“The key to keeping your balance is knowing when you’ve lost it.”
~ Anonymous
Living a life of balance can be a real challenge. And while my summary of the Yamas, or yogic restraints, was written from a “giving up” point of view, the main message of yoga is to come into balance.
And my balance is going to be a bit different than your balance. While certainly there are some standards which we can all likely agree to, how each of us goes about meeting balance in our life will surely vary.
I think that asana practice – the 3rd limb of yoga following the yamas and niyamas – exemplifies this so very well. There is a wrong way to do any posture, but based on my body and your body, there are MANY variants of “right”. This is why we should never be looking around during yoga practice, looking to compare our tree pose or triangle pose to others. To quote master Bryan Kest, even the word “asana” means “to sit quietly”. So the goal in our life practice and poses is to find a place that even in the tension and physical discomfort, we can still come to a place of stillness and setting aside of mental struggle.
Yesterday I did not make a post. I did make it up for the sunrise, but felt like I’d been hit by a Mack Truck, and went back to bed for a couple of hours. Apparently, as much as I fought it, I’ve come down with Spencer’s cold.
On the rare occasions that I am ill, I take this time to offer gratitude. It’s so easy to get caught up in “I wish I felt better”. Thinking this way is not helpful. It only serves to pull us out of what really is.
I made sure to drink lots of fluids. While not hungry, I still forced myself to eat healthy food. My mind seems to want to become highly repetitious in thought whenever I’m sick, so I gave the mind a completely mindless task of filing some paperwork yesterday. The chore engaged my mind, was actually productive, not strenuous, and kept me out of negativity. It aided in a good night’s sleep.
So today I offer lots of gratitude:
I am grateful I was able to hold off the cold until after my villa check-in Saturday.
I am grateful this is only a slight head cold and not the flu!!
I am grateful for my cats, who give me lots of delight and things to laugh about yesterday.
I am grateful for the big pot of Potato Leek Soup I made for Spencer.
I am grateful simply to be alive, even if a little under the weather.
And I am grateful that I am self-employed, so I don’t have a job I must be at today at 9AM 😉
How about you? What gratitude can you offer up today ??
Cheers to a balanced week, and Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone!
