Why is it important to improve your balance? Having better balance means that your body will naturally be able to complete certain physical tasks more easily. If you’re an athlete, having better balance will increase your performance and make you more agile. For non-athletes improved balance means everyday tasks become easier, like walking on grass and having more control over your everyday movements. Plus, improving balance has also been shown to help prevent injuries!
5 Moves To Improve Your Balance
1. Bird Dog
Start in Table Top position, hands beneath shoulders, knees (two fists apart) directly beneath hips. Inhale as you lift your right arm and extend it straight out in front of you. At the same time lift the left leg and extend it straight out in front of you. Hold for 10 seconds and then change sides.
Advanced: Hold for 10 seconds and then add a few elbow-to-knee crunches and then extend back out into Bird Dog pose and back into the crunch.
2. High Lunge
From Table Top position, step your right foot forward between your hands and then lift up into a high lunge. Both feet are facing on separate tracks (hip-width apart), the back leg is straight, front knee bent so that the front thigh is as parallel to the mat as possible. Arms are raised up towards the ceiling, palms facing each other. Hold for 10 seconds and then change sides.
Advanced: Add a prayer twist to the side of the leg that is in front at the time and hold for an additional 10 seconds. Repeat on the other side.
3. Chair Pose
Bring your ankles and knees to touch and then sit down in an imaginary chair. Keep the chest lifted, eyes gazing straight ahead, arms raised up towards the ceiling. Shrug the shoulders away from the ears and sit down deeper into the chair. Rock back onto your heels. Hold for 20 seconds.
Advanced: Add toe taps to the Chair posture. Place a block or small object (like a water bottle or your mask) next to your right foot. Then, while in Chair pose, lift the right foot up and over the object, tapping down on the other side. Repeat five times, come back into Chair and then change sides.
4. Toe Stand
From a normal standing posture, hands and arms resting alongside the body (or crossed at your chest), start to come all the way up onto your toes. Hold for 10 seconds, then come back down again. Repeat two to three times.
Advanced: After coming up onto your toes, raise your arms, so that they’re parallel with the mat and, while keeping your ankles lifted, sit down slowly into the imaginary chair and hold for 10 seconds. Repeat two to three times.
5. One-Legged Tadasana
From a normal standing posture, inhale as you lift your right knee up so that your thigh is parallel to the mat and your leg forms a 90-degree angle. Hold for up to 30 seconds. Change sides and repeat on the left.
Advanced: Add a twist! Once you are in the One-Legged Tadasana, place your left hand on the outside of your right thigh and twist open to the right with your right arm extended out, parallel to the mat and hold for 10 seconds before returning to your One-Legged Tadasana.
