Balancology - finding balance in our lives
Balancology (add ‘ology’ and it (nearly) sounds scientific!
Finding balance
The idea of finding balance in life has been around as long as humanity itself. It can often feel out of reach. I think is because, the words ‘finding balance’ imply that it is a destination that we find and, voila - you’re there. The end. You’re in Balance-land, and the search ends. But everything in life is dynamic, and so, it isn’t a destination so much as a way of being, a constant journey, we are in relation with the idea of balance constantly. Moving toward, moving away, moving toward… you get the idea.
The thinker, not the thought
Yoga presents the opportunity to move back from judgement, into perceiving and observing. As we come onto our mat and connect with our breath and our body, the mind begins to shift towards a calmer state, creating a space where we are able to notice our physical, mental, emotional, spiritual state, sit with them, breath deeply, and even explore and build awareness of the connection between all of those layers. This space also allows us to notice our inner dialogue. What story is playing over in our mind and how is it impacting how we feel about ourselves? We are the thinker not the thought. As we notice our inner dialogue, it can be incredibly powerful to lean into it, start to ask it questions, where it came from, draw a line of sight back to its origins, and then start to rewrite our story to better serve us. We are the author, we are the hero in our story - not the victim.
Work / Life balance
The term work/life balance is a funny one. A balance between two places: work and life. Does that mean work isn’t life? That work is ‘unlife’ or ‘non-life’? We are the constnat moving between both places, so instead of an either/or framing, what about a both/and, acknowledging that all parts of our life make up one whole. Given that we spend most of our waking hours at work, thinking about it, preparing for it, recovering from it… what would it feel like to consider the two to be one in the same? The pendulum in society seems to be swinging back towards supporting balance of work and life, after a period of being out of balance, with wellness becoming BAU, with flexible working arrangements, job shares, and more 4-day weeks. Allow yourself to believe that you deserve what works for you - work is to connect with a sense of purpose and service - not grind ourselves into the ground living according to someone elses story. Practicing yoga is a valuble space you can carve out to find quiet on your meet, breath into your heart space and sense what feels like the right path for you, being guided by your inner wisdom and values.
Balance - it’s all about perspective
My yoga studies helped me gain a new perspective on balance, that it’s not a static, motionless thing, but quite the opposite. When we’re standing on one leg in tree pose (or even two legs in mountain pose) we’re not still; our heart beats, our lungs expand and contract, our blood moves - and we wobble. Balance is a midpoint between life’s myriad sets of opposites. As long as we’re awake, we pendulum between exertion and rest, noise and quiet, hot-cold, fast-slow, excited-mellow, connect-disconnect, expressing-reflecting, stretch zone-comfort zone… and so on. A key part of finding balance therefore becomes the act of just noticing where you are in relation to that midpoint, and as your self-knowledges develops, you get better at adjusting the sails to keep on track to that midpoint where you feel fulfilled and thriving.
