3 Easy Exercises For Better Balance and Stability

Thanks to Susan and Nancy in my Friday Chair Yoga class for pointing me to this BBC article about why we should actively work on our balance. The article validates why we are focusing on balance and stability in January and February in our in-person and Zoom classes!

Benefits of a regular balance practice

• strengthening of leg and hip muscles, which helps ward off sarcopenia (age related loss of muscle tissue)

• activation of the prefrontal cortex of the brain, which controls memory and problem solving

• activation of the vestibular system, the area in the inner ear that controls balance

• activation of the somatosensory system, the nerves that tell us where we are in space in relation to the ground

Not surprisingly, strengthening of both the body and the brain in this way helps prevent falls, and gives us a path to healthy aging!

The article goes on to recommend brushing your teeth standing on one leg, and you should go ahead and do that if you like. But if that is too much to start with, follow along with the videos below and do our hip warm ups first before you begin your balance practice.

Step 1: Tick Tocks

Stand tall and find a point on the wall in front of you to focus on. Keep your long spine. Rock side to side, shifting weight from one leg to the other. Don't kick legs out of crunch up side seams. You should move like tin soldier! Begin to spend more time on one side, holding your pose, before going the other side.

Jazz it up:

• Place hands on head, and as you pause on one leg, raise arms overhead and bring them back down. Go to the other side.

• Pause on one leg and bend knee straight back, bringing heel towards hip. Repeat 2 or 3 times, then go to the other side.

• Pause on one leg and lift opposite leg a few inches. Keep side seams long! No crunching. Pulse a few times, and then switch.

Step 2: Rocking Front to Back

Stagger feet with toes pointing forward. Keep a long upright spine and find a focus point on the wall in front of you. Shift weight forward onto front leg and then onto back leg. Feel the front and back body muscles activate. Don't lift at the hip or kick the back leg up. Just like in tick tocks, feel that the legs and spine are long. Spending longer amounts of time leaning on each foot, finding the place where you are balanced and strong with good muscle activation and without too much wobble. Switch sides and bring the opposite leg in front, then repeat.

Jazz it up:

• Sweep the arms up when forward, and back when you lean back

• Pause on the front leg, bend the back knee and bring heel towards hip 3 times, then rock back

• Pause on the back leg, lift front leg up slightly and point and flex toes 5 times, then rock forward

Step 3: Favorite balance pose

Now maybe it's time to brush your teeth on one leg! Or you can do any of the yoga poses we practice during class. Common balance poses are Warrior 3, Tree Pose, and Eagle Pose. But you can do anything you like, or stick with our stability warm ups.

Come back to the blog in the next month and I'll have some more videos to share. In the meantime, enjoy your balance practice and I'll see you in class or on Zoom!

Om Shanti,

Laura