This entry was posted on Sep 3, 2025 by Charlotte Bell.
A few years in the past, my mom fell and broke her hip. Or possibly her hip broke and she or he fell consequently. Generally it’s not possible to know which is the hen and which is the egg. At any charge, the autumn was virtually the top of her.
Lengthy story quick, after a stint within the hospital, she was progressing nicely in rehab. A day earlier than she was to return house, she went into kidney failure. Apparently, the mix of a number of drugs was an excessive amount of. Her caregivers stopped her treatment utterly and she or he slowly recovered. However the incident made me perceive why it’s typically stated that falls could be the start of the top for older folks.
Greater than 800,000 persons are hospitalized annually for accidents stemming from falls. One out of 5 falls causes a severe damage similar to damaged bones or traumatic head damage. Actually, falls are the commonest reason behind traumatic mind damage. Listed here are some extra stats on falls and their sometimes-catastrophic results.
What’s Steadiness and Why is it Vital?
Put merely, steadiness is our skill to acknowledge our place relative to the objects round us, together with the floor on which we’re standing or strolling. A great sense of steadiness permits us to carry out our day by day duties with a way of stability and ease. For instance, one thing as frequent as strolling down the road and turning your head to speak to a good friend requires a wholesome sense of steadiness. With out steadiness, easy actions develop into not solely difficult, however may even be harmful.
As we age, among the components that contribute to good steadiness can start to lower. Eyesight can dim. Interior ear issues can disrupt the vestibular system. Neuropathy can lower proprioception.
Exterior causes similar to slippery or uneven surfaces, intoxication or sickness may cause falls. However they’ll additionally occur due to a scarcity of consideration or underdeveloped proprioception. The excellent news is, yoga will help. Many asanas are particularly designed to enhance steadiness. And the centering of our minds on our our bodies sharpens mindfulness, in order that we’re extra apt to acknowledge subtler indicators of imbalance in our our bodies earlier than we fall.
There are lots of yoga poses that assist steadiness. All of the standing poses—assume Trikonasana (Triangle Pose), Virabhadrasana I and II (Warrior I and II), and many others.—will help strengthen our legs and domesticate steadiness. And naturally, the one-legged standing poses similar to Vrksasana (Tree Pose) are balancing poses.
It’s vital to problem our steadiness in numerous methods. Whereas we frequently consider standing steadiness poses once we’re hoping to domesticate proprioception, balancing in numerous orientations can also be vital. That’s why I’ve a number of kinds of balancing poses within the examples under.
Most vital is to do not forget that balancing, like all asana, is a observe, not a efficiency. Meet your physique the place it’s. For instance, if it’s worthwhile to stand near a wall in a standing steadiness pose, please achieve this. Even with that little bit of additional assist, you’re nonetheless growing the ability of balancing.
5 Balancing Poses
- Foot Therapeutic massage: Giving consideration to our toes, massaging them, exercising our toes, and many others., retains them wholesome and conscious of no matter floor we’re negotiating. Begin your observe with these easy workouts. However you needn’t restrict it to your on-the-mat observe. You too can observe these whilst you’re sitting round watching TV or anytime you might have a spare second. One longtime pupil of mine who had by no means been in a position to steadiness on one leg practiced these day by day for about 9 months and was in a position to steadiness for the primary time in her life! On the time she was in her 70s.
- Vrksasana (Tree Pose): There are, after all, plenty of standing poses you’ll be able to observe to hone your steadiness. Comply with the directions in this submit. It’s useful to do not forget that even if you’re feeling shaky in your steadiness poses, you’re nonetheless studying the ability of balancing. Once you’re flailing round attempting to not fall in Tree Pose, you’re truly growing proprioception. So don’t really feel discouraged. Bear in mind, this can be a observe, not a efficiency!
- Parsva Balasana (Chicken Canine Pose): As I defined above, it’s vital to problem our steadiness in numerous methods. Chicken Canine Pose is a core strengthener and a steadiness pose. As a result of it strengthens the core—entrance, again and inside—it stabilizes us to extend steadiness. However the act of “standing” on one knee and one arm additionally develops proprioception. As well as, balancing together with your head ready apart from upright helps stimulate your vestibular system. Learn these directions that will help you refine your observe.
- Ubhaya Padangusthasana (Each Arms and Massive Toes Pose): This pose provides a possibility to steadiness in one more method—in your rear. Training this asana in its most typical type, with the legs and arms straight, could be difficult in case your hamstrings and calves are on the tighter aspect. Be happy to bend your knees and maintain onto the backs of your thighs as an alternative of holding your toes. This submit can provide you some tips on working towards safely.
- Savasana (Corpse Pose): Years in the past I attended an early morning class that was solely an hour lengthy. The academics reasoned that with such a brief class, they didn’t want to incorporate Savasana. Whereas I loved their educating within the different asanas, the Savasana-free class all the time made me really feel scattered and ungrounded. Looking back, I can see that this can be a recipe for transferring by the remainder of the day with out a sense of steadiness. Savasana is, in actual fact one among yoga’s finest balancing poses. It balances your body-mind at a deeper stage than merely balancing on one leg. Give your self 10 minutes in case your observe is an hour or much less, and quarter-hour or extra if it’s longer.
After all there are a lot of extra balancing poses than the 5 examples I’ve given. Inversions are nice, and as I wrote above, all of the wide-stance standing poses are useful. An important issue is the eye you convey to your physique as you observe. Maintain your focus inside your physique, on the sensations you are feeling. Keep in mind that frantic, shallow respiratory creates agitation—not an excellent recipe for balancing. Ensure your respiratory is steady, deep and calm.
About Charlotte Bell
Charlotte Bell found yoga in 1982 and commenced educating in 1986. Charlotte is the creator of Aware Yoga, Aware Life: A Information for On a regular basis Follow and Yoga for Meditators, each revealed by Rodmell Press. Her third guide is titled Hip-Wholesome Asana: The Yoga Practitioner’s Information to Defending the Hips and Avoiding SI Joint Ache (Shambhala Publications). She writes a month-to-month column for CATALYST Journal and serves as editor for Yoga U On-line. Charlotte is a founding board member for GreenTREE Yoga, a non-profit that brings yoga to underserved populations. A lifelong musician, Charlotte performs oboe and English horn within the Salt Lake Symphony and people sextet Crimson Rock Rondo, whose DVD gained two Emmy awards.
