Build Physical Balance & Stability with Qigong | Gentle Standing Practice for Strength & Grounding

Strengthen your balance, stability, and inner foundation through this gentle Qigong-inspired practice. In this session, we focus on cultivating a steady, grounded structure by working with posture, alignment, and mindful movement.

This is especially supportive for anyone navigating balance challenges, decreased stability, or age-related changes in strength. These simple practices help you connect with your body, awaken awareness in the feet and joints, and build strength from the inside out.

You’ll learn how to:
✨ Create a strong and stable posture
✨ Activate the feet’s foundational “triangle of support”
✨ Improve balance through mindful weight-shifting
✨ Strengthen connective tissues and structural integrity
✨ Use grounding techniques to feel more centered and steady
✨ Modify one-leg balance work safely and comfortably

This session includes:

• High horse stance foundations
• Awareness practices for feet, knees, hips, and spine
• Side-to-side shifting for stability
• Slow alignment-based breathing
• Optional support tools (staff, wall, chair)

Perfect for beginners, seasoned practitioners, and anyone wanting to deepen their physical grounding and embodied awareness.

OR READ THE TRANSCRIPT BELOW

Physical balance is something many of us forget about, until we suddenly realize it’s not as effortless as it used to be. In Qigong and Tai Chi, balance isn’t just a physical skill. It’s an expression of inner alignment, rootedness, and strength from the inside out.

Today, we’re focusing on physical balance and how these ancient practices can support greater stability, especially for adults 65 and up, but this is valuable for any age. Fall risk is something that affects many people as they move through life. As we grow older, our bones, joints, and connective tissues naturally shift. They may weaken, tighten, or become a little less responsive than they used to be.

Developing a stable, grounded body reduces fall risk and creates a healthier internal structure. With consistent practice, we can strengthen connective tissues, cultivate internal support, and nourish our body’s natural ability to rebuild and stabilize itself.

When we lose our balance and fall, the injuries that follow can be serious. Qigong and Tai Chi approach balance from the root, by strengthening what holds us upright:

• Connective tissues

• Lower-body strength

• Bone support

• Inner awareness

• Alignment and posture

Practices that gently engage the joints and tendons can help ease discomfort and improve mobility. For those who’ve experienced bone density loss or connective-tissue degradation, these exercises offer a way to rebuild support from within.

The goal is to create a stable foundation so the body can move with confidence rather than fear.

As we move into balancing exercises, remember this:

➡️ Stay in your comfort zone.
➡️ A little wobble is okay, falling is not.

Some of these movements involve lifting one leg. If at any moment you feel unstable, simply lower your foot or keep a toe on the ground. You don’t need to lift high. You don’t need to challenge yourself beyond your safe range. Stability builds gradually.

Over time, as strength returns, you’ll naturally lift higher and balance longer.

You don’t have to do this unsupported. You can use:

• A chair

• A wall

• A countertop

• Or even a simple staff or closet rod

A cheap closet rod from a hardware store (with rubber caps on the ends for grip) makes a great training tool. Holding on lightly while balancing helps you find your equilibrium without strain.

Remember: needing support is not a weakness. It’s wisdom.

We begin as we always do:

1. Bring the feet together.

2. Take a long inhale.

3. Offer a gentle bow on the exhale.

4. Then relax.

Now step the feet out to about shoulder-width apart, parallel or as close as comfortably possible. This is the High Horse Stance, a grounded, stable position that prepares the body for balance work.

A few key alignment points:

• Knees gently pressed outward (not collapsing inward)

• Hips slightly tucked forward

• Back long and straight

• Shoulders relaxed

• Hands soft

• Chin gently drawn back

• Spine stacked in one aligned column

Feel the structure of your body come into place. This is your stable foundation.

From the waist down, feel the body become a little heavier, a sense of rootedness.
From the waist up, let everything soften, arms, shoulders, jaw, and neck.

Now bring your awareness to the feet. Each foot has eight contact points with the ground:

1. Heel

2. Ball of the big toe

3. Ball of the little toe
   4–8. Each toe

Together, that’s 16 points of grounded connection between you and the earth.

Start by sensing:

• The heel

• The big toe ball

• The little toe ball

Then slowly wiggle the toes to awaken sensation and awareness.

This connection to the earth, this yin, grounding energy, helps stabilize the entire body from the feet upward.

Now widen your stance slightly. You can step out easily, or use the traditional Qigong method:

• Toes out

• Heels out

• Toes out

• Heels out

This opens your base, giving you more stability.

Once you’re about two to three feet apart, sink softly into the knees. You should feel pressure, not pain. Pressure builds strength. Pain tells us to rise up slightly.

Begin gently shifting your weight from side to side.

As you move:

• Notice if the feet try to roll inward or outward

• Try to keep the feet flat

• Let the movement come from the ankles and knees

• Keep the spine long and upright (no leaning)

When centered, your weight is 50/50.
When you shift, one leg may carry 70–80% of your weight.

This prepares the body for single-leg balance.

Add the breath:

• Inhale as you shift to one side

• Exhale as you shift to the other

Slow. Smooth. Connected.

If the feet compensate or tilt, the entire structure above them begins compensating too:

• Hips tilt

• Spine rotates

• Shoulders elevate

• Neck shifts

• Pressure accumulates

These micro-adjustments over time can create discomfort or tension.

This practice retrains the body to move as one aligned structure, with clear energy flow and no stagnation.

Now, gently close your eyes as you shift.

Notice how balance changes.

Without vision, the body relies more on internal awareness and proprioception. You may feel wobbly, and that’s expected. Later, when we lift one leg, this internal balance training becomes even more important.

But for now, stay on two feet. Stay safe. Stay steady.

We’ll take a few more slow breaths here.

Bring your feet back together.

We’re ready for the next movement: The Pendulum, a powerful equilibrium exercise that helps the body understand how to stabilize with a narrowed base, much like the legs of a tripod coming together.

But we’ll explore that in the next section of practice.

For now, allow your body to relax and absorb the work you’ve done.