During your youth, you surely remember how confident you were while running at top speed without the fear of tripping. Or, you once played hopscotch, hopping on one leg through the squares without stumbling down. If you were to do those things at your age today, would you still have the same level of confidence you had when you were younger? Or are you now afraid that you might lose your balance and fall anytime?
When you think of losing your balance and falling off while doing such activities, there is a bigger chance that you will actually fall. Losing your confidence will increase the possibility of stumbling. You don’t have to worry too much because there are exercises that you can follow to actually master to train your balance and be more confident every time you move.
The Truth about Human Balance
Balance is an individual’s ability to maintain the static or moving position of the body. Your body can naturally support your entire weight and keep it balanced by bringing it in your body’s center of gravity. However, there are cases when your balance is being challenged.
The following are some possible causes of loss of balance, according to the National Institutes of Health:
- Medications (side effects)
- Ear infections (affecting the vestibular system of the ear)
- Injury in the head (affecting the balance center of the brain)
- Low blood pressure
- Arthritis
- Imbalance or disorder of the eye muscles
What happens when you are out of balance? Primarily, you may feel dizzy in mild cases of balance problems. You become unsteady whether when you are walking, standing or just sitting or lying down. You may feel like your surrounding is spinning or you may feel as if you are going to fall any moment.
Despite the possibilities of balance problems, several easy but effective exercise methods have been developed. But, what can these techniques do?
Importance of Balance Exercise
Balance exercises are actually very important but they are often overlooked. What makes this type of exercise so significant?
- Improves flexibility and performance
- Develops better stability of the joints
- Maintains a good posture
- Prevents injuries and falls
- Improves coordination of the muscles and the brain
- Strengthens the core muscles for a stronger body
- Improves your power and agility
How to Improve Balance?
There are several ways you can address queries on how to improve balance. To help you out, here are some informative videos that you can watch. One tip, you can bookmark this post and save it for your future reference! Check the videos out below!
Here’s Cynthia Allen to give you seven (7) tips for balance improvement.
Simple Balance Exercises You Need to Know (6:37 mins)
The secret to improving your balance is to challenge it. The balance tips shown in the video above are the basic ones you can use, especially if you are a beginner. If you feel challenged and are confident with the simple methods for balance improvement in the video above, you can move on to more advanced routines.
Better Balance Workout for Foot, Ankle, Leg Stability and Strength with Caroline Jordan (9.35 mins)
Tips on How to Improve Balance Exercise Better
- Go barefoot to improve balance. The bones and muscles need to be stimulated by going barefoot. If you don’t want to go purely barefoot, you can wear socks, thin ones.
- If you are falling out while doing the exercise, that’s okay! Just go on while you are working your balance.
- Always remember to breathe normally. Avoid holding your breath while doing the techniques to optimize balance.
- Always count the quality of your balance exercise and not merely the quantity.
Challenging Your Balance
One way on how to improve balance even more, is to challenge it. The techniques provided above may be too simple. Once you master them, you can still challenge yourself to do better! Challenge your balance and develop it even more with the help of this informative video below.
Advanced Balance Workout – Agility Exercises to Increase Balance and Muscle Tone (21.03 mins)
Tai Chi and Yoga for Balance
Tai Chi is also a good technique that can help you with how to improve balance. It is a kind of balance exercise that mainly uses energy and fluid movements for relaxation, coordination, balance, and stability. However, when you do Tai Chi for balance, you first need to practice simple balance exercise forms, as shown in the videos above.
Yoga is also an amazing technique that can help you to improve your balance! It balances not only your physical aspects but your mental and emotional aspects too. Learn more about yoga from this website as well.
Training with Tools for Balance
You can improve your balance by using some helpful equipment as well! The Swiss Ball and the BOSU Ball are two things that can help you practice basic balance training and some advanced skills! Check out some videos for balance training using these equipment.
Balance Exercise with a BOSU Ball
Learn how to use a BOSU ball and tips on how to improve balance. Check this video out and learn some more balance techniques that you can practice at home. (4 mins)
Balance Exercise with a Swiss Ball
Practice your balance, improve your lower back, and strengthen your core in one exercise! Check out how to use a Swiss ball for your balance! (12.07 mins)
Practice your balance exercises now to improve your stability, strengthen your core, and prevent injuries. You can start small and slow. You don’t have to push yourself too hard at the beginning. The ways on how to improve balance can be done slowly but surely. Along the way, you’ll notice that you have actually mastered the balancing exercise for you to enjoy and benefit from.
How well do you like the balance techniques? Do you have your own methods for balance too? Let us know about it in the comment box below!
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Gita is the founder of My Menopause Journey. Since 2014, she has been supporting midlife women by sharing hard-earned learnings from her own experience. To advance her knowledge, Gita puts a lot of her time and effort into understanding the broad spectrum of women’s health. She immerses in extensive research about the physical, mental and emotional aspects of menopause. Gita believes in the life-changing power of healthy, holistic living — this is where she anchors her message to all women. Learn more about her marvelous mission in About us - My Menopause Journey.