Finding balance
When you think about balance you probably picture physical balance, which we practice in every accessible yoga session. We practice wobbling and falling out of balance (which is learning!), then revisiting the posture. Chair yoga practitioners also practice improving their balance which is essential as we age.
There’s energetic balance too
The ancient Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (circa 400 CE) include yoga philosophy on the nature of reality (with three gunas in Sanskrit) 1.171 Each guna is ‘an element of reality that provides a GPS to allow us to make choices to be more balanced, peaceful and harmonious both on and off our yoga mat. Cultivating the ability to identify and understand the gunas brings us closer to seeing the universal truth of oneness.’2
The gunas are activity (rajas), inertia (tamas), and tranquility (sattva). These three gunas are always in play, often with one more pronounced, to be noticed (not judged), and brought into balance.
Learn balance. Apply to a busy, stressful life.
Many of us have demanding jobs with an international time clock and long commutes. We may be over-scheduled; caring for and chauffeuring children, caring for both children and elders, maintaining our health (can be a full-time job!), a household, marriage or committed relationship, and friendships. The 24-hour news cycle and social media apps hijack our attention and set off alarm bells (literally, if cell phone notifications are pinging all day long). It can be hard to imagine, let alone to find balance in our stressful culture of earning, striving, caregiving, information overload, and urgency.
Is the treadmill running you?
Maybe it’s easier to imagine practicing physical balance with aligned posture, core development, and leg strengthening. But practicing life-balance takes another kind of effort.
A brief mindful moment (try just three minutes) of quiet stillness taps into your inner awareness and innate wisdom. A mindful moment helps you assess your energy (active/rajas, inert/tamas, or tranquil/sattva). Then, a creative counter-balancing adjustment may naturally bubble up in your mind. Eureka!
Any time is a good time to look inward and find balance in your life. Can you imagine a new way forward with less stress, more calm and improved productivity?
Note: According to the Harvard Business Review, “The 85% rule counterintuitively suggests that to reach maximum output, you need to refrain from giving maximum effort. Operating at 100% effort all of the time will result in burnout and ultimately less-optimal results.”3
Sources:
1 The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Translation and Commentary by Sri Swami Satchidananda, 1978, Integral Yoga Publications
2 "The 3 Gunas of Nature," by Timothy Burgin, September 2019, Yoga Basics.com
3 "To build a top performing team ask for 85% effort," by Greg McKeown, June 2023, Harvard Business Review, hbr.org
Photo:
Stone tower by Denny Franzkowiaka on Pixabay
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