Do you often feel unsteady on your feet or struggle to keep balance during everyday activities? If you don’t have good balance, you could fall, hurt yourself, or become less mobile over time. People of all ages can get it, and it can make daily tasks harder.
The good news is that yoga can help you get more stable and coordinated! Yoga helps strengthen muscles, improves focus, and increases body awareness all essential for better balance.
Whether you are an athlete, a senior, or just someone looking to improve posture and strength, these yoga poses will help.
Let’s look at the 10 best yoga poses for improving your balance and how they can help your health as a whole.
Can Yoga Help Build Balance?
Yes! Regularly doing yoga will greatly improve your balance, both for difficult yoga poses and for healthy aging.
The many balancing poses in yoga, such as standing poses, arm balances, and inversions, give you chances to practice balancing, but all the other poses in a well-rounded yoga class also strengthen and stretch your body in ways that support better balance.
Key Alignment Cues
1. Gaze and Head Position
Because your head is heavy, tilting or looking down can throw you off balance. Be aware of the position of your head and your gaze in every pose.
2. Hip Alignment
A tilted pelvis can really affect your balance. Get familiar with closed vs open hips in yoga and always check to make sure yours are level and facing the appropriate direction.
3. Responsive Legs
Some styles of yoga teach you to lock your knees in standing postures, but a slightly bent knee allows your body to make the continuous adjustments that contribute to better balancing.
4. Stabler Wider
If you have trouble balancing in standing poses, take your feet wider apart toward the sides of your mat for a more stable base. On the other hand, if you are looking to challenge your balance, take the feet closer together.
Poses to Improve Balance
1. Mountain Pose – Tadasana
Tadasana commonly referred to as Mountain pose, is a Starting Yoga Pose, where the pose leans towards good stead amongst the tall, erect posture with feet parallel to each other.
- Come to stand at the front of your mat with your feet touching or slightly separated.
- With your arms at your sides, turn your palms to face forward.
- Shoulders, pelvis, knees, ankles in order.
- Exercise your legs and core.
- Keep your neck long and eyes neutral.
2. Chair Pose (Utkatasana)
Chair yoga for seniors is for people with limited mobility, or those who do not want to engage in floor-level exercises but want to enjoy the health benefits of yoga.
- From Mountain Pose, bend your knees approximately halfway toward the floor, taking your butt back and your chest forward.
- Regain heel weight.
- Lift your arms overhead. They’ll be diagonal due to your chest angle.
3. Corpse Pose (Savasana)
Known more commonly as the “yoga resting position,” Savasana, or the Corpse Pose, is a relatively mundane posture.
- Close your eyes and lie on your back.
- Your palms should face the ceiling.
- Turn your feet.
- Relax your entire body.
- Rest 10 minutes mindfully.
4. Plank Pose (Phalakasana)
In Sanskrit, Planking is called Kumbhakasana (koom-bahk-AHS-uh-nuh). Plank Pose holding your body off the ground, a plank balances on your toes and forearms.
- Reach your right leg straight back with your toes tucked and foot on the mat from hands and knees.
- Return your left leg.
- Keep your shoulders above your wrists and your body straight from head to heels (no butt-protruding).
- Draw your belly button toward your spine and engage your glutes.
- If you can’t plank, lower your knees to the mat and keep your head-knee line straight.
5. Side Plank Pose (Vasisthasana)
Side Plank Pose Comes from Sanskrit. In Sanskrit its call Utthita Vasisthasana and sometimes shortened to Vasisthasana.
- From Plank Pose, shift your weight onto your right hand and elevate your left arm to the ceiling while turning your chest to face the left side of your mat.
- Place your left foot on top of your right and flex them forcefully.
- Lift hips to ceiling.
6. Boat Pose (Navasana)
The Boat Pose is an ugly position during the practice of yoga in which your body maintains the V position.
- Sit on your mat with knees bent.
- Hold onto your thighs as you lean backwards and elevate your feet.
- Stand with shins parallel to the floor.
- If your upper body doesn’t collapse, release your legs.
- Palms rising.
- Straighten your legs to form a V.
7. Crescent Lunge (Anjaneyasana)
- From Downward Facing Dog, put your right foot inside your right hand and lower your left knee to your mat, using a yoga mat pad if necessary.
- Check that both hip points face forward by touching your hips.
- You can deepen your right knee to pull your hips forward or keep upright.
- Raise your arms.
8. High Lunge
- Right foot into right hand from Downward Facing Dog.
- From your fingertips, lift your hands and torso off the floor using your core.
- Touch your hips for forward orientation.
- Raise arms.
- Putting your feet on the mat’s sides creates a wider platform for unstable people.
- Hold your right knee over your ankle and thigh parallel to the floor.
- Straighten left leg.
9. Revolved Lunge Pose
- Take arms to either side from the High Lunge with your right leg forward.
- Twist right, bringing your left arm in front and your right behind, keeping your pelvis looking front.
- Remember to rotate your head properly from your core, not your neck.
- Having difficulties keeping your torso upright? Soften your back knee.
10. Half Moon Pose (Ardha Chandrasana)
- Move your right foot next to your right hand from Downward Facing Dog.
- Bring your right hand 12-15 inches forward. Watch your fingers.
- Straighten your right leg and bring your left leg parallel to the floor with your left hand on your hip.
- Left hip over right hip, left shoulder over right shoulder.
- Fully engage your left leg by flexing your left foot.
- Look up to the ceiling.
- Lift your right fingertips a couple inches above the floor for increased balance.
Benefits of Yoga for Balance
Doing yoga for balance is good for your body and mind in many ways:
Builds up core muscles: being stable means having a strong core.
Focus and concentration: are improved, and mind-body connection is made better.
Better posture: It helps keep your spine healthy and in the right position.
Boosts Muscle Strength: Makes legs, knees, and feet stronger.
Makes you more flexible: it makes you less stiff and helps you move better.
Keeps you from falling and getting hurt essential for seniors and sports.
Lessens Stress and Anxiety: Keeping your mind calm helps you stay balanced.
Source:
Mooney, K., & Mooney, K. (2024, November 1). 15 yoga poses to improve balance. Yoga Journal.
Peloton, T. (2024, May 17). 7 yoga poses that improve your balance.
Stoenner, C. (2023, December 4). The 10 best yoga poses to improve balance. Bodhi Surf + Yoga.
Book Source:
Light on Yoga by B.K.S. Iyengar
The Heart of Yoga: Developing a Personal Practice by T.K.V. Desikachar
