Always consult with a doctor of health physician before embarking on a new exercise regime. Especially if you are living with a long term health condition. Please note – Nothing on this website is to be taken as medical advice, recommendation or as a substitute for professional medical advice. Additionally, nothing on this website is to be taken as sport, activity or travel advice or as a substitute for using a professional guide. If you have any concern about your wellbeing, always seek the advice of a doctor, physiotherapist or mental health expert and take a professional guide with you for activities.
Balance exercises inspiration for those who need a gentle practice
At AMALAwellness, we offer a range of gentle, accessible classes that anyone can attend. We realise the importance of offering gentle strength building exercises that can benefit all ages and abilities. We love offering accessible classes where people can progress and improve their physical, mental, emotional and social wellbeing.
A key focus is improving strength, flexibility and balance. This post looks at the importance of working on balance daily and some exercises to practice.
Why is working on balance important? Especially as we age?
Maintaining and working on improving our balance has amazing effects on leg and abdominal strength. Good balance can improve:
– our posture,
– gait (the way in which we walk),
– help prevent slips, trips and falls.
– offer independence
– improve confidence
– reduce stresss and anxiety about weather conditions
As we get older, if we fall, it can lead to worse consequences due to osteoporosis and osteoarthritis (bone and cartilage decreases). By practising balance exercises and activities, we can enhance our:
– flexibility
– leg strength
– stability
– core abdominal strength
– co-ordination
When we improve our balance, it can contribute to a sense of independence and confidence in performing daily tasks as movements become easier.
Five exercises that can lead to better balance.
Always consult a fitness expert before practising new exercises. Our classes are the perfect place to learn and practice exercises. Then you can learn how to do them safely and practice at home. For our full timetable see www.amalateesside.com/timetable
We hope these will inspire you to be more active and look for local classes to help improve your wellbeing.
Gentle Exercises that are great to practice whilst waiting for the kettle to boil!
1. balancing on one leg
Balancing on one leg engages and gently the body’s stabilizing muscles. This works the whole lower body, with a focus on the core abdominal muscles, hips, and ankles. Additionally, the exercise can help correct muscle imbalances. This simple but effective exercise strengthens the smaller, stabilizing muscles that are crucial for overall balance and coordination.
Balancing on one leg regularly can lead to improved balance and help reduce the risk of falls.
2. Tree Pose
This standing pose requires concentration, stability, and alignment, making it a great way to improve balance. When practised regularly, participants can strengthen the muscles in the core, feet, legs, ankles and feet. All these muscles play and essential part in maintaining stability.
Practising whilst focusing on a fixed point (known as Drishti in Yoga) can help improve concentration and mental balance as well. When practised regularly, it can improve our co-odrination, mobility and balance.
3. Walking regularly
Benefits of walking regularly
Walking regularly can help improve balance for several reasons:
1. Gently tones and strengthens muscles
When we walk, we engage muscles in our feet, ankles, legs, core and lower back. We switch on our stabilizer muscles – the more we practice and the more we walk, the stronger these muscles get. This improves our balance and stability.
2. Enhances co-ordination and proprioception.
(Proprioception = the bodys ability to detect itself in the space around us).
The more we walk, it allows us to have confidence in our steps. When we improve our co-ordination and proprioception, it allows us to avoid slips trips and falls. This is due to an enhanced awareness of our body.
3. Boosts bone density and improves bone health.
As we age, we naturally start to lose bone density (osteoporosis, commonly associated with ageing, is bone density loss). We need to do weight bearing exercise to improve and maintain bonde density. Walking is a great way to achieve this. It reduces the risk of fractures.
3. Helps to improve posture.
Walking can help improve posture by strengthening the muscles and gently toning them. This helps to promots better balance, so you can enjoy daily activities more.
3. Helps to improve joint health.
Walking is classed as low impact. When we walk, we encourage our body to produce its natural lubrication – synovial fluid. This helps to improve joint health and can sometimes help alleviate joint pain.
4. Chair Squats (sit to stands)
This exercise helps strengthen the muscles in the legs, hips, and core that are essential for stability. When we improve our muscle strength, we improve our co-ordination and balance. Sit-to-stand exercises replicate and mimic daily movements we experience. Everyday activities such as standing up from a chair can become easier when practising this exercise. This makes it a great exercise to add to your regime for improving balance in real-life situations.
5. Toe Raises
This exercise works by strengthening the calf muscles, as well as muscles in the feet and ankles. These muscles play a key part in our gait and ability to balance. When practised regularly, this is another exercise that can greatly help reduce the risk of slips, trips and falls.
to conclude…
AMALAwellness offers gentle, accessible classes focusing on improving strength, flexibility, and balance for all ages and abilities. We are even wheelchair and mobility scooter friendly! This post emphasizes the importance of working on your balance daily. It is crucial to work on balance. particularly as we age. Benefits such as improved gait, posture, muscle strength and reduced risk of falls, can lead to increased independence and confidence.
We encourage you to find local classes where you can learn exercises with a trained professional, so that you can take your practice home with you and improve your wellbeing where-ever you are!
For more information on the classes we offer, please visit www.amalateesside.com
We will be starting to offer workshops to deepen learning too. Any requests, please let us know in the comments below!
Aimee is Managing Director of AMALAwellness and also a Gentle Yoga teacher, who teaches accessible Chair Yoga and Exercise across Teesside.
Aimee loves writing informative blog posts for students and beyond! We hope you enjoy the range of topics covered and helps you to deepen your learning and practice. Team AMALA 🧘🏻♀️