Simple Balance Exercises You Can Do in 30 Seconds (or Less)

Like many physical skills, balance is something you either use or lose. When you don’t tune into your body regularly, you lose the necessary coordination between the various systems involved in balance, namely your eyes, ears, brain, and body. So if you find balance to be the most difficult part of any yoga class, you’re not alone. Everyone is shaking. Incorporate balance exercises.

Unlike complex arm balance poses that require proper warm-up and special practice, the following balance exercises can be tried at any time—no warm-up or mat required. Try one while you’re standing at your desk, standing in line at the grocery store, even brushing your teeth or washing the dishes. Even better, these simple balance exercises can be done in less than a minute.

Balance Exercises You Can Do in 30 Seconds (or Less)

Remember, just because balance comes easily on one day or on one side of your body, doesn’t mean it will the same way the next day or on the other side. Approach these exercises with a sense of humor. Some of these exercises require zero yoga experience. Others ask you to incorporate a dynamic movement into balancing yoga that you already practice in class.

1. Standing with raised heels

Place your feet together and your arms at your sides Mountain pose (Tadasana). Lift your heels off the ground and try not to fall forward. Then increase the balance problem to…

• Raise your arms straight out to the sides or up
• Lower your heels and lift your toes
• Bend one knee forward, then the other, as if you were running in place
• Adjust the position of your feet by widening your stance or turning your toes out slightly, as in Squats (Malasana).
• Close your eyes
• Do all of the above while raising your heels Chair Pose (Utkatasana) instead of standing

2. Standing in front of the Warrior 3

To create dynamic balance in the front and back planes, you can move forward and backward by standing with one leg lifted and leaning forward. Warrior 3 (Virabhadrasana III). Exhale as you raise one knee. Exhale as you lean forward into Warrior 3. Exhale as you lift your knee up and come back. Do a few rounds on one leg before trying the other side. Note the differences between the parties. Increase the challenge by doing at least one full breath into each pose before moving on to the next pose.

3. Warrior 2 to the tree

This game transition starts with a shortened position Warrior 2 (Virabhadrasana II). Slowly shift your weight onto your back leg until you come in Tree Pose (Vrksasana) with your right foot to your left foot. Let your lifted leg land wherever it touches your standing leg without going down to go higher. Return to Warrior 2 when you’re ready. Do a few rounds back and forth before staying in Tree Pose. Then switch sides. It’s an opportunity to deal with things as they are and practice equality.

4. Return to your eagle pose

This switch allows you to adjust the amount of challenges to what you need on any given day. Bend both knees slightly and wrap one thigh over the other Eagle Pose (Garudasana). Keep your standing leg steady and bend slightly at the knee as you open your top leg and extend it behind you in a curtsy-like limp. Your toes can be elevated or touching the mattress, whichever feels the right amount of challenge for you. Do a few rounds on each leg.

5. Creating distractions

Every balancing yoga pose, including standing on two legs! – make it harder by introducing surprises.

Change your clothes
Change your point of view. Instead of looking ahead…

Look up
Lower your eyelids halfway
Close your eyes completely

Change the level
Move to a less stable level, such as…

A yoga food it is folded in half or in four layers
Yoga mat or support
A yoga block or two
Balance ball or standing board

Introduce more distractions

Balance yourself by trying…

Turn your head to one side
Wave your arms around you
Incorporate visuals by doing jazzy hands and moving them in front of you, looking around or focusing on your dog with zooms.
Move your lifted leg around
Add number-4 to the pose chair or Downward Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana)

Don’t stop here. Follow your instinct or play with your creativity as you explore more variations of the above approaches. But remember that yoga is also about balancing many non-physical things, including effort (eraser) and easy (speech). Work is done over time, not in 30 seconds.