Balance

[oldranger]

Daisy I use progressives. A funny thing happened when I got my new prescriptions in December (actually not so funny) Picked my new glasses and the vision was bizarre. The only thing that was in focus was a tiny spot in the middle and my right eye was really messed up. they told me it takes time to get used to them and take them home and wear them for a couple of days. Well I tried but they literally made me sick wearing just an hour. So I returned them they checked them out and said they were ground wrong. Got the new ones back and they were only marginally better. Went to a different optometrist for a second opinion and she found the prescription for left lens to be close but slightly off and for the right lens to be way off. Took them back with the new prescription to have new lenses made and finally, on the third time they worked!

Also another good balance challenge is to put your socks on while standing on one leg at a time. Don't do this after having a few drinks!

[Jimr]

"Also another good balance challenge is to put your socks on while standing on one leg at a time. Don't do this after having a few drinks!"

I do this all of the time, and I wear toe socks ;-)

[Dave_Ayers]

...OR, do you use bifocals? If so, do they mess up your balance? I am having a horrible time adjusting - and I have had them five years! Balance is supposed to be inner ear ...

I can show you an inner ear/vision calibration drill the next time I see you (courtesy of the trainer/wifey). Maybe you'll find it useful.

[Jimr]

Here's my yoga pose

IMG_5581.JPG

[maverick]

Nice Jimmy.

[oldranger]

Dave Ayer

Just noticed your question. Didn't mean to ignore you. I wear progressives, Since 1991. Don't sense that they have impact on my balance.

[Wandering Daisy]

Thanks OR. Maybe there still is hope for me with progressives. I never thought about the glasses being the problem, not me. I will go to a place that guarentees the work and give it a few more tries.

[MountainMinstrel]

I wear bifocals and yes some of them can really adversely affect your depth perception. I recently got a new prescription and I cannot use them hiking. I cannot tell where the top of the rocks are with them. Thankfully my old prescription does not cause this so I'm good for a few more years. I also tend to tap rocks to confirm their height. At 62 it's a small price to pay for getting out there.

[John Harper]

I used to walk home from school years ago, about 5 miles out of town (not uphill both ways during snowstorms!). Started walking on the top of the railroad rails and tried to go as far as I could before losing balance. I really think it helped with surfing, hiking, and overall balance.

John

[SSSdave]

Thanks maverick, amusing input enough that I may just try and do that although I don't know squat about yoga. Have thought about taking a class a few times.

Of course as a person that has often traveled over unpleasant terrain off trails over decades, one's balance is of prime value. Take someone otherwise fit that walks along trails fine, out in such places, and they may have a lot of trouble using much more effort than is efficient. Balance is certainly a physical skill that requires repetition to become better at.

During winters I've been an advanced snow skiing enthusiast for decades and in particular am a quite smooth mogul skier that requires constant fast balance adjustments where one's upper body remains relatively quiet while most motion is a result of what goes on below the waist. I use the same kind of balance when moving over small to moderate sized talus and it is not uncommon while moving at a dynamic speed to start losing my balance and then rapidly recapture it during a rapid foot on boulders sequence that happens too fast to do anything more than react automatically to. Much of the time I am day hiking over talus, I am also carrying in my right hand 7 pounds of tripod plus pano head with camera atop, such that balance becomes even more tricky.

Growing up in the Sacramento region, we kids were forever climbing oak trees and like our ancestral monkeys. One becomes really good at calming oneself before making slow concise movement lest one fall and at a minimum suffer serious injuries. That is much the same as with rock climbing though I don't have advanced rock specific skills for such. A week ago when on my fall leaf road trip, I bushwhacked, bashed, clawed, and monkeyed my way up through this stunted twisted clone aspen grove in the foreground, growing atop small to medium talus to reach this rock outcrop for the shot. Doing so one is continually moving like a gymnast. And during spring same thing walking along coastal trails carrying tripod etc where I need to slip gingerly like a dancer past poison oak along use paths.