Yoga Poses to Improve Your Balance

So, you are dedicated to a solid fitness routine. Have you considered supplementing your workout with Yoga Poses that are designed to improve your balance?

All the crazed workout trends vying for our attention. Promising tighter arms, a flatter belly, and buns of steel. The importance of balance often gets side-lined as we speed toward physical perfection.

Whether you’re a runner, bodybuilder, or Zumba enthusiast. Even if you are already a yogi, good balance is critical. You want to achieve the best mind-body health. This, in turn, improves your aptitude and adaptability on or off the mat.

We could spend all day talking about why balance is so important. But, we’ll focus on a few key points and include some quick tips on a handful of poses to get you started.

Yoga Poses for Strong Core, Strong Balance

Much of our balance comes from our core muscles. Many yoga poses to improve your balance center around strengthening the core. Balance on one leg and you’ll feel the muscular contractions of your core as they work to keep you up.

Many people tend to focus on the abs if they want to strengthen their core. It’s important to remember the role of back muscles in maintaining proper balance.

A simple yet challenging pose. Plank asana is one of the absolute best in strengthening your full core. Straighten that spine, contract those stomach muscles, and don’t forget to breathe! Hold this one for a full minute and you will be surprised how it’s powerful effect creeps up on you in no time.

Paddleboard Prowess

Challenging yourself to take your practice onto a paddleboard. Create an incentive to maintain a better balance to avoid splashing about in the water. It helps you concentrate on areas of opportunity so you know what part of your body you’re depending on the most. Which side is more dominant. Where subtle adjustments are needed to make all the difference.

The downward-facing dog is often among the first poses learned in yoga. It’s been said that if you can do down-dog well, you are capable of conquering any yoga pose. Try a downward-facing dog on a paddleboard. You will become a master in no time as you refine all the subtleties of the pose. Down-dog is one of the most basic and accessible yoga poses to improve your balance. Especially when performed on a paddleboard.

Nurture Through Nature

What would articles on ‘Yoga Poses to Improve Your Balance’ be without the tree pose? Tree pose, when done properly, engages the core, spine, and knees. It also supplements a bit of strength training in the feet, calves, and glutes. This asana makes it clear very quickly where your balance is off. There are a few tricks to help you master it in no time.

Balancing in tree pose can sometimes be intimidating. Especially to anyone that finds themselves wobbling erratically just to stay standing.

The trick to mastering tree pose is to distribute your weight across your standing foot. Lock your balancing knee to further solidify a firm base. Keep extending your spine up-up-up like a tree reaching for the sky. After sustaining the pose for about a minute, do the same with the other side.

Now, these three asanas are not the be-all-to-end-all when it comes to yoga poses to improve your balance. They are a fantastic starting point and easy to work into your existing fitness routine.

Even on your days of rest, doing a few poses such as these can greatly improve your strength of balance. The transformations we see on our mats become transformations we see in our daily lives.

6 Yoga Poses To Improve Balance

Mountain Pose

1. Stand with the bases of your big toes touching, heels apart (so that your second toes are parallel). Lift and spread your toes and the balls of your feet, then lay them down on the floor. Rock back and forth and side to side. Reduce this swaying to a standstill, with your weight balanced evenly on the feet.
2. Firm your thigh muscles and lift the knee caps, without hardening your lower belly. Lift the inner ankles to strengthen the inner arches. Then imagine a line of energy all the way up along your inner thighs to your groins. And from there through the core of your torso, neck, and head, and out through the crown of your head. Turn the upper thighs inward. Lengthen your tailbone toward the floor and lift the pubis toward the navel.
3. Press your shoulder blades into your back, then widen them across and release them down your back. Lift the top of your sternum straight toward the ceiling. Without pushing your lower front ribs forward. Widen your collarbones. Hang your arms beside the torso.
4. Balance the crown of your head over the center of your pelvis. The underside of your chin should be parallel to the floor. Keep your throat soft, and the tongue wide and flat on the floor of your mouth. Soften your eyes.
5. Tadasana is usually the starting position for all the standing poses. But it’s useful to practice Tadasana as a pose in itself. Stay in the pose for 30 seconds to 1 minute, breathing easily.

Twisted Chair Pose

1. Start from standing position.
2. Adjust your feet to be parallel and your toes touching. Your heels should be slightly separated. Twist into your knees, and lift your arms up over your head.
3. Now keep your hands in front of your chest in Namaskar pose.
4. Turn from your shoulders to the right side without moving your hips or knees.
5. Put your left elbow on your right knee and bend your chest towards the right.
6. Press your both hands into each other for stability.
7. Your knees ought to be over your lower legs (ankles).
8. Inhale deeply, and look up.
9. Breathe out to draw your shoulder bones together and further down your back.
10. Try to remain in the position for one to three minutes.
11. Exhale and get back to your initial position.

Tree Pose

1. Start with your feet together and place your right foot on your inner left upper thigh.
2. Press your hands in prayer and find a spot in front of you that you can hold in a steady gaze.
3. Hold and breathe for 8-10 breaths then switch sides.
4. Make sure you don’t lean in to the standing leg and keep your abdominals engaged and shoulders relaxed.

Half Moon Pose

1. First, come into the Triangle Pose on your right side and keep your left hand on your left side of the hip.
2. Inhale and bend your right knee. Try to keep your same foot around 12 inches forward. Keep your right hand in forwarding direction and keep it apart from your right foot toes.
3. Then breathe out and move your right hand to the ground or floor. Press the floor with your right hand.
4. Keep your right leg straight. During this raise your alternate leg (left leg) off the floor parallel to the ground.
5. Now, try to maintain your balance. Don’t lock your right knee. You have to keep your knee cap straight.
6. Bend your upper torso to your left, and move your left hip part facing straight.
7. Keep your left hand on your left side of the hip and your head should be in a position of looking forward.
8. Maintain whole body weight on the leg in which you are standing on.
9. Press the floor by your lower hand it will help you to gain the balance.
10. Make sure you firmly push the scapulas and sacrum against the back of your torso.
11. Remain in the pose for a few seconds. After that put down your left leg to the floor and come to your initial position.
12. Repeat the same process on the opposite side.

Extended Hand-To-Big-Toe Pose

1. First, get into the Mountain Pose, keep your left knee in the same direction as your belly.
2. Now reach your left arm inward to your thigh and cross it over your front ankle. Hold the outside of your left foot.
3. Keep your front thigh muscles of your standing leg strong. Keep your outer thigh in an inward direction.
4. Breathe in and expand your left leg forward.
5. Straighten your knee as much as you can. After that swing your left leg out to the side.
6. Breathe normal and try to maintain your balance. Breathing helps you to balance.
7. Remain in the pose around 30 seconds; breath out and down your leg to the floor.
8. Repeat the same process with your alternate leg.

Eagle Pose

1. Stand straight on both feet. Raise the right leg and wrap it around the left leg.
2. The right thigh should be over the left thigh and the right foot will touch the calf muscles from behind.
3. Wrap the right hand around the left hand.
4. Now place the palms together to resemble the beak of an eagle.
5. Try to maintain the balance and slowly bend the left leg and lower the body until your right toes touch the ground.
6. Try to remain in this pose for long as you can maintain the balance.
7. Concentrate on balancing the body pose.
8. Now straighten the left leg and unwrap the right leg. Also, release the right arm and come to a normal standing position.
9. Relax for some time and repeat the same process.

Would You Like To Know More: Open Tight Hip Flexors with Yoga Poses