I just cannot seem to keep my balance in Standing Pose

I definately have trouble balancing, and I can’t even round down and get my hands underneath my foot, let alone extend my leg. I have a lot of toruble balancing in general, no matter what pose it is. I’m wondering if age has anything to do with this. It is discouraging. I also have trouble with bow pose, I cannot get my hand inside my ankle, I grab the outside and work my hand around to the inside, but while doing that I have to use the wall for balance. You’d think I had a few drinks before coming to class.

I think balance is something that needs practice and usually we don’t know how awful our balance truly is until we do poses or things requiring balance like the poses in Hot Yoga.
I have been practicing since February and still have trouble with the balancing series. When I started, I couldn’t get into first part of standing head to knee EVER. I could barely grab my ankle in standing bow. Forget about stick. They look deceptively easy. DECEPTIVELY.
After practicing at least 4 days a week since FEB, I can sometimes get into first part of head to knee. Standing bow is much better, and my left-foot stick is not bad.
It takes alot of practice and some days for me are stronger than others. Hang in there. Work from the floor up to build your poses — focus on your foot placement solidly on the floor. Then focus on your ankle. Then your knee. Your quad and so on. It does get better. Some are better at balance than others, but if you stick with it and celebrate the small successes, you’ll see progress over time.

I have to use the wall for the balancing series, too (hence my screenname). I had an MRI and a PT eval and they dx’d me with “cerebellar ataxia caused by a central imbalance.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ataxia

I did some PT but it did not seem to help. There is a plausible link to celiac disease, which I know I have, so I stay away from glutinous foods, but I’ve had the central imbalance ever since I was born so I don’t think it’s going away any time soon.

I’m glad you brought this up because before my dx I got a lot of attitude from certain teachers about my need to use the wall. The studio I’m at now, all the teachers I’ve had are great, and they even have a barre against the back wall for people to use. But I hear ya – it’s very frustrating to see everyone else balancing and not be able to!

>>I am grateful that you bring this to our attention. I am fascinated to know more about how the ataxia affects other physical positions (in or out of yoga). Is there anything else you can tell me regarding other poses? Are you OK in 2 leg balance? Just list the poses and I may have some suggestions to cope more easily (beyond using a wall!). I also assume that you have looked at the possible B12 connection.<<

Hi Gabrielle! I’m grateful you appreciate the information. Yes, balancing on 2 feet is challenging as well, but not seemingly impossible like one foot. A wider base of support makes things easier, such as in pranayama breathing and half moon, to have a little space between my feet. I do like the feel of my feet together, however, so I put up with the wobbling most days.

I also have knee pain so I don’t go down very far in awkward pose, but I do lightly touch the back wall with my bum for the 2nd and 3rd parts of the stretch for balance when I’m up on my toes. Even just the slightest touch against the wall helps (I don’t need to grip it for dear life).

My arms do not yet reach the bottoms of my foot in standing head to knee, likely due to largesse in the chest & abdominal regions. Further, my hamstrings are exceedingly tight, so stretching my hammies that early on in the sequence has resulted in a strain at the top of the muscle, just under the (right) ischial tuberosity. BUT, when they do become more flexible, my plan is to turn sideways and use the wall for balance. For example, if my left knee is locked, I would have the wall on my right. I think this might help but I still might pitch forward if I was not actively pressing into the wall.

I turn sideways against the barre/wall for standing bow and the pose after it, and for eagle I either stand against the wall or go down and just keep both hands on the floor. I don’t get onto the ball of the foot yet; it’s such a ginormous hip stretch that I can’t get down very far. But it’s one of my favorites because I feel such benefit in the stretch.

The rest of the poses are ok except for triangle pose, in which I lose balance if I turn my gaze upwards to look at my superior hand.

I do take a multivitamin but think I might just get some additional B12 and see if I notice a difference. Outside of yoga, I don’t drink, but I would fail a sobriety test because I can’t walk a straight line! 🙂

Hee hee. Mute, I remember in grade school weighing a mere 47 lbs. and not being able to balance. So IMHO weight is not really a cause. However, if like me you have huge hips and narrow feet, THAT can definitely impact ability to balance, as can having too high or too low of an arch in the foot. Musculoskeletal imbalances, vestibular dysfunctions and issues in the brain (esp the cerebellum) all affect balance or lack thereof.

Most yoga instructors do not have an advanced degree such as PT, OT or MD/ND so it is not uncommon for them to advise out of ignorance. I too await Gabrielle’s informed opinion.

For myself, I got a referral to a neurologist who referred me out to PT. My intuition told me my lack of balance was deeper than just not locking my knees or focusing, and I’m glad I got it checked out.

Mute: You’re staying in the hot room for 90 minutes? You’re getting tons of benefits! Be calm, be still, do the poses the best you can gracefully, and remember to breathe! Give yourself a smile and know you are doing your body so much good just by being there.

Ms Mute, I don’t think the benefit is in holding the pose. I think it is in giving an honest 100 percent effort in your practice each day to the maximum of that day’s capacity. As in, some days I feel ill and don’t make it without taking a break. But I give it my all and that is the best that I can do that day. So I get the benefits. The other thing is to do the pose as best you can that day. If I stand on one leg and don’t fall over during standing head to knee, that is AMAZING for me, and I have the benefits IF my standing leg is locked and I’ve worked the pose correctly from the floor UP. Somedays I stand on on foot with my leg locked, getting 100 percent of the benefits. Other days, my standing foot is locked AND I can keep my other foot up with my thigh parallel to the floor! My posture is good, I am giving 100 percent, I get the benefits. But the benefit is the same as when I can only balance on one leg.
Consistency in practice and working from the ground up, doing the best you can each day and accepting where you body is at that moment means you get the benefits.