Balance, Inside and Out

As was put to us by Haydn on the stretching tutorial in the members’ only section (check this awesome tutorial out if you haven’t already) the more flexible you become in your body, the more flexible you become in your mind and spirit. I believe this holds true for all kinds of training. When you strength train, your body, mind and spirit become stronger. When you train for endurance and pain tolerance such as a massive push up or burpee ladder, your mind and spirit become more enduring, they learn to overcome.

This is what a lot of Brutal is based on. We are developing our true potential of mind, body and spirit a lot of the time through physical training. I also feel it works the other way, I feel through relaxing my mind in meditation my body also MUST become relaxed, the mind, body and spirit are one, and there is no duality.

This leads me to what this article is all about… Balance training!

For the sports I am involved in (Parkour, Capoeira, grappling, hand balancing etc), balance is a key element; in fact I feel it is a key element to all sport, to all life.

I used to find balance training exceedingly dull and boring. I am used to going all out, pushing myself to the limit and silencing my mind through brutal attack. It was exactly when I started focusing on my balance training though that it became one of my favourite kinds of training. I have discovered something quite magical in it.

To train balance properly your mind must become really, really quiet. You simply cannot walk along the top of a fence that is about 2 inches wide with your mind wandering or you will be down. It is here, when the mind is quiet, when everything disappears all but this moment, it is here you find the stillness within, the balance has become a moving meditation, all you can feel is your own breath.

When my life is feeling out of balance, if I feel uneasy about anything, if my mind is projected into fear, if it is restless and noisy, I go and do some balance training. It centres me again, spirit emerges, calm and quiet, all in balance.

I recommend when you are doing any kind of balancing drills to focus very strongly on your breathing. Breathe in and out, slow and controlled through your nose. If you’re stationary, fix your gaze on a point (unless it’s an eyes closed drill). If you’re moving again keep your eyed fixed on a point. If I’m on top of a fence I fix my gaze about 6 inches or so before my lead foot, so the point is constantly moving.

Some Drills

Stand on one foot - simple stand on one foot for time, focus on breathing, work both sides

One foot, eyes closed - same as above but this time close your eyes

One foot, head moving - same as above although now do head turns to the side, up and down and neck circles, then try it eyes closed - these drills are deceptively difficult, prepare to fall down

Fence walking - get on top of a fence and simply walk along it, again focus strongly on your breathing, fix your gaze and find that stillness

Pistols - pistols are a great exercise for balance and strength - do them!

Hand balancing - exceptional for developing balance and strength, do handstands against a wall if you can’t do them freestanding, practice headstands too. Get up on your hands and walk about, just stay up there as long as you can, stagger about, just like a baby learning to walk!
Check out - www.beastskills.com for some awesome hand balancing articles

Arabesque - stand on one leg and put your other leg straight out behind you, bend at your waist at a 90 degree angle and put your arms straight out in front of you

These are just some drills, there are many variations you can play with, be creative and put yourself in hard to balance positions, focus on your breathing, find the stillness and strike a pose!

When you feel out of whack in body, mind or spirit a good dose of balance training will do the trick!

The Adventure Awaits…

Live it

David Kelso