I have a real problem with balance. I seem to have no innate sense of balance and struggle in all of the balancing postures. I constantly fall over and/or can't keep still on one foot. I also find that the arch of my left foot begins to hurt (sharp pain) when standing on it for too long. However, even before the left foot starts to hurt, I have trouble.

I work hard on focusing and have tried various methods (staring at my forehead in the mirror, different places in the room, closing my eyes, keeping them open, inner monologue, etc...) but nothing seems to help me focus.

Any suggestions re: the left foot arch pain and/or stabilizing myself in balance postures? I'm feeling frustrated with myself now.

Have you tried working on balancing for a few seconds at a time? Make sure to back off before you get to the point of pain or even discomfort. Then balance again. As time goes by, you should be able to balance longer and longer. Do you tend to curl up your toes? A few years ago, I found out I was wearing shoes a size too small! I had no idea ... and it made a big difference when I bought shoes that actually fit right. Hope some of this helps - perhaps Nicole or some of the other teachers will weigh in on this one and have some good suggestions.

Hi, Melissa,

I'm not a teacher, and I'm sure a teacher can give you good advice. I can just relate to your balance issues, so here's my 5 cents. :-)

You didn't mention how long you've been practicing yoga.... When I started, about a year and a half ago, I also had serious balance problems--just like you describe. The balancing postures were nearly impossible for me. It took me a while to figure out that a lot of my difficulty was due to the fact that the muscles in my ankles, feet, and legs were really, really weak. It was frustrating for me and even embarrassing because I just wobbled around and felt ridiculous, no matter what I did.

Gradually, though, I have gained strength in those muscles, and now I can balance a lot better--though I have a long way to go. My right side is stronger and more stable than my left, so that is still a problem for me, but I can tell that it is continuing to improve gradually. I sometimes get painful cramps in the arch of my left foot when I am doing standing forehead to knee preparation (still can't kick out on most days, yet) and standing bow. Is that the kind of foot pain you are having in your left foot? If so, I encourage you to just keep working on it. Don't go farther into the postures that your body can handle right now. Go slowly. If all you can do is stand on one foot and just lift the other off the ground briefly, then be satisfied with that until you build some strength and can progress a little more.

Hopefully some of the teachers will have more ideas on how to help, but this is what my experience has taught me. :-)

You can always go to the mat bar at the back of the room and face the side wall, holding the bar with one hand to support you. All the teachers are aware of this modification and you will not get anything but encouragement for doing this. Just remember to release the bar and hover your hand now and again as you build strength, for the end goal is to move away from to bar once you've found the balance, not to use the bar forever. You may also be rolling the weight to the outside edge of your foot. Press the knuckle of your big toe into the ground to keep that from happening. Obviously, it's easier to give advice in person so remember you can always ask a Sunstone teacher for help after class. Stay with it and enjoy the journey!!!

Mellisa -

difficulty in balancing is often related to weakness in the inner thigh muscles and in your core strength. Try to attend more Wood 60 classes which focus on building strength in those areas. I suspect you will see immediate improvement in your balancing postures.

Concerning the arch pain - try to starting 'gripping' the floor with your toes - and work on spreading your toes out when you stand. At first this may lead to some cramping in your feet - but that just means that you are waking up the muscles in your feet and it is a good thing! As the muscles in your feet strengthen the pain should subside and your balance will improve as well.

Best Regards,

Ben