Balance
MOVING TOWARD BALANCE
I’ve been thinking a lot about balance lately. Using yoga as an example, I believe balance is multi-dimensional. It can mean balancing a hoop on your foot, being present and aware of physical sensations by balancing ease with effort in a pose, and being open to vulnerability, embracing the body in a challenging pose balancing emotional acceptance and moment-by-moment curiosity.
Life is no different. How do you balance your weekly chores with all your other responsibilities? How do you balance your emotions when you seem to be overly emotional? How do you balance your wants versus your needs as you remain fiscally responsible? If you’re vulnerable with someone, how do you balance fear with trust?
When I get off track, and my sense of balance is shaky, I do three things:
I notice what I’m eating and drinking and make adjustments including paying attention to tastes I favor excessively in food. When taken in too much the emotional qualities are:
sweet (greed, possessiveness, sluggish) *cookies, ice cream
salt (over ambitious, irritable) *chips, sauces, bread, potatoes
pungent (anger, impatience) *peppers, onion, garlic
astringent (rigidity, resentment, emotional heaviness) *wine
bitter (spaced out, nervous, agitated, grief) *coffee
I look inward to balance my mind, body, and spirit. It gives me time to feel and listen to what is arising within me. I unroll the mat and notice what shifts are happening and how I’m feeling. If I can become more aware of the inner world, I can balance the outer world. Going inward not only involves moving breath with body in yoga, walks, and runs, but solitude in meditation as well.
I get curious with what I’m trying to control. Letting go and facing the unknown, and becoming at ease with not knowing. If there’s one certainty in life, it’s change. Trying to control the future is an exercise in futility. My biggest growing edge is being present with the truth of what is, whether or not it is expected or desired.
Explore how balance influences your life. Notice your level of effort and ease in everything you do. Ask yourself how certainty versus the unknown impacts you. Go inward for awareness. If you need balance, change your orientation. Be open to seeing things differently. Keep practicing. And practice again.
It’s all a Dance…and a balancing act. ~Diane