The Three Elements of Balance

As you seek to master your balance board and do balance board exercises, think about what forces are at play that keep you balanced to really understand what you are trying to achieve. In order to maintain balance, our bodies rely on three things: our eyes, our inner ear and our nervous system. In order to achieve balance, two of these three things must be in place. You can test this by standing on one leg and taking notice of how the body relies on movement to stimulate the proprioceptive system. Now close your eyes and your body will respond by paying more attention to the other two elements - your inner ear and nervous system. You will notice a lot more movement in your ankle. Now keep your eyes closed and shake your head. You will find that you cannot stay balanced. That is because you've taken away two elements - the eyes and inner ear. And the nervous system alone cannot keep you balanced.