Thank you Michael Moseley

There are many good YouTube videos on physio exercises for elders.

petra

wibblywobblywobblebottom

There are much safer ways of practising your balancing than standing on one leg whilst cleaning your teeth. That's madness.

I’ve been doing that for years.
Btw, you don’t have to clean your teeth while doing it.

I was never much good at doing The Tree in yoga although I went for years.
My friend could balance perfectly and stand absolutely still for ages.

I have passed the message about 30 seconds on each leg to my husband who has balance issues ( in his early 80s) so thank you, ayse and others for the advice. I will follow it,too. I used to do line dancing and that was really good for balance ( but difficult to learn new steps every week these days !)

BlueBelle

He never came into my life until he was in the news and dead
So he wasn’t a lot of use to me however I have done the balancing thing just not through him
Hope you knee gets better soon

Just One Thing is available on BBCsounds

Just one thing has been repeated on BBC Radio 4 recently.
Heard one yesterday about the value of walking just after rain.
Petrichor ? Poss enhancing the oxygenation of the blood.
I think.

Witzend

Wishing you a speedy recovery, ayse!

Another MM one I thought excellent, was saying that if people would walk for just 15 minutes a day….

So many people who could, simply never walk anywhere. IMO the advice to do 10,000 steps a day has very likely been counter productive. I wouldn’t mind betting that many people just thought, Oh, I’m never going to manage/have time for, so many, so there’s no point bothering at all.

As I understand it the recommendation to walk 10,000 steps a day is just a random figure with no actual scientific evidence. I got a fitbit a number of years ago and have gradually become more active but my target is only 8,ooo, which I currently rarely achieve after a knee injury set me back. I occasionally exceed my target but as I'm 70, the things I've read seem to suggest I'm doing fine.

I do need to do something about my balance though as I get the odd wobble and I'm not as steady as I was. I probably need to look into his advice as it was mostly very good.

If you are thinking of walking more, start with little and often. Park a bit further away from where you are going - I usually park at the furthest point from the supermarket entrance in the car park and there are nearly always spaces there. Walk to the local shop instead of driving. I used to drive to the local fish and chip shop. My excuse - the food would get cold on the way back! It's only about a five minute walk and the food stays perfectly hot. I've also saved on fuel for the car especially with the short journeys where the car barely warms up so the fuel per mile is much higher!

I also joined a 'simply walk' group for a weekly walk followed by a sociable tea or coffee. Since my knee injury I do the short walk - only about half an hour - but if I can get my pace back I'll rejoin the long walk for an hour. If you build up gradually you'll surprise yourself at how much better you'll feel.

Great story and get well soon.
I remember reading that poor balance is indicative of premature aging. It's definitely true you can improve it.
I started pilates about 8 years ago and really struggled with the balancing on one leg exercises. It was the one thing I practiced at home and I managed to make a big improvement.