Name: Harvest Moon

Profession: Burlesque performer and aerialist

After college and circus school, Harvest Moon created an athletic blend of comedy and striptease, in the air and onstage. "The secret of balancing is to be controlled and relaxed at the same time—to harness my muscular strength for holding a pose while relaxing to breathe so oxygen can get to my muscles." The intense focus it takes obliterates her stage fright.

• Kudos for Judo

  Looking for a way to perfect balance control? Think judo. With eyes open, high-level judoists and professional dancers outdo controls on tests of ability to maintain posture. But only the judoists display superior sensorimotor adaptability with their eyes closed.

• The Gripes of Wrath

  Anger throws us off balance emotionally. Now there's evidence it trips us up posturally, too, by activating the sympathetic nervous system, raising heart rate and blood pressure. Given the nature of nerves, balance is as much psychological as it is physiological.

• Savannah Superiority

  Our hunter-gatherer forebears may have had it way over us in the balance department. Eyes play a key role in maintaining balance, and new research suggests that even modern marksmen have superior postural control because of heightened ability to adapt to changing visual conditions.

• Fear Itself

  The increased risk of falls among older adults results as much from cognitive changes as from decay in the sense of balance. Part of the problem stems purely from a fear of falling that kicks in when aging adults are suddenly confronted with a situation that challenges their dynamic equilibrium.

• Cultivating Calm

  One way to define emotional balance is the ability to maintain calm in the face of adversity. And it can be cultivated, in children and adults. After five weeks of training in meditation, emotional awareness, and gentle movement, subjects experienced less reactivity to stress, less depression and anxiety, and increased positive feelings for others.

Sources: Gait & Posture; American Journal of Cardiology; Neuroscience Letters; Gerontology; Center for Consciousness Studies.

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