How to improve your balance

Each year millions of people, especially 65 and older, fall. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention informs that a regular regimen of strength and balancing exercises can lessen instances of falls in aging populations.

Prevention magazine pointed out, “The muscles we use to stand tall weaken ever so gradually after we hit 30 …” and provided some simple ways to improve balance, including:

1. Stand on one leg as much as possible — while doing dishes, while standing at an upright desk, etc. Hold the pose for at least 30 seconds on each leg.
2. Balance on a wobble-type board, which can be purchased on various online sites for under $50; there are also online and YouTube workouts available for free.
3. Mindfully walk heel-toe forward and then backwards at least 20 steps at a time.
4. Do at least three sets of 10 squats, with a minute break in between, to build quadriceps and overall leg strength.
5. Dance. Ballet moves, especially, aid balance.

Barre classes, according to Women’s Health in September, combine elements from ballet, yoga and Pilates into low-impact, high-intensity movements to strengthen legs and improve balance.

CDC recommends Tai chi, and yoga is practiced by many individuals who want to improve balance as well as hip, leg and ankle strength. Focusing on “open” standing yoga poses is “particularly helpful for strengthening the outer hips,” informed Ann West, a yoga instructor in the San Diego and La Jolla, California, areas since 1994.

Finally, balance can be impeded by sleep deprivation. Prevention pointed out that people who get less than seven hours of sleep a night risk becoming off balance when they walk, take care of chores, etc.

Prevention offered this caution: “Avoiding falls means a longer life; about 20% of women who fracture a hip become permanently disabled, and another 20% die within a year. In fact, health problems linked to hip fractures result in more women’s deaths each year than breast cancer does.”