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Balance by Christine Stump, Owner, YogaEveryDay

Balance comes from understanding the opposing forces in our lives, and how we can integrate them in an expression of our deepest truth and values. Rather than trying to make our roles, bodies or activity fit a pre-determined mold, balance requires us to recognize what we have, choose and examine our foundation, feel our deepest center, integrate our periphery and unify what might at first seem like opposing demands. When we try to balance without practice or without consciousness, it can make us feel scattered and a bit nuts.

Sometimes this is because we’re not acknowledging the way things happen to be, or because we lack support, vision or strength of our core convictions. But when you practice a little bit each day, you lay a foundation of consciousness, strength, awareness and support from which you can act to transform your world through concrete action.

The four principles of balance are Vision, Grounding, Support & Centering. In yoga pose, we apply these principles intuitively, to go from this:

to this:

Vision starts literally where your eyes fall – your drshti in Sanskrit, or focus: your chosen part of the world to take into your senses. You must choose one that is steady, not too large or small and cultivate the ability to stay with it. Whether you are in yoga pose or balancing the demands of a busy life, being conscious about what you take into your consciousness through your senses is an important method for focusing your energy. Paradoxically, perhaps, this means that you experiment with an open heart and mind, without resistance or anticipation, and commit to revising and refining your vision over time.

Grounding happens where the rubber meets the road, or the skin meets the mat. In standing poses this means connecting through all four corners of your feet and feeling your toes relaxed and alive. If you equally press into the ball mount of your big toe as you lift the inner arch of your foot, you’ve activated muscles wrapping around the lower leg and foot in a synergistic spiral. This is the root or basis of the pose, and integrity here translates into integrity throughout your body. Off the mat, this can mean being transparent and realistic about our motivation and investment. Where does the rubber hit the road? How does a given activity, relationship or necessity really function in the context of your entire life? Where are your “feet” for this endeavor, from where do you draw stability?

Support comes from the expression of the pose through the entire body, drawing our periphery in to center. For instance, in Warrior I or III, we often let the back leg become a little lax. After all, we can’t see it and we’re so focused on the arms in the air and our hips being level and not falling over. But not falling over is specifically influenced by how alive that back leg is! Even effort throughout all the limbs with the muscles gently hugging the bones and drawing into the core, supports the overall expression of the pose. In life this might mean drawing strength from our extended support group, or consciously drawing our energy into only vital efforts during critical periods.

Centering happens when we muscularly, energetically, emotionally, and mentally hew to midline. Just as we draw our muscles to midline at the end of a meditative exhalation, centering requires that we draw our core support muscles into the center of the body. Core strength starts in the inner thighs, is felt in the pelvic floor and translates into the 3 major abdominal muscle groups usually associated with core strength (transverse, rectus and oblique), and even requires the finer muscles supporting the spine. All of these support the smooth and effective function of the diaphragm in respiration. Centering in yoga pose means we move from the core. In life, being centered means we draw into and from our strongest parts, supporting smooth respiration and digestion of our experience. Being centered means we stay connected to our deepest values and move to manifest our dreams in connection with our values.

Whether in yoga pose or traffic, find equanimity by being aware of your vision, ground, support & center. You’ll breathe more easily, think more clearly, focus more securely and choose with more integrity. Breathe, Balance, Be!

Practice these principles and cultivate these qualities on the mat with this balance sequence, designed to promote balance in fluid motion!
 

Start in a squat, Malasana variation for Ground: Now, bring your hands down to press against your calves at the most muscular point. Good. Press the ball mount of your big toe into the ground. Excellent, you have engaged your Peroneus Longus, which wraps from the outside of your calf, under your foot, to attach at the ball mount of your big toe. You’ve stabilized the outside of your leg. Now, lift your arch, if it isn’t already. Press very noticeably into your hands. Good. This activates your Tibialis Anterior, which crosses the front of your leg and attaches under the arch on the inside of your foot. Now you’ve engaged the inside of your leg and balanced your connection to your ground.

Stand by pressing the Earth away from you and lifting your heart, into mountain. Good. Now, hands to hips. Choose your standing leg, press all four corners of that foot into the Earth, and rotate from the pelvis around the head of your standing leg femur, til your torso is parallel to the ground and your flying leg extends behind you. Good, Warrior III (Virabhadrasana III) is a one-legged, forward facing balance pose focused on your core supporting your back and leg. This is Center, all of the abdominal and spinal muscles hugging in to support your center, remaining strong and simultaneously open and vulnerable.

Bending both knees, sweep your arms out to your sides and your torso up to standing. Continue by lifting your flying leg up to the front and crossing it over your standing leg, both knees still bent. Garundasana, or Eagle pose, sitting down, settling into your seat, curl your tail bone, press your belly button back and lift your heart, crossing the arm opposite your flying leg over the other arm and intertwining your hands. (If your left knee’s on top, your left elbow’s on bottom or visa versa.) Here, we’re consciously hugging our limbs, the peripherary, towards midline for support. Only here, rather than the arms or legs simply pressing inward, they’re intertwined, so the outsides press together to create a strong and stable midline, the limbs gathering in like friends supporting a family in need.

To transition to the last pose, pick a point of focus, a drshti. Unwind your knees and arms, moving close to Mountain, but not stopping to put your legs down. Bend your flying leg, the one that hasn’t been on the ground since last Mountain, til your heel is near your buttock. Good, catch your ankle in your same-side hand. Kick your foot back into your hand and draw your heart forward, til your torso is in the same alignment as Warrior three, but you are holding your back foot, with your hips parallel to the ground. Natarajasana, King Dancer Pose, and it’s all about your gaze: keep your eyes on a steady point, your limbs drawing in, your core supporting your spine and your foot pressing into the ground in a balanced way & you’ll dive into Natarajasana like the dancer in your heart.

Balancing opposing forces in our lives, the demands of creative work and caretaking, for example, or of leisure and earning: all these require we are aware of our vision and focus, strong in our center, connected at the ground level, and gently accessing all our support centers. Time on the mat prepares us for this dynamic balance in everything we offer to our world. Press down, draw in, gather support and fly toward your vision today!

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