Along with strength, endurance, and flexibility, balance is an important component of fitness. It's the capacity to maintain and control of your body both in static and dynamic positions.

We use balance in everyday tasks including getting out of a chair, climbing up and down the stairs, reaching for something on the top shelf on your tip toes, carrying groceries, riding a bicycle or walking.

Since balance is lost through normal aging process or can be affected by injury, illness, nervous system disease, and medications. But the good news is that it can be regained through proper balance training. Including balance exercises in your training program is one of the most efficient ways to prevent injuries and falls, as it improves your body awareness, good neuromuscular coordination, joint stability, reaction time, and long-term health. It is one of the most efficient ways to prevent injuries and falls.

Here are some basic balance exercises that you may practice without any equipment at home. Each exercise should be held for 10 to 30 seconds. Increase the amount of time you spend on each foot gradually. You can hang on to a chair for support if you need it in the start.

1.     Stand on one leg with other leg slightly off the floor

2.     Stand on one leg and lift the other knee forward so that it is parallel to the hip and bent at a ninety-degree angle.

3.     Stand on one leg and bend the other knee backwards, so that the shin is parallel to the floor.

4.     Stand on one leg and extend the other leg straight in front of you.

5.     Stand on one and extend the leg out to the side.

6.     Stand on one leg and try to reach down, touch your toe and come up

7.     Walk heel to toe

8.     Try walking side ways crossing one leg over the other.

Balance training may be done in a variety of ways; as you advance, you can add unstable equipment such as a bosu ball, stability ball, or balance board to make it more challenging.