Yoga for Balance: Progress with One-Legged Yoga Poses
/In the last post of our yoga for balance series, we explored how foundational standing poses like Mountain, Chair, and Warrior II can build a strong base for stability and balance. Now, we’re ready to take progress and challenge our balance even further by introducing one-legged balancing poses.
These postures can sometimes spur wide eyes in students but they are valuable for strengthening your ankles, legs, and core, while also sharpening your focus and concentration. When you stand on one leg, your entire body has to engage to keep you upright, creating a powerful sense of groundedness and presence.
Ready to find your focus? Let’s explore a couple of key one-legged balancing poses.
Warrior III (Virabhadrasana III)
Warrior III is a powerful pose that demands both strength and focus. It’s great for developing core stability and strengthening your entire posterior chain (back of your body).
Start from Mountain Pose (Tadasana): Stand tall, then take a small step back with your left foot, or rest your left toes a foot or so behind you, while keeping both hips facing forward.
Lean Forward: With a strong standing (right) leg, begin to lean your torso forward, lifting your back (left) leg off the ground.
Find Alignment: Aim to create a straight line from the crown of your head through your lifted heel. Your arms can extend forward, out to the sides, or back by your hips—whichever helps you find balance. You can also place them on the seat of a chair or against the wall in front of you.
Engage Your Core: Actively draw the sides of your abdominal wall in toward the midline, which helps bring your navel toward your spine to support your lower back and keep your torso stable.
Gaze and Breathe: Fix your gaze on a non-moving point (drishti) on the floor a few feet in front of you. Breathe steadily.
Come Out: After 5–10 breaths, slowly and with control, lower the leg and return to standing. Repeat on the other side.
Tip: Don’t worry if your lifted leg doesn’t come parallel to the floor immediately. Focus on keeping your hips level and your body in one long line. A slight bend in the standing knee or keeping the back toes on the ground can also help with stability.
Dancer’s Pose (Natarajasana)
Dancer’s Pose is a one-legged balance that combines strength, flexibility, and deep concentration.
Begin in Mountain Pose: Ground through your left foot.
Catch Your Foot: Bend your right knee and reach back with your right hand to catch the inside of your right ankle or foot. If you can’t reach your foot, loop a yoga strap or belt around it to hold on to.
This is a powerful quadricep and arm stretch that tests your balance as well. If this is challenging enough, stay here in a quad stretch. Hold your foot/ankle and gently pull your heel toward your glute, keeping your knees close together and hips level.
Find Your Lift: Keeping your chest lifted and shoulders relaxed, begin to kick your right foot back and up into your hand. This will create a gentle opening in your chest and a lengthening sensation in your front body.
Extend Forward: As you kick back with your right leg, extend your left arm forward for balance. Keep your gaze soft and steady on a single point.
Use Support: Feel free to hold onto a chair or a wall with your free hand (your left hand in this case) to help steady yourself as you explore the pose. This isn’t a “cheat”—it's a smart way to find the balance and strength you need to deepen your practice safely.
Release: After 5–10 breaths, slowly release your foot with control and return to standing. Repeat on the other side.
Tree Pose (Vrksasana)
Tree Pose is a classic posture that cultivates balance and focus. It strengthens your ankles, thighs, and core, while also stretching your inner thighs and hips.
Start in Mountain Pose: Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart.
Shift Your Weight: Shift your weight onto your left foot, grounding it firmly on the floor.
Place Your Foot: Bend your right knee and gently place the sole of your right foot on your inner left thigh, calf, or ankle. Avoid placing it directly on the knee joint. The higher you place your leg, the greater the challenge. Press the foot into the leg and the standing leg back into the foot. This helps stabilize the legs and hips.
Find Your Center: Keep your hips level, preventing your right hip from dropping. Do this by pressing down into the standing foot and lifting up through the hips. Lengthen your spine. Bring your hands to prayer at the center of your chest, or extend them overhead by your ears like branches.
Gaze and Breathe: Find a non-moving point in front of you to focus your gaze. Breathe steadily and notice how rooted you are in your standing foot. Press down on the ball of the big toe if your foot is rolling out.
Release: After 5–10 breaths, slowly release your right foot back to the floor and repeat on the other side.
Tip: If you’re feeling wobbly, you can practice near a wall for support, or keep your toes on the floor with your “lifted” leg heel on your ankle.
Use Props to Enhance Your Balance
When it comes to balance, don’t be afraid to use props. While some may feel like props will make a pose too easy, they should be viewed as tools to build strength, stability, and confidence. Even if you don’t need them for balance, props allow you to focus on other parts of the pose. For example, in Tree Pose, I can balance on one foot without the support of the wall. However, half of the time I choose to use a wall because it gives me an opportunity to focus on developing foot strength and articulation, more lift in my spine, and more stretch in the front of my hip and inner thigh. If I focus my attention on the balance components of the pose, other components may be missed or de-emphasized. Props allow you to safely explore the posture, understand the required engagement, and introduce better alignment.
Chairs and Walls: These are your best friends for one-legged balances. Place a chair beside or in front of you, or practice near a wall. You can control the amount of weight and pressure you place on them—from a light touch to fully resting your hands and offsetting your body weight. This support allows you to focus on the alignment and engagement within the pose without the fear of falling, truly helping your muscles learn to stabilize.
Yoga Blocks: For poses like Half Moon (which we’ll explore in future posts!), a block under your hand can bring the floor closer to you, making the pose more accessible and allowing you to find the correct alignment before you’re ready to balance without it.
Embrace your props! They are there to empower you to explore, learn, and ultimately refine your balance, making your practice more rewarding and progressive.
One-legged balancing poses are a journey, not a destination. Each time you step onto your mat, you’re building physical strength and cultivating mental resilience. Embrace the wobbles—they are part of the process and even with practice can remain. These poses are a metaphor for life: Unexpected shifts occur regularly (on and off the mat) and remind us to adjust, find our footing, and breathe through it.
Other posts in the Yoga for Balance series:
Finding Your Center
Beginner -Friendly Standing Poses