by Obrules15 » Fri May 12, 2017 11:10 am
I've added the head motions advocated by Z-Health to all of my balancing activities (balance board, bosu ball, slantboard work) and it has done wonders. The last exercise in their Balance Gym program involves walking forward & backwards while looking (moving head & scanning eyes) horizontally 5-10x, then vertically & diagonally (both directions).
Theoretically this engages the semicircular canals (the balance organ/inner ear) in each direction as you have a horizontal, vertical, & diagonal canal. It also supposedly helps train the vestibulo-ocular reflex which is involved in stabilizing vision while in motion (useful). I started the full Balance Gym but ultimately found it better to just add the head movements to the other things I was already doing. It doesn't take any extra time and also gives me something to focus on besides a timer when standing on one foot.
I was really shocked by how fast this worked, within a week I was able to stand on a moving train without holding on. It's an easy way to supercharge any balance training regimen. Although I'm pretty sure if I tried this while walking on Max_501's Slackstand I'd just end up falling on my a**.