Balance Is More Than Standing on One Leg
By Sarah Jacob
Building strength, awareness, and confidence for the years ahead
What does it actually mean to live a healthy life? Not just for the next 30 days, but for the
next 30 years?
As a young child, I have many fond memories of sleepovers at my grandparents’ house.
Every morning, I would watch my grandma drink her morning coffee, take her daily
vitamins, and get down on the floor to stretch. It was part of a routine she followed for many
years, and one that I now recognize contributed to her staying mobile and active well into
her eighties and nineties. I like to believe that watching her model this behavior sparked my
love for fitness and is the reason I am so passionate about teaching movement skills
through all ages and stages.
When I was first introduced to Pilates, it was as an athlete—a figure skater. I learned the
mat work to improve my flexibility, build body awareness, and help me move with more
“beauty and grace” on the ice.
After graduating college with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology, I had my “what now?”
moment. Do I pursue further education in physical therapy or athletic training? Do I coach
or work as a personal trainer? Then I took my very first Pilates Reformer class and fell
instantly in love. It felt like home—a perfect blend of strength, stretch, and choreography
that spoke to the performer in me.
Life & Longevity
Pilates has been with me through many life transitions—athlete, mother, and all the
changes that come with an aging body. And I have truly learned to appreciate it for what it
is: a movement system built for longevity and health in all seasons of life.
Longevity isn’t just about adding years to our lives; it’s about preserving our ability to move
through those years with strength, balance, independence, and confidence.
While Pilates isn’t the secret to living longer, it is a great way to help maintain the physical
capabilities that help us as we age.
Balance as We Age
One of the biggest changes I see with age is balance.
Balance is our body’s ability to stay stable and controlled as we move through different
positions and environments – whether we’re standing still, walking, changing direction,
reaching, or getting up from a chair.
As we age, balance can become more challenging because several systems that contribute
to balance can change over time – including our vision, inner ear/vestibular system,
proprioception (our awareness of where our body is in space), strength, and ability to
coordinate movement.
The good news is that many of these skills can be practiced and challenged throughout our
lives. As we age, balance becomes less about mastering a particular exercise and more
about maintaining our ability to navigate everyday life. The ability to recover from a trip, step
over an obstacle, get up from the floor, or move confidently across an uneven surface can
all contribute to our independence and quality of life.
I believe that Pilates gives us the opportunity to do this in a way that is both effective and
fun!
Pilates & Balance
How can Pilates challenge and support our balance skills?
Pilates builds a strong base
The traditional Pilates repertoire begins with footwork—a series that strengthens and
mobilizes our feet and ankles. Our feet provide our connection to the ground, and their
ability to move and respond helps us manage changes in weight and maintain stability.
Core/trunk strength
“Centering” is a foundational principle of Pilates: the idea of organizing movement around
the body’s center.
Pilates places an emphasis on developing strength and control through the trunk while
coordinating movement through the rest of the body. A strong, well-controlled trunk can
provide a stable foundation from which our arms and legs can move.
Exercise transitions and equipment
Some of the best ingredients in Pilates for better balance are found in between the
exercises. Controlled transitions, like moving from lying to sitting and sitting to standing,
continually challenge the body to reorganize itself as we change positions.
The equipment also gives us opportunities to work with different levels of support,
resistance, and instability while practicing controlled movement.
Mind-body awareness
Do you remember your first Pilates class? There was probably a lot going on that made you
feel like your brain got just as much of a workout as your body.
This is part of the beauty of the Pilates system. It makes us pay attention—to our alignment,
breathing, choreography, and equipment and spring changes. That awareness can help us
become more intentional about how we move and where our body is in space.
Balance Habits for Home
“But Sarah, how can we take what we learn in the studio and bring it home into our daily
lives?”
Here are some small opportunities to challenge your balance at home in between your
Pilates workouts:
- Practice balancing on one leg while you brush your teeth.
- Stand up and sit down without using your hands.
- Walk heel-to-toe down the hallway (like a tightrope). Hold the wall for support if
needed. - Practice transitions up and down off the floor. (Remember my grandma’s morning
stretches on the floor?) - Place your most-used kitchen items on higher shelves to practice reaching upward
in different directions and challenging your center of gravity.
These small but mighty balance challenges give our nervous system opportunities to
practice adapting.
Closing Thoughts
My goal is not to try and stop my body from changing as I age. But I do want to continue to
develop the strength, awareness, and confidence to move through those changes.
As an athlete, the focus was on what my body could accomplish in my sport.
In motherhood, it was about what my body needed to do daily.
As I age, it’s becoming more clear about how I want my body to continue to function for the
life ahead.
Health and longevity are not simply about adding years to our lives, but about maintaining
body freedom and the physical ability to participate fully during every stage and version of
ourselves.
And perhaps balance—and Pilates—is one small, but incredibly important, part of that