I asked a Pilates instructor how to prevent falls and she shared this 10-minute standing routine to help improve stability

Balance can decline as we age, thanks to changes in muscle mass, eyesight and bodily awareness.

Regular exercise can improve this, but not everyone wants to pump weights at the gym or start up a new running regimen.

That’s why I asked Lindy Royer to create a quick-fire standing routine that can help anyone improve their balance at home.

Royer is a Pilates instructor and the founder of PM Center for Movement, and she believes that we don’t need to aim for perfection when it comes to balance.

“I wobble on many of the exercises in this routine—this is a good thing. We want to get the system to find its balance limitations and be able to auto-correct,” she explains.

You can modify any of the exercises by holding on to a chair or wall for support.

Use only as much support as you need—the exercises should still feel challenging. All you need to do it is a small tennis ball.

You can run through all 10 exercises or choose a few to do each day throughout your week.

1. Ball rolling

Sets: 1 each side

• Stand on one leg and place the other foot a few inches in front of you on a tennis ball.
• Position the ball underneath your big toe.
• Slowly roll the ball back toward the heel.
• Roll the ball forward to the base of the 2nd toe.
• Continue to roll the ball forward and back until you reach the base of the pinkie toe.
• Roll the ball back from your pinkie to your big toe.
• Repeat on the other side.

2. Heel raise hold with micro squat

Sets: 1 Reps: 5-8

• Stand with your feet roughly hip-width apart.
• Lift your heels and rise onto the balls of your feet five to eight times.
• Hold the last heel raise and perform five to eight micro squats, moving your hips toward the floor while keeping your knees above your toes.

3. Side-to-side step

Sets: 1-2 Reps: 12

• Step side to side as wide as you comfortably can.

4. Step wide and balance

Sets: 3 Time: 5-10sec

• Take a big step to the side with your right foot.
• Lift your left foot and stand on your right leg for 5-10 seconds.
• Repeat on the other leg.

5. Step forward and back with tap

Sets: 1 Reps: 6-8

• Take a big step forward with your right foot.
• Tap your left foot on the floor beside your right foot.
• Step back with your left foot.
• Tap your right foot on the floor beside your left foot.

6. Step forward and back with balance

Sets: 1 Reps: 3 each side

• Take a big step forward with your right foot and lift your left foot behind you.
• Stand in this position for three seconds.
• Step back onto the left foot and lift your right foot in front of you, balancing like this for three seconds.
• Repeat three times, the switch legs, so you’re leading with your left foot forward.

7. Clock balance

Sets: 1 each side

• Create a clockface on the floor, using sticky notes, tape or your imagination to create eight points surrounding you in a circle.
• Stand on your right foot and hover your left foot above the floor.
• Tap your left foot on each point on the floor, moving in a clockwise direction.
• Repeat on the other leg.
• You can make this easier by making the circumference of the clock smaller, and more challenging by making the clock bigger.

8. Yoga block step overs

Sets: 3 Reps: 5 each direction

• Position two yoga blocks or a stack of books about 18” apart on the floor.
• Stand between the blocks.
• Step over the block to your right, without knocking it over.
• Step back between the blocks.
• Step over the block to your left, without knocking it over.

9. Heel-toe walking

Sets: 2 Reps: 5 steps each direction

• Stand with feet hip-width apart.
• Step forward with your right foot.
• Place the left foot directly in front of your right foot, so the heel is touching the toe.
• Place the right foot directly in front of your left.
• Walk forward in this way for five steps in total.
• After five steps, move your right foot back, placing your right toes directly behind your left heel.
• Walk backward for five steps in total.

10. Heel walking

Sets: 1 Reps: 20 (10 in each direction)

• Lift the balls of your feet up and stand on your heels.
• Keeping the feet about hip distance apart, walk forward on the heels for 10 steps, then back for 10 steps.