Flexibility is but one part of healthy movement.
Balance is our ability to stand upright without pitching forward or back. It is our ability to move – walking, for example, or sitting down and standing up again – without falling forwards or backwards.
Coordination is our ability to make many small movements into one large and efficient movement, such as dropping to the knee to pick something up off the floor.
Power is our ability to transfer energy, and our intentions, into force. It is the ability our muscles have to lift ourselves back off the floor again and stand up.
Agility is our ability to change direction as we move, rapidly if needed, and fluently, such as turning to the left or right, or stepping past an obstacle which suddenly appears in our path.
Speed, in that case, is our ability to perform that movement quickly, such as dodging something coming our way, or grabbing something that is falling.
Reaction Time naturally follows from that, which is our ability to sense or see an object coming at us and react – with agility and speed – to the danger so that we move out of the way.
And, finally, flexibility…the ability to move our joints through the full range of motion. A flexible person can reach up for something with balance, reach down for something with coordination, and reach out for something with agility.
