[sychie]

hello. does anyone know of any exercises to help improve balance? when i was in yoga last night, i realized how unbalanced i have become and am wondering if i can fix that. just keep doing it? any ideas would be helpful.

thanks

[lucylost]

I broke my leg this year and had to go to physical therapy. One of the things they had me do was stand on a "rocker board", close my eyes, and maintain my balance. A rocker board is a small piece of wood with a curved bottom (kind of like a rocking horse). You can place it different ways so that you balance side to side, forwards and backwards, or diagonally.

Here are some places you can buy them:

http://www.bodytrends.com/ftrwobbleboard.htm
http://gymball.com/rocker_boards.html
http://kytec.spacestar.com/fitter/Fitter.html
http://www.performbetter.com/catalog...sp?dept_id=213
http://www.promedproducts.com/balance_boards.htm
http://www.fitter1.com/wb.html


I am not associated with the above sites, nor have I ever used them. I don't know how reliable they are. You might be able to find one locally or even make one.

Good luck!

[sychie]

thanks-i'll take a look at those sites.

[Polly Esther]

I was also in Physiotherapy this year and I bought a stability ball to use at home. Its a large air filled ball that you can use to work your core muscles.

A simple balance exercise is to sit on the ball with your back straight and lift one foot off the floor and hold for 30 seconds. When you've mastered that, try doing it with your eyes closed.

Doing exercises that build your core muscles will improve your overall balance.