written by   on 23.06. at 14:25:47

Is there any way of strengthening the wrists for lifts other than handstands, to start with? I've always done a reasonable amount of manual work - sawing etc. - but I still get the feeling that my wrists are too weak for safe lifting, and to be honest I'd be a bit worried about doing even a handstand without someone to help.

Maybe I'm being a bit over-cautious about damaging my wrists, but I need my hands every day for very delicate work (microelectronics/instrument alignment), so if I have any accidents I'm stuffed....

>>>Sounds to me like you're not lengthening the spine if you are having trouble with balance.  

Mmmm... my balance has always been pretty bad, but I think it's something to do with the way I'm moving that puts me off. I do concentrate on keeping my spine as long as possible all the time, though. I just get the feeling that the 'impulse' from my legs is pushing in the wrong place, so I tip over; but it seems so easy for everyone else. (Does height make any difference?)

>>>This might work for you... imagine you're between 2 sheets of glass, and with a lowered ceiling touching the top of head throughout the movement.  Use your demi-plie to max. and then on degage (glisse) ensure working leg is correctly turned out - ditto the closing leg.  Imagine you're balancing an egg on each shoulder to help with stability/maintaining correct alignment. If you can't maintain stability in this movement, then to be sure, you are not ready for lifting.  Stay kool.  

Thanks - I'll give it a try. (To me the glissade seems particularly difficult in terms of balance, because you don't have much opportunity to correct for tipping  forwards or backwards if you maintain reasonable turnout. And my first reaction to a sensation of losing balance is to crouch forward, which doesn't help at all!)

Again, thanks for the advice Peter!

best regards,

A.