Why am I so wobbly in yoga?

[BabCNesbitt]

This may be a "can't tell without seeing you" question, but whenever I've gone to yoga classes and there are any poses that require balancing on one leg, I wobble all over and have to put both feet down. Other people in the classes don't seem to have this problem, and I still wobble even after being corrected. Any ideas?

Me too, I can do lots of the hard stuff but standing on one leg, no.

Focus your gaze. Find a mark on the wall or a bit of pattern in the carpet and just really stare at it. And breathe. This should help your balance.

Also tense your core it really helped mw.

So tensing up and thinking "Oh bugger, here we go" is the wrong way to go about it?

Some wobbling on one leg can be attributed to ankle strength- its something you can develop with practise

It's all about muscle strength, particularly core. It gets better with practice.

Tensing my core means pulling my tummy in, yes?

It definitely takes practice. I did a three-day intensive course recently and at the end I noticed a real improvement in the length of time I could hold the tree pose - but even so I occasionally lose concentration and overbalance.

I would second the advice to focus on a particular point and keep gazing at it. Also keep your breathing calm and regulated. Most important for me is remembering to actually shift your weight BEFORE you lift up your other foot. This is a useful step-by-step guide to doing it right. And our teacher always makes sure we're totally stable in the mountain pose before even attempting the tree. And I can't get my leg up to my thigh - it rests at knee height.

But our yoga teacher always says it's more important to stay calm and only do what you can do confidently first of all rather than wobbling all over the place - then improve very gradually. It's not a gymnastics competition. So you can either stand close to a wall and use one hand to balance yourself, or place the second leg at right angles to the first, but with your toes still on the floor. You're still achieving the main thing by opening your groin area (oo er). Then once you're stable with your toes on the ground, you could maybe try lifting your toes up for a few seconds at a time.

Focus..... ( dristi...gaze point)

Foundation... Spread out standing foot, toes wide, pointing forwards. ( a little space between each toe so your foundation is as wide as you can get it)

Strength.... Draw abs in, then lift up through muscles of standing leg, lift up through pelvic floor, then tail bone under a little, ( strength takes time, you will get there)

Alignment.... Is your spine in a straight line? Lift up as if you are growing taller, imagine you are as tall as you can be. Think of a plumb line going through your body, from crown of head to floor, try to have equal weight on left and right. If you have too much weight on one side you will topple.

Faith....you will get there, yoga takes time....sometimes a lifetime.

Oh yes and breathe, breathe breathe...never hold your breath in a balance, and use the wall if you need to.

I've done yoga for years, and am still very wobbly. I have suffered for years with bouts of labrynthitis and vertigo and believe it could be something to do with that. I understand and can do all the right things - spreading my toes, fixing my gaze at a single point, controlling my breathing etc. But I still end up having to use the wall to support myself, or having to put my other foot down to re-balance.

Thanks, all - that's very helpful. Littlefish, I've had labyrinthitis before, too, so I might just be a bit wonky generally? But going to give it another go (thanks for the "faith" tip - this had been putting me off attending, but I'll keep trying )

Balancing poses can be very challenging. Nothing to add to advice already given above, just keep at it and be kind to yourself.

I've noticed that balance varies for me from one side to the other, ie one side can be much less wobbly. It also changes from class to class or day to day, if you practice regularly you will notice differences.

Everyone loses balance sometimes, even advanced practitioners, don't let it bother you, just go back into the pose.