Has anyone managed to go from clumsy and inflexible to graceful and dexterous?

[PurryCat]

And if so, how did you do it?

I'm mid-thirties, 5'11, a bit overweight (currently losing weight and getting fit though), terrible posture, really inflexible, bad sense of balance and have always been quite clumsy. Growing up, I used to be much sportier (tennis, horse riding, basketball, swimming), although to be fair, I never really excelled at any physical pursuits and none of it made me any more graceful or particularly in control of my body.

I'm a bit fed up with my ungainliness and wondering if anyone similarly hopeless has managed to improve their motor skills and posture in any significant way? Any suggestions besides yoga / pilates / dance classes? I struggle to follow dance routines and the one time I tried a yoga class I hated it and the instructor actually made fun of me so I never went back despite having paid for ten lessons upfront. 🙈

PS. Dear MN SPAG police, English is not my first language, so please bear with me!

Mmh, looks like this really isn't a thing / a bit hopeless.

Anyone?

I think it’s going to be something like yoga or dance. You probably won’t automatically like it if you aren’t good at this stuff but try it till you find something you dislike the least. Sorry about the horrible teacher but you know yourself that’s no excuse not to try again.

Indo board and kettle bell at home working on balance and core strength.

I'd also say something like adult ballet/dance lessons. I did ballet til I was 16, and people still comment on my posture now (many years later!). Pull your stomach in, imagine a cord pulling up your spine and consciously walk tall.

I had pretty much no hand eye coordination growing up and was a massive klutz but have gotten much better with it as an adult - mostly through a massive amount of concentration. Pouring a glass of water still seems to require at least 3x as much concentration for me than it does someone else! But I'm now at a point where people don't call me clumsy all the time (was called clumsy pretty much every day as a kid).

In terms of flexibility, posture and grace I've been doing ballet for the last 6 months and I've found it's helped me a lot with these. I also don't have any back pain any more as I think it's strengthened my upper back. A lot of it is short , repetitive exercises so you don't need a strong memory to be able to follow along

I am dyspraxic, can’t drive a manual car, catch a ball, follow dance steps or ever look graceful. I accept it now and laugh at myself. I am super strict about having things neat and in order though.

Yoga and dance with the right teacher could absolutely help.

I managed to do both for years and only really started to understand how it was all supposed to work in my fifty fifth year.

It took some 121 yoga sessions for me to understand how to really have all the vertebrae of my spine correctly stacked on top of each other, so my shoulder blades slide into place, my shoulders are no longer hunched forward and my spine curves naturally.

My pelvis is level, when walking forward propulsion comes from my back foot, hamstrings and buttocks pushing my body forward rather than quads dragging my body forward. Feet are spread softly, body balances top to bottom, side to side.

Hope you find the way too

I thought I was doing all those things all along but often felt tightness and discomfort in my lower back. That is the clue that I was not using my body in any kind of optimal way.

The optimal way is not easy, but it really is very simple,

It’s the same as everything, takes practice.

you can do it, but you’ll have to actually put the work in.

you dismiss yoga/dance/Pilates, but if you want the end results you need to do something along those lines.

dancers don’t become great dancers by playing football. They dance, they do their stretching and they do their exercises.

you have several choices.
find a form of exercises you like and enjoy getting fit. Don’t fret if it doesn’t turn you into a ballerina.

decide actually yes, you want the grace and flexibility of a ballerina, and sign up to balle/dance/yoga/Pilates, accepting it will be hard and you won’t find it easy but the results will be worth it.

or pick something in between. Find exercise you enjoy, and add a couple of those dance/Pilates classes in. Accepting it will make you a little more flexible, but probably not to the standard you dream of.

I think ballet would help.

Also look into Pilates.

Not sure about the getting better with coordination as you get older.

My daughter is really clumsy and I'd love for there to be an easy way to help her.

Wow, lots of replies suddenly, thank you everyone!

Hazelthecat
Indo board and kettle bell sound good, I was hoping for something I could do in the privacy of my own home, so will give this a shot!

In terms of dance classes, I could possibly enjoy something like shuffling or street dance type stuff. I knew people would recommend ballet or yoga but I'm afraid I would feel so awkward and out of place. Maybe further down the line when I feel a bit more confident and fitter.

FinallyHere, that's really interesting, thanks for your post. I feel like I should probably start by looking at some anatomy books to see which muscles do what to know the theory before I start on the practice! Then find a very patient teacher and give myself enough time to see improvements.

AKnitterofThings Being able to laugh at one's own clumsiness certainly helps! I don't think I'm dyspraxic - I'm a really good driver, can catch balls just fine and am quite good at things like drawing, sewing and woodwork. I seem to be okay with my hands but have two left feet and definitely lack core strength.

I'm quite clumsy and accident prone but yoga and pilates great for me. I have excellent balance now. Sorry that's not what you wanted

This has helped me

It’s the same as everything, takes practice.

you can do it, but you’ll have to actually put the work in.

you dismiss yoga/dance/Pilates, but if you want the end results you need to do something along those lines.

Of course you're right, Reallyreallyborednow, I suppose I'll just have to give yoga or pilates another shot and stick at it. Just feels a bit unfair that I'll need to work hard at something I probably won't enjoy much just to get myself to a 'normal' / average level of grace and flexibility. I'm not expecting to end up a ballerina by any means, I'd just like to look a little bit less of a klutz.

You'd think years of horse riding (I even had my own pony) should have helped with better motor skills, but clearly not....

I know you’ve said no to Yoga…. However not all classes are the same, I’ve attended a lot of different classes and I’ve hated some but loved others. For me it’s all dependent on the teacher. However there are also different types of yoga - I now know I like Vinyasa yoga but don’t like Hatha yoga (Vinyasa yoga has more flow & to me feels more like a workout, Hatha focuses on getting individual positions correct - in my opinion it’s an slower class & is better for beginners, but could feel more critical due to the focus on each individual position).

That all said…. You can practice things like yoga at home. You could take a look on YouTube & then if you don’t like the teacher you can turn them off & find a new one.

Pilates can really help with posture, balance and core strength. Could you afford a one to one to go through the basics and help choose an appropriate class.

BryceQuinlanTheFirst, I was indeed hoping for some other magic solution / type of exercise that wouldn't involve yoga, ballet or dance, but seems like that's the way to go. Good to hear that you've seen noticeable improvements, that's encouraging.

DoubleYouOhEmAyEn, thank you, that video looks very doable, that's my exercise sorted for tomorrow.

You might find Katy Bowman's work interesting (she's a biomechanist) w.r.t. learning how the body works.

Pilates. I was struggling to put my socks on but not I can put my hands flat on the floor with my legs straight. I'm still clumsy but have improved. I no longer walk into door frames!

Start with some yoga at home.

Yoga with Adrienne is very popular on here.
I recommend Yoga with Bird as being easier for beginners and Yoga with Kassandra for the explanations of different kinds of yoga.

They have classes ranging from 10 minutes to 40 minutes.

Also on YouTube is Madfit who has dance workouts. Also very short ranging from 5 to 15 minutes.

As others have said - practice makes perfect

Dippydonky, that's good advice, I think I'd also prefer something that's slightly more like a workout rather than having to perfect individual positions. I have looked at yoga and pilates videos on youtube and probably found pilates slightly more enjoyable than yoga. Would probably need some supervision to correct mistakes, though.

It probably is a question of finding a nice and patient instructor. I find that whole yoga / ballet / dance world a bit intimidating because I feel so out of place among these very fit and graceful people, but I suppose everyone has to start somewhere. A close friend of mine is a professional ballet dancer and I don't feel embarrased about my clumsiness around him at all, but with yoga instructors and the like I get this (probably imagined) judgy vibe from them. 🙈Clearly need to get a grip and just try again.

How is your stress and sleep levels? I was a dnacer when younger but still have periods of being really clumsy ie walking into things when I'm not well rested. I teach and regularly have big bruises on my thighs from walking into tables in the classroom. The last week of term I walked full pelt into two door frames walking down the corridor as I had completely misjudged them.

Pilates. I was struggling to put my socks on but not I can put my hands flat on the floor with my legs straight. I'm still clumsy but have improved. I no longer walk into door frames!

This is all I want, really, so will definitely give pilates a shot!

Katy Bowman's work looks interesting, will check it out, thanks, Gibbons.

Rainbowqueeen, thank you for all those tips, I had heard of Yoga with Adrienne before but never actually tried it. Didn't know the others and will try your Yoga with Bird recommendation, easier to follow for beginners sounds good.

LIZS, yes, I probably could book a couple of one to one lessons to find out what would suit me. This would also spare me the embarassement of ending up in a class where I look like a total idiot in front of everyone.

How is your stress and sleep levels? I was a dnacer when younger but still have periods of being really clumsy ie walking into things when I'm not well rested. I teach and regularly have big bruises on my thighs from walking into tables in the classroom. The last week of term I walked full pelt into two door frames walking down the corridor as I had completely misjudged them.

This sounds very familiar, Singleandproud - tables and door frames are my nemesis on some days. I do intermittend fasting and have a really good diet these days which has improved my sleep a lot. But I definitely do notice that I have more 'accidents' when I'm stressed. I also have ADHD. I take medication which works really well for me, but I do sometimes have bad days where I really struggle to concentrate and get quite stressed. This tends to increase my clumsiness as well and I need to really watch my step so I don't fall down the stairs or take a tumble into a puddle.

Are you hypermobile?