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Balancing On One Foot

Both the feet and the legs are together, yet body weight is only on one foot. The whole body is kept erect, including the head.

Stand with both the feet together and parallel to each other. Keeping the body erect, lift one foot just off the floor, and every part of the lifted foot is almost toughing the stationary foot. Keep the arms stretched to the sides and horizontal. Flex the elbows and position both the hands in front of the chest. The palms should be facing down, fingers stretched straight and kept tight together along with the thumb.

Keep the feet steady as if nailed to the floor, and the weight is taken on the ball of the foot. The ball being the broader part of the foot helps in the correcting the sideways imbalance. The toes and the heel assist in correcting the forward and the backward imbalance respectively.

Look straight ahead at a point at eye level and don't remove the eyes from that position. This will help in the balancing one's self, especially when moving.

Now for the turns, swing from the left elbow backwards, and turn the whole body in the same direction, i.e. to the left. Turn from the ankle upwards to the neck, as much as possible. Take care to ensure that the elbows do not dip and neither do the fingers fold. The relative position of every part of the arm and hands with respect to the body remains unchanged through out the exercise.

Now turn the body to the other side on the same foot.

Repeat this exercise 10 times on each foot.
(Hint: When the maximum turn is reached is the count. Also start the count by standing on a foot and turning to the same side. This means that if you are standing on the left foot then to start the count turn to the left first. This will help in keeping an accurate count when practising the variations of these exercises)

Forward backward turns
Stand with the feet together, and lift one foot slightly off the floor, which becomes the free foot. Now turn a little more than 90 degrees to any one side. In the process if the toes lead the heel of the free foot when turning then it is the forward turn; or else it would be the back turn.

Thus if one is standing on the left foot and turns to one's left then it is the forward turn. And if standing on the left foot one turns to one's right then it is the backward turn, since the heel will be leading the toes of the free foot when turning.

Variation 1: Head Movements
Imagine drawing a horizontal line, at eye level from the floor, on all the walls of the room where you intend to practice this exercise. We will call it the sight path.

In this case the exercise is repeated as explained above. The only change is that the head is turned with the body. However it is important to note the timings given below.

From the normal position the body starts to turn first and the head remains steady. Then the head moves after a slight delay, but before the body has reached the maximum turn. Now the head is turned to maximum, in the direction in which the body is turning, however the head reaches there before the body. And the head is already going back to the normal position when the body reaches the maximum. The head reaches the normal position much before the body, and the momentum of the head turning help the body to come back to the normal position.

This is also very important for effortless multiple turns.

Variation 2 Complete Turns
For this example we will assume that the weight is carried on the left foot. So turn to the left as in the exercise given above. And count 1. Next the body starts to turn to the right for the count 2. Here swing a little faster and using this swing go for a complete turn, allowing the feet to turn on the ball.

Next repeat the same as above. However go for the complete turn after the count 2.

This will result in getting a clockwise and a counter clockwise turn on the same foot alternately. And this will help one to practice the turns repeatedly without feeling giddy.

Here the head is turned steady, along with the body.

Head turns
The head is kept steady in the normal position, when the body and the feet start to turn. Later at a certain point the body forces the head to start turning. This is when the head turns very fast that the head comes back to the normal position much before the body and in this process it assists the body to come to normal position.

This process can be imagined to be like the body starts turning first. So it has energy. This energy is transferred to the head and it starts to turn and it quickly completes the turn, and thereafter the head transfers it's energy back to the body thus help it to maintain a steady movement to complete the turn.

This method can be observed when a professional is taking multiple turns. The body seems to be turning continuously at a steady pace, however the head seems to be more or less steady.

Variation 3
Once you have more or less mastered the turns, the nest part is to repeat all of above holding a chair or a stool. The object is held very delicately, but firmly. Practise this as much as possible.

The necessity of this is not only that you would be ultimately doing these turns with a partner when ones centre of gravity shifts more to the front, but to have a better understanding and the feel of the body movements. The whole body, almost each and every joint, takes part in this simple exercise.

The most noticeable parts are:
a) The slight flexing and straightening of the knees, and the turning on the ball of the feet. Almost all the people do this part subconsciously, more so in the case of ladies. When the ladies or girls put on a flaring material the instinctive urge is to spin around and see the flair. In such cases one is staying put on the feet with knees slightly bent, lets the body swing, then at an appropriate moment straightens the knee that raises the body. And simultaneously restrains the swing, which results in the feet to turn along with the whole body.

b) The slight bending of the body forward and backward also occurs as in the sport hammer-throw. In the sport this is seen especially in the start and in the end when the hammer is about to be released from the hands. The same happens in the sport discus-throw as well. In dancing this movement is very subtle and hardly noticeable, but for the one performing it the feel of it is very distinct.

Top
A long time back a person, whose name I do not remember now bought some toys for his children. One of the toys caught his curiosity, the top. So he played with it, only to discover the laws of the gyroscope. And toddy it is a very important instrument for direction, stability, and a host of other applications.

If great men can spend a lot of time on such things then we can at least spare some moments.

So, for the top to spin smoothly the few requirements are:
a) The pivot point should be small
b) The axis should be vertical
c) The top should be symmetrical

Similarly, like the pivot in the top we need to turn on the ball of one foot. The ball since it is broader and which helps in maintaining the side imbalance. The toes help in correcting the front imbalance, and slight lowering of the heel helps in the backward imbalance.

Like the axis one needs too stand erect and never ever look down and booth the legs and feet remain tight together, although one foot is just off the floor.

Like the symmetry the full length of the arms should be positioned properly.