Balance is such an important element of exercise to work on. In our Chichester Sports Therapy clinic part of most of our clients rehab always involves balance and this can be upper or lower body.
We can loose balance through an injury, surgery or as we start to age and it’s not necessarily easy to get back, therefore implementing it into your day for a couple of minutes is a great way to stay well balanced! A lot of my Chichester Pilates clients practice standing on one leg when they brush their teeth. I however always ensure i work our lower body balance at the beginning of my online Pilates class’ and core balance throughout an online Pilates class.
Below is a short video of some of my favorite balance exercises that you can work on and build up.
- Slow marches. These are a great warm up exercise, taking it slowly allowing you to focus on using your lower abdominals to lift the leg from the hip, try to also think about pulling up on your supporting leg.
- Hip swings, try to maintain a long and neutral spine throughout.
- T balance (my favorite) this is challenging and you don’t have to go all the way into the pose you can work up to it. Ensure to have a small bend in the supporting leg to look after your knee, but to also use those big leg muscles to help facilitate the movement. Use your core to help lower you into the balance pose and keep your neck inline with your spine throughout.
Try 5-8 reps on each side! (maybe more on your weaker / less balanced side
