Benefits of Standing on One Leg or One-Leg Stance Exercise

Have you ever given a thought on how well your balance is? Can you stand on your one leg for at least 20 seconds to one minute? or can you stand with one leg for a minute keeping your eyes closed? Well! Though you might not have given a fair thought on it, it is how well your balance is, actually offers an insight in to your general health.

As per a study published in the journal stroke, found that an individual who is unable to stand on one leg for more than 20 seconds was linked to an increased risk of “Silent” stroke or the tiny bleeds in the brain that do not cause symptoms yet, which increase the risk of both, full-blown stroke as well as dementia. It can be said that ability to balance on one leg is very much important for good brain health.

Read below to know more about the benefits of standing on one leg or One Leg Stance exercises. Also learn about some of the one-leg stance exercises that would help you increase your balance and overall health in general.

Even if you are in your 50s, it is very much important for you to maintain agility by exercising along with a healthy diet and an active lifestyle. And, when we talk about exercise, there are a lot of exercising routines and positions that you can master so as to improve your muscle mass, flexibility and tone specific groups of muscles.

However, there is one really effective exercise position which is mostly overlooked and that is “The one-leg stance.” There are a lot of one-leg stance exercises which are actually very simple to do. In the simple one-leg stance exercise, it is only required for you to simply stand up with your closed eyes and lift up one leg and maintain the position or at least 15 seconds and then switch to the other leg. However, there are a lot of variations of one-leg stance which can be done for improving balance and flexibility. Let us look at some of the one-leg stance exercises below.

1. The Yoga Tree:

   For doing the yoga tree position, simply stand on one leg with your raised leg tucked on the sides of the thigh of the opposite leg. Then, simply raise your arms upwards or with your palms clasped above your head.

2. The Qigong Stance:

   There is one more one-leg stance exercise, you can perform for improving balance and other health benefits. This is the qigong stance, which is actually a tai-chi stance that is not performed on one leg; however you can do a variation of this position where you need to raise your one leg over the upper thigh of the opposite leg, thus forming the number “4”. Clasp you palms together in front of your chest and maintain this position for few seconds and then switch your legs.

1. Benefits in Maintaining or Improving Stability:

   The most potential benefit of standing on one leg or one-leg stance exercise is that it helps in maintaining an individual’s balance and equilibrium. When you stand on one leg and try practicing it, you can identify your body’s balance and this allows you to stay in the one-leg stance longer and thus improves your balance and stability.

2. Benefits in Keeping You Injury-Free:

   As your balance is improved by practicing standing on one-leg or one-leg stance exercises, you are more likely to keep away from unwanted injuries and falls. So, this benefit in keeping you injury-free.

3. May Benefit In Preventing Dementia:

   There may also be one more benefit of standing on one leg or doing one-leg stance exercise. Performing the one-leg stance by closing your eyes can surprising help in preventing dementia. When you stand with your one leg and close your eyes, your body is able to gain more balance in the organs. Now, as you train your body to regain its balance and harmonize your body organs, it causes the pathways of the brain to fine-tune themselves and thus prevents the mental disorders.

4. It May Benefit in Avoiding Onset of Knee Pain:

   It is also known that working on sing leg balance or standing on one leg or doing one-leg stance exercises can help you in avoiding the onset of knee pain. This is because by doing one-leg stance, you are focusing on the hip and the core as well as the foot stability. Here, ankle ensures that the body is working together as a unit while standing on one leg or doing one-leg stance. Now, the knee is present in the middle of the hip and the ankle. So, though it does not necessarily control itself, yet it is greatly influenced by what is going on in the joints above and below it. Thus, this can help in avoiding the onset of knee pain.

So, try out to stand on one leg or try the One-leg stance exercises in order to maintain or improve your balance and prevent dementia and improve brain health and also overall general health. Try to balance for 30 seconds with one leg and when this becomes easy, go for closing your eyes and balancing on one leg for about one minute. You can also add some simple things to your daily routine that would help you perform the one leg balance while working. You can stand on one leg while brushing your teeth or washing your utensils, etc. This, too will help you in the long run.

However, in case you are having some aches or pains, then do consult with your doctor or a fitness trainer before trying to stand on one leg or do one-leg stance exercises.