6 yoga poses that will improve your balance and make you feel like a ballerina

• Yoga poses for balance include different variations on lunges like the low lunge and the high lunge.
• Chair pose — which involves pretending to sit on an invisible chair — may also improve balance.

Having good balance can help you avoid falling down and getting injured, which is important, especially as you grow older.

As you age, your bones become less dense and more brittle, making it easier for them to break when you fall down, says Heidi Kristoffer, Founder of CrossFlow Yoga.

Several yoga poses, like tree pose and warrior three, can help boost your balance by strengthening important muscles like your core and legs that help stabilize your body.

Yoga can also teach your muscles how to respond when you're thrown out of balance, which may help prevent falls, says Eva Christopherson, owner of Embody Yoga & Ayurveda.

Here are six yoga poses that can help strengthen your body and improve your balance.

1. Mountain pose

To get into mountain pose, follow these steps:

1. Stand with your feet facing forward, a few inches apart.

2. Practice putting more weight on each foot until you reach an equal distribution between both feet

3. Engage your abs and lift your chest slightly so that you gaze straight forward, with your chin parallel to the ground.

4. Draw your shoulder blades towards one another on your back, then relax them down away from your ears.

5. Relax your arms at your sides, with your palms facing forward or in toward your hips.

According to Christopherson, mountain pose offers many benefits that can help strengthen your balance, including:

• Teaching you how to engage the muscles in your feet
• Strengthening the ankles, legs, and hips
• Strengthening your core muscles, which include your abs, glutes, and lower back
• Correcting your posture

To increase the challenge, you can also try lifting one foot at a time, just a few inches off of the ground.

2. Tree pose

To get into tree pose:

1. Start in mountain pose.

2. Shift your weight onto your left leg.

3. While inhaling, slowly lift your right leg while bending it at the knee.

4. Place the sole of your foot against the inner side of your left thigh, just above the knee, so that your knee sticks out sideways.

5. Press the palms of your hands together in a prayer pose and bring them to your chest. For a greater challenge, keep your palms pressed together and lift them up over your head.

6. When you're ready, slowly lower your lifted leg and get back into mountain pose.

7. Repeat with the opposite leg.

Standing on one leg is important for improving balance, because it "strengthens the stabilizing muscles surrounding the knee and ankle joints of that leg, which results in increased stability over time," Kristoffer says.

If tree pose is too hard for you, you can try a less intense variation — one option is to lift only the heel of your right foot and place it just above your left ankle, while keeping the ball of your foot on the ground.

To be extra safe, "those with compromised balance should start practicing tree pose while holding a stable chair, or a wall," Kristoffer says.

3. Chair pose

"Chair pose, when done properly, engages all of the muscles in the lower body," Kristoffer says.

To do a chair pose, follow these steps:

1. Start in mountain pose.

2. Bring your feet together, so your big toes touch.

3. While inhaling, lift your arms up over your head, with your palms facing each other and your hands over your shoulders.

4. While exhaling, bend your knees and sit your butt backwards, as if you're going to sit in a chair. Your knees should not extend forward past your toes.

5. Hold this position for between 10 and 30 seconds, depending on your ability.

6. When you're ready, stand back up into mountain pose and repeat as many times as needed.

Chair pose challenges your balance and forces you to engage the muscles of your core and pelvic floor, Kristoffer says.

"Strengthening the lower body, pelvic floor, and core are all key to balance," Kristoffer says.

If you're having a hard time with chair pose, or it's your first time trying it, you may want to start with your feet hip's width apart instead of together.

Chair pose also requires you to pay attention to all four corners of your feet, to keep them firmly planted into the ground. "This body awareness also helps with balance," Kristoffer says.

4. Low lunge

To get into low lunge, follow these steps:

1. Start in mountain pose.

2. While exhaling, bend forward, folding at the waist, so your chest is parallel with the floor and your arms hang down toward your feet. You can bend your knees slightly if needed.

3. Shift your weight into your right foot and bend your right knee while stepping your left foot back so that your left leg is extended behind you.

4. Place the palms of your hands on the floor, one on each side of your right foot.

5. Rest your left leg flat on the floor behind you, with the top of your foot pressed into the floor.

6. While inhaling, reach your arms up over your head and lift your upper body so that your chest and head are straight upward.

7. Make sure that your shoulders stay relaxed down away from your ears.

8. Hold this position for 10 to 30 seconds, or however long is comfortable for you.

9. Repeat on the other side.

"Lunges activate your stabilizing muscles to develop balance, coordination, and stability," Christopherson says. They also require you to work each side of your body independently, which is good practice for moments where you feel off balance.

Lunges also mirror how you walk in daily life, with one foot forward at a time, "so practicing them teaches us how to stand and walk with awareness while engaging the muscles required to balance," Christopherson says.

5. High lunge

High lunge is similar to low lunge, but with a few key changes. To get into high lunge, follow these steps:

1. Follow steps one through four of low lunge.

2. Lift your left heel so that your leg is balanced on the ball of your left foot.

3. While inhaling, reach your arms up over your head and lift your upper body so that your chest and head are straight upward.

4. Engage your right thigh and try to distribute your weight evenly between your left foot behind you and your right foot in front of you.

5. Make sure that your shoulders stay relaxed down away from your ears.

6. Hold this position for 10 to 30 seconds, or however long is comfortable for you.

7. Repeat on the other side.

High lunge builds a lot of strength, particularly in your lower body, core, and pelvic floor, Kristoffer says.

High lunge is also good for developing your body awareness, especially understanding where your feet need to be to maintain your balance, Kristoffer says.

6. Warrior three

If you're ready for a greater challenge to your balance, you can try warrior three pose. To get into the pose, follow these steps:

1. Start in a high lunge position with your right foot in front.

2. While engaging your core muscles, bend your upper body forward so that your chest and arms are 45 degrees from the floor.

3. Shift your weight into your right foot and start to lift your left foot up off of the floor.

4. Bend your upper body all the way forward while straightening your right leg, so that your body stretches parallel to the floor, held up only by your right leg.

5. Hold this position for 10 to 30 seconds, or however long is comfortable for you.

6. Repeat on the other side.

Warrior three is a helpful pose because it requires you to practice your balance, while engaging your core and leg muscles.

Because this position is more challenging, it's best to start out "at a wall, or sturdy / non-tippable chair, and gradually move away as comfort allows," Kristoffer says.

Insider's takeaway

Having good balance is key to injury prevention, especially as you grow older.

Practicing yoga poses like lunges, chair pose, and mountain pose "helps to strengthen all balance-requiring body parts, and builds body awareness. Both of those are key to improving balance," Kristoffer says.