I was balanced PERFECTLY on two paws for what seemed like an eternity, but I fell over. Pity no one was there to marvel at my equilibrium.
Well, today mama had a class devoted entirely to balance. Now, I asked her, was it a class in which you learn to balance, or was it a class for unbalanced anthros who need to learn to be more balanced, and I think it was the former. Evidently, anthros reach a certain age at which they fall over easily, in the wind, off a low curb, tight-rope walking a fence, haha, and bammo! Cracked this or strained that or, heaven forbid, broken something or other that really requires LOTS of rehab, and so in this class, one learned exactly how to keep oneself upright and strong and not hit the cement easily.
And IF you do these simple exercises daily, you will become more in tune with your body and your equilibrium will improve. That’s a promise, mama says.
As you can see above, I tried one or two of the exercises but…
All kidding aside, here is what you do 30 seconds a day (if you can, if not, do a few seconds less and build up to 30 seconds and then try to do a minute or two of each):
Breathe deeply and regularly during all the exercises. Go into a kind of balancing ZEN by focusing on a spot in the distance with your head up and looking straight ahead. Putting something you like in front of you in the distance helps, such as a chocolate truffle stuck to a distant wall.
Stand on two feet (near a wall or chair!) and slowly lift one of your feet, NOT high, just lift it up and try to maintain your balance for 30 seconds. Do this with both feet. NO, NO, not at the same time, are you nuts? ONE and then the OTHER. This is a very good exercise for beginners.
Now, do the same thing but put one foot out to the side, just a little, not much, and maintain your position. Now the other foot.
Now, put your foot in back of you and lift it slightly and maintain the position. Then the other foot.
After my first experience, I decided to do them like this:
Lie on back on comfortable surface. Balance left paw and right foot in air. Count to 30, then raise other paw and foot and repeat.
Balanced perfectly on side with play toy as stabilizer. Turn over and do the same on other side.
If you do these simple exercises, your chance of falling down is NIL!!!
OH, one last thing. DO NOT CLOSE YOUR EYES. That’s another level and you do NOT want to do that one right now.
See, my eyes are OPEN. And I did not fall over.
That’s a great workout ! We like the idea of different difficulty levels. Purrs
Well, your anthros will be happy with the results. Mama is already planning to walk across two buildings, haha.
LOL, Loulou – I like YOUR version better than yo mamma’s!!!! Except the idea of a chocolate truffle stuck to the wall as incentive is enticing……… MY momma’s reading this and she’s going to try the HARD version. But you and I, Loulou, we’ll go for the ZEN balancing act. I’m copying a couple of your positions now……………
Well, mama is balancing like me now because the doc shot her with cortisone and says it will work better if papa cooks dinner. What a doc!
MOL Oh LouLou, you are soooooooo adorable. Furst, we luv your fotos. Second we’re all ’bout da layin’ on our backs and puttin’ our paws in da air. Now mommy? We won’t be lettin’ her anywhere near these exercises. Oh Meow, she would be fallin’ and tumblin’ all over da house. She might not be able to pick us up and give us extra snuggles fur all da ouchies and bruises. No LouLou, mommy missed graceful when it was bein’ passed out. She swears she used to have it befur da accident, but since we weren’t ’round we can’t verify dat. Anyways gawjus, enjoy your exercises. Big hugs fur all.
Luv ya’
Dezi and Raena
Oh, I’ll bet your mama was a hot patootie. I would like to know more about the accident and what happened, but I’ll go look on the blog history. I’ll bet it’s there.
Actually LouLou, we’ve never really written much ’bout mommy’s accident on da bloggy. We did on facebook a long time ago, but peeps seem to be more innerested in da health issues mommy has and not da why. We can send you an email and tell ya’ ’bout da why ifin ya’ wanna know.
Luv ya’
Dezi and Raena
Oh, Dezi and Raena Belle, thank you so much for letting me know the terrible facts. You two must be an enormous comfort to her and I wish so much she would sing again. We LOVE her voice and want more. Is there any other recording we can hear? We’ll play the Christms one to our grandkids.
LouLou, you are a clever kitty. Thank you for the tips.
Well, you are welcome. I may fall into the unbalanced category, haha, but I’m doing well on my back.
You got that right – don’t close your eyes while standing on one foot. Or, according to Jan, when you turn around in the shower. We thunk the way you do those exercises is the best way.
Oh, heaven forbid turning around in the shower! Who can do that anyway? Your Jan must be practicing her ballet or something. Mama faces forward and that’s IT.
Yes, NO TURNING AROUND IN SMALL PLACES. Your Jan must be practicing regularly that she can actually turn around in a shower. Mama faces forward and that’s aboutit.