Can you stand on one leg?
 

Or, "How soon are you going to die?"

One of the exercises recommended by my physical therapy class was balancing on one leg. They had me standing on a piece of foam rubber, first on one leg, then standing heel-to-toe, for 30 seconds each, with a goal of getting up to a minute. After a few months of doing it, on a carpeted floor I can stand on one leg with my other foot propped against my knee pretty much indefinitely. Same for the heel-to-toe stance. It was gratifying to feel in control, but how important? Then this came across my news feed.
How long can you stand on one foot on a carpeted floor?

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1667910411.jpg

Hmmm...I better start practicing.

Just now tried it...easy, but I had shoes on. So..I tried it sock-footed...same results, but I had to raise an arm up to maintain my balance.
I'm 69 years old.

Someone once raised a concern about someone else's kids playing right next to a drop off onto concrete.
The mom of the kids replied "Kids are like rubber, they bounce and get back up."

The reason balance is important, well, we lose that attribute of brushing off a fall with aging.

Dead man walking!😂

Here lies Casey .... He shoulda known better than to even try :D

Based on the image above, I think what it's really talking about is fitness. To me, I think balance requires 2 things, 1 a sense of balance, and 2 fitness in most muscles which will allow you to perform minute adjustments in your body to maintain your balance. So it's not just "are your hamstrings and quads strong enough?" I think it's all of the tiny little muscles in your legs and torso working in conjunction. So do you have an overall level of fitness higher than your peers, and if you are more fit than your peers, then you're probably going to live longer.

But then I don't think that statement would have taken the internet by storm.

I'm certainly not saying that it's invalid or silly.

I think (assuming there's a not a medical reason why you shouldn't) that yoga is a great form of exercise. It can be very difficult to do, and targets almost everything (all parts of the body, strength, flexibility, balance, etc...)

Unless one has some kind of weird balance issue or is drunk, I can't imagine someone not being able to stand on one foot for 10 seconds.... Is this for real?

My dad has had balance issues for years. As he said to someone yesterday, "I'm ok, but I walk around like a drunken sailor". He doesn't drink. He's had multiple tests, and the best the doctors can figure is that he has nerve receptor issues in his feet.

Hitting golf balls with him today ought to be interesting.

https://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/2022/06/24/ols-test#:~:text=A%20new%20study%20published%20Tuesday ,for%20individuals%20in%20later%20life.

That's part of what the ability to balance is about. Balancing uses a lot of muscles that walking, yoga, lifting - whatever - don't use much, and it requires carefully coordinating them. Age and inactivity can allow those muscles to deteriorate lose the ability to coordinate. The other part of the "survivability" is the better your ability to balance, the fewer falls and accidents you'll have.

Been to Walmart lately?

I do a 20-minute yoga routine a couple of times a week, and standing on one leg is a part of that, so yeah. I started yoga 10 years ago at 50 when I started worrying about maintaining balance and flexibility in retirement. People say I look younger than 60 but I disagree - I just don't move like I'm 60. It's weird to see folks my age tottering already.

Yes. While clasping my elbows with my hands behind my back. It's a Yoga pose.

Well I’m 78 and standing on left or right leg isn’t a problem. Should it be?

I agree except for your inclusion of yoga. Yoga has a ton of poses that require balance.

The pose that you mentioned above that you wanted to be able to hold indefinitely is "tree pose"

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/00...g?v=1560274422

And there are probably another 10-15 poses that require various types of balance.
Here's a few.
https://image.shutterstock.com/image...-651657043.jpg

https://d5sbbf6usl3xq.cloudfront.net...asana_yoga.png

https://tummeeyoga.s3.amazonaws.com/...a_iii_yoga.png

https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hf_S6LlaW.../IMG_6411.jpeg

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/e7/0a...dd1f68f103.jpg

My mother has this, it was diagnosed as peripheral neuropathy.

When I'm at the gym I stand on one foot while putting my sock and sneaker on the other, then switch

Yes, but not the other.

Which leg? :D

Whose leg?