Quick Fit with Cassy

Welcome back to all my Quick Fit friends. If you're new here, I'm Cassy, and this is part three of the Balance For Ready Reflexes series. Today, we'll be adding more simple, yet effective moves to improve your balance so you can remain independent and live better, longer. So let's get moving.

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If balance is a particular concern for you, please check out the first two videos in this series so you can lay a strong foundation and enjoy measurable improvements. We'll be doing this class without your shoes on because we need to stimulate all of those sensory organs in the bottom of your feet that are going to be sending messages to your brain. And also notice that I don't have a chair because this is the more advanced class. And let's just start swinging left and right. Now, if you find that throughout this class you're constantly having to put your second foot down, or you're really reaching for something to hang on, or you're extra afraid, then really spend a few more weeks on videos one and two. Nice and easy, warming up the hips because we're definitely gonna be working the hip joints and the knee joints and the ankle joints throughout this class. All right, so mirror me. You'll be standing on your right leg. Let's extend left leg out to the front. All right, take a moment because as you put more and more weight on this leg, it's starting to wobble. And if you find it's extra hard, check out your mat. If you have a very thick mat, it's going to be that much more challenging. So if the first two videos, you've kind of mastered and yet this is really hard, you might try being just on a hard surface. All right, now out to the side. I've got a little thickness on my mat, so I know this is gonna be a challenge for me as well, but that's okay. Now, swing the leg out to the back. It's all right. We're not professional ballerinas here with perfect balance. We just need great balance for our everyday lives. And it just takes a little practice and consistency. Good, hold that stomach in.

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Anytime you feel like you're gonna lose it, just stop, hold wherever you are,

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and then let the body calm down and go at it again. Don't give up. Okay. And it's not just the moving leg that's being worked, what we're really working is all the stabilizing structures and muscles in the standing leg, especially when we move into a different plane. All right.

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Don't forget to breathe.

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Don't be holding your breath. All right. And then as you switch around, that's gonna be when it's harder. All right, lift. All right, now I'm getting really leaned over, so I'm gonna try to stand up a little more. Pull my stomach in to support my core.

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Smile. Keep your head and neck up over your shoulders.

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Almost done.

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All right. Let's just bend your knees. A couple hip circles. The other way, releasing the tightness that we just caused in the hips. All right, stand once again on your right leg, mirroring me. We're going to extend your other leg to the back and a slight lean forward as your leg picks up. Find something to focus on and concentrate while you're doing these, okay?

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Your foot's probably wiggling around,

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so go slow. Another one.

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If you need to take a break and count to three, join us again. That'll be a good relief, but don't quit. Don't give up. Now let's slowly bring this knee up. Don't let me rush you either, okay? This is your class for you to improve from where you are at.

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All right. All right, the last thing for this leg, we're gonna do some arcs. Now this is extra, extra hard because you're moving across the body. And depending on how thick your mat is, all right, let's just do that other leg now. A little break for the knees, ankle, and hips. Couple more hip circles.

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And the other way.

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All right, standing on your left leg, let's extend your right behind you, just barely touching with your toes,

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and then lean forward with a nice, flat back. Think of a long line between your head and your toes. Come up. Don't forget to use your arms. Bend over like an airplane and up.

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One more.

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All right. I lied, one more. All right. Let's see if I can do this without putting my foot down.

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Good. All right, knee up. Cross and open, cross and open.

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My leg is getting tired, making it harder to do, so I'm conditioning it, okay? We're challenging it to do something just a little bit harder than it's used to. All right, one more, or two more, or three more, not quite done yet. Go slow as you need to. All right. All right, shake that off. All right, for this next little bit, we're going to do a partial squat. So we're just kind of crouching, sitting your weight back down through your heels. All right. Left leg first. Reach out to the side. Now, we're not putting our weight down through that foot, okay? It's not like we're doing this. If you find that you have to shift your weight into both feet all the time, you're not quite ready for this. And once again, don't forget about the first two videos. So this one, even though I'm touching the floor, I'm not putting any weight down through those toes. All the weight is staying right here.

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Don't forget to breathe. Just focus on one thing. Couple more. All right, other leg. Out to the side. You guys are doing great. Be patient with yourself, okay? If this was easy, you wouldn't need to be doing it. So there's room to grow. All right. Stand up on your left leg, extend your other one right out to the side, putting all your weight down through your standing leg. Okay? Your other toes are just barely touching there.

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All right, if you have vertigo, don't close your eyes, but everybody else with your toes touching the floor,

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big breath in,

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close your eyes. All right, now right away, I know your foot's probably wiggling around, the ankle's wiggling around. Just take a few big breaths, inhale and exhale.

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All right, go ahead and open your eyes and we'll do the other leg, all right? All your weight on your left leg. Extend the other one out to the side, toes are touching, but barely. Get all the weight and make yourself tall.

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Hands out to your side. Ready?

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When you feel stable, then go ahead and close your eyes. Not for long, just a little bit. All right, open your eyes. Shifting to the other leg. We're going to do a tree pose. So let's just start by making a nice, small base. Okay? Arms are at your sides. Don't worry, we're not gonna close our eyes. Let's lift.

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Go slow as you need to with your hands. And for those of you that have extra good balance, you can even start to lift your leg, this one, up off the floor and do your tree pose. Okay, I'm gonna switch legs. All right, nice, small base. Stabilize.

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Breathe.

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Just stare at one thing. Give your foot time to settle down and then lift.

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Lengthen the body and then come on down. Nice and slow, don't rush it. All right, nice, wide stance. Let's just finish up with some nice, easy twists.

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Okay. Low.

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Getting a little higher.

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All right, and a little bit more.

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All right. That was great. I know with patience and consistency, you will see great results in your balance. But taking your time at each level is the key. Using these videos repeatedly is the beauty of this platform. So keep following along with me and invite a friend to pbswisconsin.org/quickfit where my goal is to keep you loose, strong, and independent. See you next time.