Yoga Tips #1: Balance
Yoga Tips #1: Balance
This month for the Yoga Tips Challenge we are exploring all different aspects of our practice and here we begin with balance…
Balance is needed in life, both physical and mental balance. This post takes a look at physical balance from the mental standpoint. One of the most biggest challenges to physical balance is people simply thinking, “I can’t do that.” However, physical balance is a learned skill, and everyone has the inherent capacity to improve.
Just this past Friday in class we went through a standing balance series and I was struck by how well one of the practitioners did. She was poised, strong, and confident in her poses. Yet she has only been at it a short while and in the early stages even the most basic balance poses were extremely challenging for her. She would shake and sway wildly, and quickly put her foot back down. Yet now here she was on this Friday morning nicely flowing through an entire standing balance sequence, beautifully navigating the various transitions – all done on a padded floor which makes it all the more difficult. So I have to give her credit because she initially entered our classes saying, “I have got to improve my balance.” And she did it.
Whatever techniques and suggestions I offer in class are moot if met by the psychology, “This is beyond what I can do.” So the starting block for balance has got to be, “Yes, I can do this.” And verily, balance is something that can be improved in as quickly as a week’s time. It is a matter of physical memory. So repetition is a must. And once the body gains that muscle memory, or expectation of how to keep balanced in that particular position, then the war is won.
No doubt, we all have certainly limitations, but within our own constructs, there is always scope for improvement when it comes to balance. I have worked with numerous folks in their 80’s and watched them improve dramatically, and also witnessed my own father learn how to walk again (numerous times) in his 50’s, 60’s, & 70’s in the wake of a horrific accident and successive surgeries. But even with all the mental and physical disabilities that he suffered, he always regained his stride, fortified by the determination, “I can do this.”
Balance is all about embracing the next stage of improvement for you. Do not think 5 steps ahead, just one. And by achieving that initial progress, the psychic momentum is created for continued gains. So take a look at where you are in your practice, and consider what is the next stage for your progress. And if you are not sure what that is, ask me. Maybe it is keeping the torso still while in tree pose, or bringing the back leg up higher in a lateral balance pose, or whatever it is for you we can pinpoint that next step and gain success.
Here are guidelines and podcasts for practicing at home:
