Balancing Acts
Astonish your friends with these surprising stunts!
Jumping
forward is easy, but could you do it while holding your toes? Before you
answer yes, try it. Keeping your knees slightly bent, hold your toes with
your hands. Try to jump forward while in this position. Then try to jump
backward. You’ll find that you can jump backward all you want, but
you probably won’t be able to move forward.
Now try this next feat with a friend: Have your friend sit on a chair, keeping his chin up and his head back. Lightly press your index finger against his forehead and ask your friend to stand up. He’ll try, but he won’t be able to move from the chair.
Both
of these stunts are possible (or impossible) because of how our bodies use
balance.
We use balance whenever we move. Most of the time we are able to maintain our balance without ever thinking about it. This is because our bodies automatically adjust to the correct position to keep us upright. When we are ice-skating or standing on one foot, we realize just how often we take balance for granted.
Usually balance helps us. But it can also be made to work against us. That’s what happens in the example where you keep your friend in the chair. When your friend is in the seated position, his weight is resting on the chair. To stand, he must lean forward and move his weight onto his feet in order to get his balance. For this to happen, your friend’s head must move forward. So just your finger on his forehead is enough to prevent him from getting up.
In the first activity, you found that doing the backward jump was easy. That’s because your feet moved first and your weight remained balanced. However, to jump forward, your body’s weight must move ahead of your feet. Holding on to your toes prevents you from shifting your balance. Unless you have super strong legs, you won’t be able to lift your body off the ground.
So the next time you ice-skate or ski or even get out of bed, give a quick thought to what your body is doing to keep from falling. And the next time you trip, you’ll be reminded not to take balance for granted.
Balance. You can’t stand up without it.
