Cross-training 2: Balance

I always thought I had pretty good sense of balance.  So it has been a rude shock to start yoga and find myself teetering and toppling over during balance poses, while the other yoga participants perch effortlessly on one foot like ballerinas.

So, just as I noted in my previous post on strength, I was intrigued to stumble across an article on the importance of balance, and moreover to find it contained another test to assess how I might rank against everyone else in this regard:

The test entails standing straight with arms folded across chest, raising one leg, bending the knee about 45 degrees and closing your eyes.  You measure how long you can hold this position on each foot -- a 20-49 years old should be able to stay balanced for 24 to 28 seconds. 

Alas my results were consistent with a 70-79 year old.  Apparently one's balance steadily deteriorates from one's 20s.  Perhaps running and cycling accelerates this decline?   Fortunately it is apparently easy to restore balance if you work on it a bit, so I have been trying to stand on foot each day as I brush my teeth.   Will try to follow-up on my progress in a later post.

(Follow-up note on strength - I am still stuck on about 40 push-ups)