Most old people lose their mobility when they begin to have stability issues. Higher the stability, lower the mobility and vice versa in the normal unbalanced and untrained form. But this can be rectified if we can begin to train our body within the stability-mobility continuum.

The factors that determine our level of stability are the size of the base of support and the height of the centre of gravity from the base of support. It stands to reason then, that if you lie down and increase your base of support, the height of the centre of gravity is lowest near the ground and therefore there is more stability. That is why as you age you prefer to stand than walk, prefer to sit than stand, prefer to sleep than sit! But human being were not born to be in a static posture all their lives! Mobility or movement is an integral part of living life. That is why we are constantly placed in a stability-mobility continuum during our waking hours – a need for mobility arising with the confidence of stability right through.

During the course of movement when we need to enhance stability we increase our base of support – like little children that crawl on all fours or older people who take the support of a cane. The minute we stand up and the height of the centre of gravity (COG) above the base of support increases, we need to ensure the ‘projection’ of the COG still falls within the base of support. That is, when you walk, if your spine is straight, the projection of your COG is still in between your feet within the base of support. Imagine if you were a ballerina, dancing and pirouetting on one foot, your COG now keeps altering with every moment triggering you to learn the art of ‘stability’ in a more structured way.

We need to train our bodies by creating memories of stability in our muscles, training them to be vigilant to keep balancing the art of stability and mobility. As B.K.S.Iyengar said “We seek the balance of polarity, not the annihilation of duality”. Functional stability exercises that work on your stabiliser muscles even as you strengthen your prime movers is the key to a functionally healthy body that will let you age gracefully. 

You earn your body – not inherit it! So if you wish to have a pain free existence, do not wait for the aches to begin. Start when you can! Today!

Written by Gita Krishna Raj  |  Published in Food & Health in January 2016