How life became balanced
There is a yoga posture called tree pose, where you stand like a flamingo on one leg, the other folded with foot firmly tucked into the inner-thigh, hands in prayer at heart level, or above the head hallelujah style.
It’s a foundational balance pose that reveals a fair bit about a person. Yoga mirrors life; some days you can emulate the mighty oak, standing tall, proud and immovable. Other days, you hop about as if on hot coals fumbling to find your footing and doing your best not to end up splintered on the ground like dry kindling.
I wouldn’t say it’s my superpower, but others seem to ascribe it to me.
How does one build balance? There is much to learn from yoga. Without stability, there is no balance, at least not in any enduring sense.
And just like tree pose, stability is built from the ground up, starting with the roots.
The integrity and health of one’s root system creates resilience and flexibility. If you’re firmly anchored, you have the strength to pivot, to bend in different directions and go with the flow. Likewise, when your intention is set and attention properly focused, you become laser-like in your pursuits.
My philosophy and approach to life is to take in as much as possible, without overstretching my limits and snapping.
Because I have multiple interests, I suspect my life must look quite interesting from the outside. I travel a fair bit, I challenge myself physically and intellectually. I try to do at least one running event a year. I’ve gone back to school online while working fulltime, and juggling two teenage boys as a single parent.
My family lives abroad, so I also endeavour to keep those connections alive by returning home once a year at least. Oh, and I have three pets, including a dog that needs daily walking.
I enjoy the diversity of experience and I’m driven by a nagging need to expand my boundaries.
The extent to which that’s possible comes back to tree pose mastery. There are times in life when it’s impossible to avoid getting knocked down, but your resilience and recovery will bear a strong relationship to the integrity of that good stuff inside that you plant on a daily basis.