Why Standing on One Leg is a Good Idea
If you can get into the habit of regularly standing on one leg, it can have several benefits:
Some of these benefits
- Strengthening your core muscles, improving balance and stability.
- Improving your body alignment and posture.
- Reducing the risk of injury due to overuse whilst running or walking.
- Increasing the circulation in your legs, helping to reduce fatigue and swelling.
In addition, being able to stand on one leg is linked to increased levels of physical activity AND decreased risk of falls. It is associated with both quality and length of life.
And there is more...
Dr Michael Mosley tell us that our balance is far worse than it used to be. Where once we’d be spending much of the day moving about, many of us now sit staring at computer screens. This more sedentary lifestyle affects our balance skills and comes at a cost. The biggest cause of accidental deaths worldwide, after car crashes, are falls – which are a failure of balance. The good news is there are things you can do to improve it.
Dr. Mosley goes on to say that "When you attempt the one leg balance, your brain is performing a remarkable amount of coordination. It integrates signals coming from the fluid in your inner ears, visual cues from eyes, and even feedback from your joints and muscles. Signals from your eyes play a big role in maintaining your balance, which helps explain why standing on one leg is significantly harder when you close your eyes. If you can reach ten seconds with your eyes closed, you’re doing well."
Embrace the wobble
When you decide to try this health benefit, you may find it difficult to do.
Here is some help!
How to stand one one leg
- Hold on to the chair back with both hands.
- Lift one leg off the ground, slowly.
- Maintain your balance while standing on one leg for five seconds.
- Return to the starting position and repeat five times. Try to increase the time spent standing on one leg.
- Perform with opposite leg.
SOURCES:
Written by Jane Chitty
Jane writes for Healing Natural Oils, a producer and retailer of high-quality, all-natural treatments for a variety of conditions as well as a range of beauty products. Apart from writing about those various conditions, she also covers general health, environmental and other subjects of interest. She has lived in Kenya as well as Cape Town, South Africa and spent time in San Diego, USA. She now lives in Somerset, England with regular visits from her far-flung children and grandchildren. She is a keen gardener and enjoys growing fresh fruit and vegetables with her husband on their joint allotment. As a result, there is something available to use in the kitchen virtually all year round. Her regular posts can be found on our blog.