Did you know that the perception of balance and movement in the body (Kinesthesia) is often called ‘our sixth sense.’ Balance training is an enjoyable way to help you become more aware of your body and how it moves. Since balance exercises are slow and deliberate, they are a great way to look inwards and observe how various muscles work together to keep you in balance.
Balance Training
First Rate Your Sense of Balance
To begin with, you want to measure how well you can balance, so that you can monitor your progress as you do the exercises. Your sense of balance is a skill that can be improved with regular practice. To get the best results do balance training at least three times a week and assess your improvement once a month. Here are three simple tests you can perform on your own.
Both feet balance test
Stand with your feet together and your ankles touching. Cross your arms and close your eyes, and then stand in this position for as long as you can. If you can hold this position for more than 60 seconds then you have a good sense of balance. If not, try to work up to 60 seconds.
One foot balance test
Stand on one foot and bend the knee of your other leg backwards. Make sure that your legs aren’t touching each other. If you are unsure of your ability to balance stand near a wall or in a doorway, so you can support yourself if needed. Close your eyes and hold this position for as long as you can.
If you are under sixty you should be able to hold this pose for at least 30 seconds with your eyes open and 20 seconds with your eyes closed. If you are over 60 aim to hold the pose for 20 seconds with your eyes open and 10 seconds with your eyes closed.
Ball of the foot balance test
Stand on one foot with your hands on your hips. Place your non-supporting foot against the inside of the knee of your supporting leg. Raise your heel off the ground and hold the pose for as long as you can. Aim for 25 seconds on each leg. If you’re in your golden years aim for 15 seconds.
7 Balance Exercises
You’ve done the balance tests and assessed your sense of balance you are ready for the balance exercises. Here are seven exercises you can do at home to improve balance, stability, and awareness of your body.
1. One-legged Warm-up
Stand with your heels together and your arms by your sides. Make sure your hips are facing forward and that your knees are slightly bent. Don’t look at your feet.
Keeping your arms straight lift them to the sides to shoulder height. At the same time, raise one knee until it’s just below hip height, and your foot is about level with the knee of the other leg. If standing on one leg is too difficult, hold onto the wall or a chair for support.
Close your eyes and pay attention to the movement of the muscles in your legs. Notice how your ankle shifts from side to side to maintain balance.
After about a minute, lower your foot and arms back to the starting position, and repeat with the opposite leg.
2. One leg cross-body punches
Hold two light dumbbells at chest height. If you don’t have dumbbells use milk jugs, tin cans, water bottles, bags of rice, books, ankle weights, or your fists.
Put your weight onto your left foot, and bend your left knee a little. Lift your right foot a few inches off the ground behind you. If you’re a beginner keep your right toe on the ground for support. Keeping a stable footing, punch the weights across your body, one at a time. Then switch sides.
3. Bean bag on your head
Up until the 1950s women in high class society were taught poise, grace, and balance by walking with a book on their heads. Sometimes they used a glass of water. This was done in finishing schools or as training for beauty pageants.
Place a bean bag, book, or a similar item on your head. Then, without holding onto the item walk in a straight line or a circle while maintaining good posture. To increase the difficulty you might try walking faster, walking sideways or backward. Another variation you can do is sitting down and standing up.
I grew up in South Africa and was always impressed by the heavy loads African women would carry on their heads. This practice was commonplace in Europe until around 1820 and is still very common in many parts of the world.
Put a bag of rice in a tea towel and knot it closed. Start with about 500g and slowly increase the weight. Set a timer for ten minutes, place the bag on your head, and then wander around the house, sit at your desk, or read a book.
4. Single Leg Ball Toss
Stand on one leg and then either throw a ball up in the air and catch it, or throw it against a wall and catch it. Most people use a tennis ball but any ball will do. If you don’t have any balls at hand use a bean bag, or crumple up a piece of paper.
The nicest way to do this exercise is with a partner. Ask them to throw the ball to you at slightly different speeds and angles. This will increase the level of difficulty.
5. Ball Twist
Stand on one leg and raise the knee of your other leg. Hold a ball close to your body at waist height. You can use a tennis ball, soccer ball, weighted ball, or dumbbells. Twist your body to bring the ball all the way to your left, then twist to bring it all the way to your right.
5. The Chair Pose
The Chair Pose, also known as the Awkward Posture, is safe for beginners but can be challenging to get just right.
Stand straight with your heels almost touching, and your toes pointing slightly outwards. Point your arms out in front of you, and then slowly lean backwards as if you are about to sit down on a chair. The key to this pose is to keep your spine as straight and as upright as possible. The natural inclination is to stick the butt out, arch the spine, and lean forward, but this is incorrect.
An easier variation is to lean backwards, placing your hips against a wall. Stay in this position for several breaths to several minutes. When you are done, slowly walk your feet toward the wall to come up and out of the pose.
7. The Frog Stand
The frog stand is a beginners gymnastic position that focus on building strength and balance.
The first thing you need to do is get a pillow and put it in front of you. This is important because the pillow will protect your head if you fall forwards. Get into a ‘frog’ position with your arms straight, and your hands on the ground in front of your feet.
Move your knees so that they're resting against your elbows for support. Slowly lean forward placing your weight onto your hands, so that your feet are raised off the ground. Don’t worry if at first, you can’t lift your feet completely off the floor. The frog stand takes a bit of practice.
When you start out you might only be able to hold the frog position for a few seconds or so. With practice you’ll eventually get to a minute.
I’m Dr. Rodger Douglas, DMH, a South African-born homeopath now based in Osaka, Japan. With a psychology degree from Nelson Mandela University and a diploma from the Hahnemann College of Heilkunst, I specialize in holistic care for fibromyalgia. I serve clients by phone or video across the US, Canada, the UK, and beyond, shipping remedies directly from Japan.