Balance

We old-timers (especially if we have heart failure) tend to see our balance getting precarious.  Although I've played vigorous tennis 4 or 5 times a week for the last forty years,  I've only rarely tipped over; that was when my wife lobbed over my head and I (indiscreetly) peddled backward with my head turned up to follow the ball.  My scalp was repaired with several stitches.

But as the years go by my balance seems to worsen.  No doctor has ever spoken to me about this, but I found (through the internet) that it's a natural consequence of inactivity.

I'm not inactive; in fact I'm very active, but much of the activity is mental, such as writing this post, so I should say that a diminished balance is a natural consequence of physical inactivity.

But I'm not that either (obviously).  I recently came to see that balance requires special care to provide a boost.  Balance,  mental acuity and physical strength all depend upon practice.  Use it or lose it holds true in all three cases (how many other cases?  I wonder!)

So I'm practicing my balance, doing things like standing on one leg (how long can you stand on one leg?).  Once upon a time I could stand on my head with ease, but that was before ageing 'got to rolling'.