Balance in Yoga and Life

A good friend recently reminded me that balance does not always mean good, it means simply balance - good and bad! Balance is something that you have to work for. For anyone who has known me a long time they know that my life's goal has always been to achieve balance - I am also a Libra which plays into this as well. Balance is good/bad, yin/yang, love/hate - constant opposites.

With my practice I am trying to achieve balance and admittedly in practice as well as in life, I sometimes fall over. It may be that I teeter and topple in asana and I often actually fall over. I am not clumsy I am just not necessarily focused that day. Or sometimes I teeter and topple when trying things with my children or in the inner workings of my marriage - it is all about achieving balance.

I have found that with my new adventure in yoga school I have been reaching and reaching and focusing on yoga an study and asana practice and meditation practice that the balance of my family life needs some work. We had what in my mind was a horrible evening. I worked at one of my many part time jobs this afternoon and returned home in a lot of physical pain. I think from standing all day my hip joint which lead down to my knee and circled around my ankle, or maybe it started the other way, was aching and nothing seemed to work. I tried some arnica, I had my husband massage and I tried sitting. The kids wanted to be with me and I felt as if couldn't do it. I couldn't stand or sit, I really had no idea what to do, so I plugged along in our evening routine.

Then once everyone was in bed and my husband was doing his thing I rolled out my mat to try to once again find some balance. In my practice and in my life. My hip joint still hurt but I listened to my body and did a gentle practice. It felt good, not great but good and sometimes I have to be OK with good. Is my pain completely gone, no but it feels better. Do I feel completely balanced no, but this is something I will always have to work on and I need to remember take the pleasant with the unpleasant or the good with the bad and it will all work out just fine.

Om Shanti,
Jenni