Dance Concept: Balance

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When we play with balancing shapes, falling, swinging, swaying, tipping and tilting, we are helping develop our vestibular system. The vestibular system gives us a sense of balance and spatial orientation in relation to gravity. For example, it tells us if we’re upright or upside down, if we’re falling so that we can catch ourselves and if we’re moving or stopping.

The vestibular system, located in the inner ear is the first system that develops in utero and it takes the longest to develop, all the way into adolescence.

It is the command center for our motor control. There are nerves from our vestibular system to every major muscle group in the body which affects all of our motor control from speech to fine and gross motor skills. It is also the most critical system for organizing the brain’s ability to process incoming sensory stimulation.

 Important functions of the vestibular system:

  • Allows us to coordinate our eye movements with our head movements – e.g. looking up and then back down at our work (copying something off a blackboard), turning our head to watch a moving object (following a soccer ball on the field), and even looking across a page to read

  • Helps develop and maintain normal muscle tone – e.g. allows us to hold our body in position and to maintain positions, especially important in helping keep our heads up (a child being able to sit & learn in the classroom)

  • Balance, equilibrium and coordination of both sides of our bodies – e.g. riding a bicycle or cutting with scissors or zipping up a coat

A child with a healthy vestibular system will feel confident & safe during movement activities knowing that his body will adapt and able to maintain his balance and keep himself from falling or getting hurt.

On the other hand, when a child’s vestibular system is not functioning correctly, they may be fidgety or clumsy or slouchy and may have difficulty in motor coordination & planning tasks such as jumping jacks, skipping, or even coordinating movements of the mouth, resulting in difficulty with speech production.

 A healthy vestibular system is central to the integration of the other sensory systems and is vital for a child’s entire well-being. The more our babies and children move, the more integrated and automated these functions become.  So that’s why it is important to stimulate the vestibular system during the early years.

Below are a few links for more reading of the vestibular system:

Regina Lum