Ice skating is such a graceful activity – well, when someone professional does it! I’ve always been mesmorised by the magnificent gliding and spins you witness with competitive ice skaters, and I love the ‘romance’ of ice skating scenes in winter movies. Yet even better than this, is that actually doing ice skating yields loads of health benefits, even if you’re not nearly as good as the pros. While it’s a popular winter activity at atmospheric frozen ponds and lakes, it’s also possible now to skate all year round at rinks. So why not rug up, lace up your boots and get skating.
Health benefits include:
- Improves balance signficantly Needless to say, skating on two thin blades on slippery ice requires exquisite balance! It will take a while to get it and hone all those muscles and tendons in your feet and ankles, plus build your core, but you will get it. And then you will glide! This will set you up well to continue to balance well in everyday life.
- Develops your whole body coordination It's not just your legs that provide the balance. You also need to use your torso, head and neck to look where you are going and use your arms to guide the movement. Combined with the legs, this develops whole body coordination.
- Can be low impact So long as you don't jump, iceskating is low impact. This means it's less likely to damage your body - particularly ligaments and tendons. It's therefore ideal if you have injuries such as shin splints or knee and hip pain. If you want to jump that's fine, it simply takes it from being a low impact exercise
- Builds endurance and cardiovascular health Skating around a rink will raise your heart beat and breathing rate and use your leg muscles. If you do this for a while, it will build endurance. The impact is similar to walking up a hill, jogging or swimming, which is great for cardiovascular health. This helps reduce the risk of common conditions such as high blood pressure and cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, stroke and dementia.
- Boosts confidence As you learn to glide and really skate rather than walk, you'll develop confidence that comes from a new way of moving. Take your time though, and perhaps have a few lessons so that you learn the right habits.
- Enhances mood First of all it's fun, especially if you can learn to laugh when you fall over. Then when you get it and are gliding around, with the breeze in your face and hair, you will feel free and open to the world.
- Improves joint flexibility Skating works on many joints and this constant movement will release synovial fluid to lubricate these joints. The connective tissue and ligaments around the joints will strengthen and improve your flexibility. There are reports that say that low impact skating is more beneficial than cycling and running, because it benefits so many joints and muscles.
- Releases stress If you can have fun as a clumsy beginner, then you're in for a treat. Ice skating is such a release of everyday stresses because your body is doing something so different to normal. Just let go and get out of your head to be with your body.
“Caution not spirit, let it roam wild; for in that natural state dance embraces divine frequency."