Are you over age 27?

It may surprise you to know that after the tender age of 27 our ability to balance well begins to decline.

Regardless of your age, you need to be doing some daily balance exercises – and telling your younger family members to also!

One great trick to ensure you do them is to link them to a regular activity/habit you do already  – like cleaning your teeth, doing the dishes, going to the mailbox or putting your shoes on.

Try these three Balance Poses.

1. Tree. Stand on one leg and rest the ball of your foot against your inside ankle bone.
2. Half Star. Stand on one leg and take the other leg out to the side.
3. Stork. Stand on one leg and keeping the other leg bent lift it in front of you.

And there are 4 levels of difficulty for you to work through.

Level one is to assume the poses with your toe touching the ground
Level two is with your toe only 1-2 cms off the ground
Level three is with your toe more than 10 cms off the ground
Level four (and hold onto something while you practice this) is with your eyes closed

Set your own personal time target.

How long can you hold them?
Try and improve on that time. 10 seconds is something to aim for.

Watch out for more great exercise and lifestyle tips from Kris Tynan next month.