or twice a day to start with. Keep your eyes open and only progress to eyes closed if you feel 100% steady and safe.

Keep the link for the exercise, because it’s a potential life-saver. Something that should be with all of us forever. Share it with a friend and maybe tell them about the lovely products that can be found at Essence of Egypt (https://eoegp.com)  A family business who care for their customers by providing not just the cleanest skincare products to be found anywhere, but also sensible tips like this, to keep us all safe and healthy.

We hope that you agree that the ‘magic’ in all of this, is just common sense that’s too often missing in modern day life.

All the best from the team at Ess.