Balancing. Why oh why must I?

Photo by the luscious Jim Newberry

Here I am in warrior III, a classic balancing pose. Like I wrote yesterday, yoga people always talk about practice. We also always talk about balance. Even when I teach, I emphasis the importance of balancing our energy level, our minds, our bodies, all of that good stuff we have going on.

As a yoga teacher, I feel extra obliged to balance myself as much as I can if I"m going to be an example of balance to the students in class. I try to balance my life and it's a challenge.

I enjoy drinking wine. Is this a balancing if I ride my bike more to burn off those extra calories? Is it a balancing if I only have 2 instead of 3 glasses or if I meditate longer? The good news that is also difficult is that balance doesn't work this way. Balance is not retributive where an eye is for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

Balance is constantly shifting. The only way for me to discover my balance is by experiencing the results of my actions constantly. If i have an extra bit of cheese with dinner and wake up feeling bloated the next morning, then I didn't balance my meal the night before. 

The tougher aspect of balance is experiencing the esoteric results. How bright is my inner light, my tejas, when I act a certain way? How bright is my spirit when I make certain choices? How does perpetuating old habits that feel comfortable ultimately bring out the best in me? Or not?

Balancing on one foot is greasy easy peasy compared to balancing my inner life. If only enlightenment were easy as holding a fancy yoga pose on one foot for a long time. Actually, thank goodness it's not. Real results need truly difficult work. 

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