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 perhaps her hip broke and she or he fell consequently. Generally it’s inconceivable to know which is the rooster and which is the egg. At any charge, the autumn was nearly the tip of her.
Lengthy story brief, after a stint within the hospital, she was progressing properly in rehab. A day earlier than she was to return dwelling, she went into kidney failure. Apparently, the mix of a number of drugs was an excessive amount of. Her caregivers stopped her remedy utterly and she or he slowly recovered. However the incident made me perceive why it’s typically mentioned that falls will be the start of the tip for older individuals.
Greater than 800,000 individuals are hospitalized every year for accidents stemming from falls. One out of 5 falls causes a critical harm resembling damaged bones or traumatic head harm. The truth is, falls are the most typical reason behind traumatic mind harm. 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 capability to acknowledge our place relative to the objects round us, together with the floor on which we’re standing or strolling. sense of steadiness permits us to carry out our each day duties with a way of stability and ease. For instance, one thing as widespread as strolling down the road and turning your head to speak to a buddy requires a wholesome sense of steadiness. With out steadiness, easy actions develop into not solely difficult, however may even be harmful.
As we age, a few of the components that contribute to good steadiness can start to lower. Eyesight can dim. Internal ear issues can disrupt the vestibular system. Neuropathy can lower proprioception.
Exterior causes resembling slippery or uneven surfaces, intoxication or sickness could cause falls. However they will 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 a lot of yoga poses that help steadiness. All of the standing poses—suppose Trikonasana (Triangle Pose), Virabhadrasana I and II (Warrior I and II), and so on.—will help strengthen our legs and domesticate steadiness. And naturally, the one-legged standing poses resembling Vrksasana (Tree Pose) are balancing poses.
It’s essential to problem our steadiness in several methods. Whereas we regularly consider standing steadiness poses after we’re hoping to domesticate proprioception, balancing in several orientations can be essential. That’s why I’ve a number of kinds of balancing poses within the examples beneath.
Most essential 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 is advisable to stand near a wall in a standing steadiness pose, please accomplish that. Even with that little bit of additional help, you’re nonetheless creating the talent of balancing.
5 Balancing Poses
- Foot Therapeutic massage: Giving consideration to our ft, massaging them, exercising our toes, and so on., retains them wholesome and aware of no matter floor we’re negotiating. Begin your observe with these easy workout routines. However you needn’t restrict it to your on-the-mat observe. You too can observe these when you’re sitting round watching TV or anytime you have got a spare second. One longtime pupil of mine who had by no means been capable of steadiness on one leg practiced these each day for about 9 months and was capable of steadiness for the primary time in her life! On the time she was in her 70s.
- Vrksasana (Tree Pose): There are, in fact, a lot of standing poses you’ll be able to observe to hone your steadiness. Observe the directions in this submit. It’s useful to do not forget that even while you’re feeling shaky in your steadiness poses, you’re nonetheless studying the talent of balancing. If you’re flailing round attempting to not fall in Tree Pose, you’re truly creating proprioception. So don’t really feel discouraged. Keep in mind, this can be a observe, not a efficiency!
- Parsva Balasana (Chicken Canine Pose): As I defined above, it’s essential to problem our steadiness in several 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 along with your head able apart from upright helps stimulate your vestibular system. Learn these directions that can assist you refine your observe.
- Ubhaya Padangusthasana (Each Palms and Huge Toes Pose): This pose provides a possibility to steadiness in yet one more approach—in your rear. Training this asana in its commonest type, with the legs and arms straight, will 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 a substitute of holding your ft. 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 lecturers reasoned that with such a brief class, they didn’t want to incorporate Savasana. Whereas I loved their instructing 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 and not using a sense of steadiness. Savasana is, in truth considered one of yoga’s finest balancing poses. It balances your body-mind at a deeper degree 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.
In fact there are numerous 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. A very powerful issue is the eye you carry to your physique as you observe. Maintain your focus inside your physique, on the sensations you are feeling. Do not forget that frantic, shallow respiration creates agitation—not an amazing recipe for balancing. Be certain your respiration is steady, deep and calm.
About Charlotte Bell
Charlotte Bell found yoga in 1982 and commenced instructing in 1986. Charlotte is the creator of Aware Yoga, Aware Life: A Information for On a regular basis Apply and Yoga for Meditators, each revealed by Rodmell Press. Her third ebook 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 Pink Rock Rondo, whose DVD gained two Emmy awards.
