Walking, Tai Chi and the Importance of Balance as We Age

Walking gives us opportunities to use our balance.
Tai Chi gives us opportunities to practise it.

Can I ask you a question?

When did you last actually think about your balance?

I’m not talking about standing on one leg. I’m talking about the everyday things we probably take for granted.

Stepping off a kerb. Walking on uneven ground. Turning around to look behind you. Reaching into a high cupboard. Climbing stairs. Standing on a set of steps. Getting out of a chair.

All of these involve balance.

Most of the time we don’t really notice our balance until something starts to become more difficult. Some days may be better than others and, as we get older, there can be many reasons for this.

So what is balance?

Balance involves several different systems working together.

Our skeletal and muscular systems give us strength and support. Our vision helps us judge the space around us. Our vestibular system, located within the inner ear, helps the brain understand movement and the position of our head.

Our nervous system processes all of this information and allows the body to make constant adjustments as we move.

Then there is proprioception.

It sounds like a complicated medical word, but I like to think of it as a kind of sixth sense. It is our body’s awareness of where it is in the space around us.

When we’re walking, standing or changing position, information from our muscles, joints and tendons helps the brain understand what the body is doing and make the necessary adjustments.

This is where I believe we have a choice.

We can continue to practise balance and movement, or we can simply accept that losing our balance is an inevitable part of getting older.

That’s something I will always challenge in a positive way.

We do it through simple balance activities on our Wellbeing WALX and through our Tai Chi sessions.

What happens as we get older?

There are natural changes.

We may lose some muscular strength and flexibility. Reaction times can become slower. Our vision can change. I know this personally because I’ve been diagnosed with cataracts in both eyes.

Some people may also develop conditions that make movement and balance more challenging.

But that doesn’t mean we should stop moving.

For me, it’s another reason to keep practising movement.

Walking puts balance into the real world

Let’s consider Total Body Walking.

TBW challenges our balance naturally.

We walk over different surfaces: paths, woodland tracks, grass, sand and uneven ground. We encounter different gradients. We change direction, step over obstacles and adjust our stride and pace.

At the same time, we’re coordinating our arms and legs.

When using our Total Body Walking poles, there’s another level of coordination to learn. Eventually, with practice, we want the technique to become natural – we’re Total Body Walking without consciously thinking about every movement.

That can help build confidence.

We’re getting outside, moving regularly and developing our ability to deal with the environment around us.

But there’s another side to this.

Less confidence can mean less walking.
Less walking means fewer opportunities to move.
Less movement can lead to even less confidence about getting out.

Eventually, that can affect not only our physical activity but our social life as well.

Our WALX programme helps us interrupt that cycle. We’re getting people outside, moving regularly and doing it alongside other people.

Different walks cater for different abilities and nobody is there to judge you.

But is walking alone enough?

Walking certainly allows us to use our balance.

But when we’re walking at pace, how often do we consciously think about how we’re transferring our weight or controlling our movement?

Probably not very often.

That’s where I think Tai Chi adds something different.

On some of our Wellbeing WALX, we include simple Tai Chi movements. We’re fortunate at WALX South Lincs and WALX With Life Balance because members of our team are also trained in Tai Chi rehabilitation.

What does Tai Chi add?

Tai Chi gives us an opportunity to deliberately slow movement down and feel what’s happening.

One simple example I regularly use is getting up from a chair.

Try it yourself.

Get up from a dining chair as you normally would.

Then sit back down.

This time, before standing, become aware of your feet and deliberately push down through them as you stand – almost as though you’re pushing down on bicycle pedals.

Notice the difference.

You’re becoming more aware of how you’re using your body.

When we practise Tai Chi, we deliberately work with things such as weight transfer, controlled stepping, turning, coordination, posture and slow, purposeful movement.

Rather than rushing through a movement, we’re giving ourselves time to feel it.

That’s important to me.

We’re not practising Tai Chi simply to become better at Tai Chi. We’re practising movement that we can use in everyday life.

Walking and Tai Chi complement each other

This is where the two approaches come together for me.

Walking gives us opportunities to use our balance.
Tai Chi gives us opportunities to practise it.

Tai Chi is almost like my own personal physiotherapy session. It gives me an opportunity to stretch, balance, coordinate and move deliberately.

Total Body Walking is different. It’s movement, cardiovascular activity and functional fitness. Using the poles involves the upper and lower body and gives me another way of keeping myself active.

I also practise simple movements away from our sessions.

I practise sit-to-stand movements. I do calf raises using the bottom step of my stairs. I use my poles for functional stretching and shoulder movements.

On some of our Wellbeing WALX, we’ll also use the environment around us – perhaps a park bench for supported exercises.

Sometimes people initially think, “I won’t be able to do that.”

Then they try.

And quite often, they’re surprised by what they can do.

But there’s something else that’s equally important

Social connection.

To maintain those connections, we need the confidence to get out of the house, book a session, meet other people and take part.

Whether that’s Total Body Walking with a group or coming along to one of our Tai Chi classes, this isn’t simply about exercise.

It’s about helping people remain active, independent and connected.

Keep walking – or start walking.

Keep moving.

Keep getting outside.

Keep meeting people who enjoy doing the things you enjoy doing.

One final thought

We don’t practise balance simply because we’re getting older.

We practise balance because we want to keep doing the things that matter to us as we get older.

So ask yourself one question:

What do you want to still be able to do in 10 or 15 years’ time?

I know my answer.

I want to still be Total Body Walking and teaching Tai Chi.

Thank you for taking the time to read this article. I hope it gives you something useful to think about and, more importantly, encourages you to keep moving.

If you’d like to know more about our walking or Tai Chi groups, please call Mike on 01775 729243.