Keeping the balance

Our balance in yoga appears on different levels.
We can discuss balance as a balanced approach to practicing yoga, which means listening to your body’s signals, working harder when you have loads of energy, and pushing less when your energy is lacking.

We can also discuss balancing asanas,  Sirsasana, Bakasana, Garudasana, Natarajasana, Ardhachandrasana you name it. There are days when your balance is on point, you’re staying still in all asanas. At this moment you might think “Wow, I’m good at it, I mastered those asanas”. Do you recall that? Next time you step on the mat, even Tadasana (mountain pose) seems impossible to keep it stable. Your mind goes nuts. “How dare you come against me?! I mastered this *insert asana*.” All of a sudden you’re practicing yoga furious, frustrated. Happened to me a million times. And at that time we might forget what’s yoga about.

We fixate our minds on the idea that things once achieved, will remain as they are forever. Well, surprise, they don’t. Nothing is constant, so something that might have been a piece of cake the last time we were on a mat, this time might come across as impossible. And here lies the beauty of yoga – acceptance. Accepting that everything changes, each practice is different, our bodies change, we go through cycles, etc. So the real balance in yoga is understanding that our practice doesn’t need to be perfect, we don’t have to perform all asanas, as long as we try our best whenever we’re on the mat. Just one of thousands of thoughts off the mat AKA yoga lessons.