Everyday Poise: The Negotiation of Balance
For today’s Everyday Poise, let’s talk about balance. But first, watch this video of ballet dancer Sophie Williams.
Gorgeous, huh? Watch it again, and look closely at her supporting foot and ankle. The balance board she’s standing on is amplifying her movements, which is handy since it makes them easier for us to see and analyze. It’s harder to see in pointe shoes, but check out the balance board for a clue to what’s going on inside those shoes.
See all that movement in her ankle and foot? We tend to think of balances as ‘still,’ but in reality there’s a whole world of movement going on in a balance. It’s just that normally it’s so tiny that it’s hard to see. If you attempt to cut off that movement and be completely ‘still,’ you’ll simply increase the tension overall in your body, and the more tense you are, the harder it is to balance. One of my ballet teachers used to say of balancing, “The negotiation is there, but the fight is gone.” When you’re in balance, you’re no longer fighting against multiple forces trying to pull you off, but you’re still moving slightly, adjusting as your weight shifts gently around your foot. You’re negotiating with the balance all the way through, making tiny corrections as you feel the weight shift to keep your center of gravity poised over its support.
Balances appear to be ‘still’ mostly because of a sociological trick. As humans, we don’t tend to look at someone’s feet. We are drawn to looking at a person’s face and upper body – and if you look, Jacqueline’s upper body is perfectly poised, and does seem still. You’d see the same thing if you looked at your yoga teacher’s ankle during tree pose, or a figure skater holding a long sailing shape, or an acrobat balancing on another acrobat’s head. It’s never completely static – it’s always in motion in some way, but generally the motion is confined to the foot, ankle, and shin, so we tend not to notice. There’s an old adage in the ballet world that the only people who look at your feet during a performance are other dancers – everyone else will look at your face and arms.
So the next time you need to balance, take a deep breath, exhale and release your tension, and make peace with the negotiation of balance!
Forward and Up! is a Pittsburgh-based private practice offering quality instruction in the Alexander Technique in a positive and supportive environment.
