As in all other sports, a good basic position enables you to keep your balance. Firstly, assume a good base in order to support yourself by the correct placement of your feet and body over the skis.

The point of balance should be exactly under the balls of your feet just behind the toes. Many skiers tens to forget their feet once they put on a pair of stiff ski boots and they typically relax in their feet. The result of this is that they end up leaning too far back.

Try to remain focused on your feet, as this is the path to good balance. A simple exercise can help you understand this. Firstly, stand up barefoot. In a standing position, you weight will go predominantly through your heels, or between your heels and the balls of your feet.

Now take up a more sporty position by bending your knees and crouching forwards. Your knees should be slightly apart at the same time as you hold your arms out in front of your body. Finally, you should look up and straight ahead. This position we call an "all round" sports position. From here you can move easily in any direction: up, down, forward, backward, sideways and around.

Imagine that you alone have to defend the basket on a basketball court. If you stand in the position that we first described (standing normally), it would be easy for an attacking basketball player to get around you. If, on the other hand, you take up the more sporty position, which allows you more and faster movement, you might just be able to keep the attacking player from the basket because you have a stronger and better foundation.

Not only is it important to stand directly over the skis, it is also essential to lean forward over your feet. If you fall back on your heels when you are skiing, you will become locked in this position and will not be able to deal with unexpected obstacles on the slope in an optimal way.

There are many reasons as to why you can end up in a position where you lean backwards on your heels. Relaxing your feet is one but wind resistance and anxiety also play a determining role.

Wind resistance has greater influence on the upper body than on the lower body. The upper body is pressed backwards by the wind and as a result, you end up leaning backwards in relation to boots and skis.

Anxiety results in a reticent attitude that hinders you from leaning forwards over the skis to a position central to good control. Paradoxically, it is usually a fear of speed that results in the backwards-leaning stance and when you lean backwards, the skis have a tendency to run away from you and are more difficult to control.

Another important factor in achieving better balance is to have the right distance between your feet and your skis. For many years it have been fashionable to ski with the skis as close together as possible. Indeed this has almost been a goal in itself.

However, our theory about skiing combines both the aesthetic and attractive with the functional and energy saving and we argue that there should be a certain distance between the skis. This space allows you to move freely and independently and improves your balance throughout the turn.

A good rule of thumb is that the width of your hip should determine the distance between your skis, about 10-15cm (4-6 inches) depending on your physique. This distance should be maintained no matter where you are on the mountain. On mogul runs and powder runs it is, however, an advantage to ski with slightly less distance between your skis than described above. On mogul runs, keeping your skis together gives the best balance, due to the unevenness of the surface of the snow. In untracked snow, it is an advantage to keep your skis together in order to create a collected and better bearing ability on the skis. In this way, you can avoid sinking too much into the snow.

Arms, hands and the pole plant are just as central to the basic stance and to balance as anything else. Many skiers tend to hold their arms close to their sides, maybe to avoid looking out of control. But keeping your arms away from your body and held in front of you, is probably one of the biggest favors you can do to yourself. It is absolutely decisive in helping you to keep your balance.

A comparison of a skier and a tightrope walker may help to put this into perspective. Try to imagine yourself walking on a tightrope with your hands in your pockets. You may insist that you cannot compare skiing with walking on a tightrope, but skiing, with its many challenges on the way down the slope - varying gradients, speed, the resistance of the snow, traffic, visibility, and the turn in itself - demands just a bit of the tightrope walker in you! Therefore, it is important not to relax your hands and arms too much and "leave them behind you" but instead keep them and the ski poles in front of your body to maintain good balance.