0 6 Tips to Improve Balance

Feeling unstable and a bit wobbly from time to time could indicate that you have balancing problems, it's not the biggest concern to have - unless it is quite serious. However as we get older and our bodies become more and more fragile, slips and falls become harder for us to take, and not having good balance could cause these future falls (hopefully not).

I'm not going to discuss the exercises you can do to improve balance (well I suppose I mention one,) but tips on how to improve balance overall, here they are:

1. Practice Balance Every Day

If you want to improve at balance then you are going to have to practice balancing, and not just every once in a while but regularly. I would recommend doing balancing exercises every day. It's up to you what time of the day you decide to do them but doing them at the same time each day will help get you into a routine quicker.

One of the most obvious balancing exercises that I'm sure the vast majority of you reading this will know is simply standing on one leg. You can do it with your hands by your sides of stretched out - it's up to you. Hold your position for 1-2 minutes before proceeding to your other leg and again hold your position for another 1-2 minutes. One or two minutes doesn't sound like a lot, and that's because it isn't, but it's surprising how much of a difference 1-2 minutes can make. Of course you are welcome to practice for longer if you feel like it.

There are various different balancing exercises out there for you to do, the standing on one-leg exercise is just an example of one, and how many you decide to do a day is up to you. Yoga has many poses and stances that will help improve your balance if you fancy looking into it.

2. Keep your Eyes Fixed on Something

In the early stages of improving balance try not to let your eyes wander, when you do you can become uncoordinated and lose balance easily. Fixing your eyes on something (stationary) will help you yourself remain stationary as you can see much more clearly if you are losing your balance. Looking at a something still, that is close, will allow you to feel and notice subtle and small movements that you are making whilst trying to remain still, whereas looking at something far away will make noticing your own movements not so obvious.

Once you are better at balancing, looking around and letting your gaze travel around your surroundings will not have as much of an affect on you as it once would have.

3. Try Closing your Eyes

Once you are more familiar with balancing, try doing it with your eyes closed. I say try it once you have become used to balancing because closing your eyes and balancing is harder to do, so I wouldn't recommend it until you are confident with balancing. 

With your eyes being closed you obviously won't be able to use your line of sight to help steady you, you'll now have to rely solely on different senses to keep still, you'll be able to feel your movements very well and will know how steady you are. It might take some time to get good at balancing with your eyes shut but be patient and continue to practice and you'll get there in the end.

It's a surprisingly difficult thing to do. In fact why don't you quickly get up and try it right this instant, it will only take a few moments. Stand on one leg and once you have gained balance, close your eyes - you will notice the difference within a couple of seconds. If you somehow find this just as easy, then you have good balancing skills to say the least. I tried it just before writing this paragraph and found that I became seriously wobbly as soon as I had closed my eyes - I think a bit more practice for me is needed. :)

4. Change your Support Width 

When you are standing up your legs are your support, and the wider your legs are means you have a wider support, which often means that you will have better balance. Narrowing this support is going to have the opposite effect and make balancing harder, that's why a tightrope is harder to balance on than the pavement. Use this knowledge to help challenge yourself. First start by improving your balance on a large surface and as you become better, decrease the surface area, until eventually you are balancing on much less surface area than you were before and your room for error becomes smaller and smaller.

5. Lose Weight if Necessary

An overweight person is unfortunately on average going to find balance tougher than a person that is in shape. Their body is heavier and will be putting more stress on their joints and muscles, which will have a harder time holding them in place. Also being heavier they will have more momentum and correcting movements can be trickier. 
That's not to say that you can't gain good balance if you are overweight because you can, it just will be more difficult.

6. Strengthen your Legs

Having strong legs is essential for good balance. Your legs are what holds the rest of your body upright and what you are using to steady yourself when standing. If you have weak legs then practicing balance will be a little more strenuous on you, and you may find they start to 'shudder' because they're not used to it. If you have stronger legs then you are going to be able to hold yourself up better and for longer. To have strong legs you don't have to have 'ripped' legs but doing exercise will help.

Conclusion

How good at balance you want to become is up to you, whether it is the route of a yoga master you want to follow or just reduce the wobbliness you may sometimes have, I hope these tips, and any more that you come across help you.