Standing on one leg is a simple way to practice balance. It may feel easy at first, but staying steady can become harder with age or inactivity. With practice, you may find it easier to hold the position.
Why One Foot Makes a Difference
When you stand on two feet, you have a wide base of support. Lift one foot, and that base shrinks to the area under your standing foot. Your body has to make small adjustments to keep you upright.
To make those adjustments, your brain uses information from your eyes, your inner ear, and sensors in your muscles, joints, and skin. Your inner ear helps detect movement of your head. Signals from your muscles and joints help you sense where your body parts are, even when you can't see them. This sense of body position is called proprioception.
The muscles around your ankle, knee, hip, and waist work together to keep you steady. Your supporting leg carries your weight, and the muscles around your hip and waist help hold your upper body in place. One muscle on the side of your hip, the gluteus medius, helps keep your hips level as you stand.
What This Exercise Trains
Standing on one leg mainly works on static balance, which is the ability to stay steady in one position. Dynamic balance helps you stay steady while you move, such as when you change direction. Reactive balance helps you recover when something unexpected throws you off balance, such as a slip.
Moving in different directions and recovering from a sudden loss of balance pose different challenges. That's why a range of exercises can help you practice different kinds of balance.