Pickleball Magazine 2-5 | Page 63

equally to hold me up, much like the poles of a teepee must be equal to keep it from leaning in the wind. LOOK AT YOURSELF Take the time to look at yourself in the mirror. Which of the posture pictures most closely resembles you? If you want to improve your posture, consider including the following stretching exercises in your daily routine: leg with your eyes open and slowly count to 10. At first, you will want to do this while standing next to a wall, counter or table just in case you need to catch yourself. Once you are comfortable that you can do this safely without something to touch or grab on to, you can incorporate this exercise into your daily life. Photo #5 Photo #3 Photo #4 [Photo #3] Stand in a doorway with arms outstretched. Take a small step through the doorway to stretch your chest muscles. Exhale as you step forward. Do this 10 times, several times a day. If you find this exercise causes soreness, back off a bit. [Photo #4] Hold a towel in front of you. As you pull on the ends of the towel, pinch your shoulder blades together. Start with the towel at chest height. Do 10 repetitions. Raise the towel until it is at eye level, pull on either end of the towel and again pinch your shoulder blades. Complete 10 repetitions. Again, you can do this exercise several times a day. IMPROVING YOUR BALANCING ACT Balance is also critical to reducing your risk of falling. There are three factors that affect your ability to remain in balance as you move safely from one place to another. These factors are: • Vision • Vestibular (your inner ear) • Proprioception, i.e. when your ankle wiggles as you stand on one foot. There are simple exercises that you can do to improve your balance. Each of these should be done with both feet, but will only take about six minutes a day. The first exercise [Photo #5] works on all three factors. Simply stand on one Photo