Tuesday, May 30, 2023
  • HOME
    • ABOUT
    • OUR TEAM
  • BLOG
    • SPOTLIGHT
    • HEALTH + WELLNESS
    • LIFESTYLE
    • YOGA + MOVEMENT
  • PODCAST
  • BOOK CLUB
  • PARTNERS
    • DIRECTORY
    • PROFILES
    • JOIN US
  • EVENTS
    • EVENTS CALENDAR
    • EVENT ROUND UP
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • SHOP
    • Cart
MN YOGA + Life magazine
  • HOME
    • ABOUT
    • OUR TEAM
  • BLOG
    • SPOTLIGHT
    • HEALTH + WELLNESS
    • LIFESTYLE
    • YOGA + MOVEMENT
  • PODCAST
  • BOOK CLUB
  • PARTNERS
    • DIRECTORY
    • PROFILES
    • JOIN US
  • EVENTS
    • EVENTS CALENDAR
    • EVENT ROUND UP
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • SHOP
    • Cart
No Result
View All Result
MN YOGA + Life magazine
No Result
View All Result

Balance Is a Myth

by Betsy Weiner (she/her)

April 25, 2022
in Health + Wellness
203 8
308
SHARES
1.9k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
April 25, 2022
in Health + Wellness

A couple of years ago, a friend of mine who is a Doula created some parenting classes for new moms. She reached out to me about coming in to lead a talk about finding balance in their lives. I laughed and told her, “I’ll come in and let them know that there is no such thing!” She politely told me perhaps she would look elsewhere to find a different leader on that topic. Oops, a missed opportunity perhaps, but I just can’t lie. What I mean to do is give permission to let go of the expectation that “someday” when all contingencies have been met, you will be in a state of total balance. If you constantly search for this elusive state where everything in your life falls into perfect harmony … well, friends, that may be a fruitless search. 

Balance is often the idea that everything gets  its fair share: time for your spouse or partner, your children, your work, your friends, your hobbies, your exercise routine, resting, laundry, cooking, and everything else you would like to fit into your day with equal energy. Does that sound like life? On any given day, some of these things will move higher on the “to do” list and others will move down. Maybe we need to rebrand balance as “recalibration”? We put undue pressure on ourselves to have every part of our lives in total harmony. 

We hear and read so much about the pursuit of balance. An entire category of postures (asanas) are balance poses. In many of these postures, we notice most when we are off balance because we fall over! Often it is easier to notice on our yoga mat than in our daily lives when we are out of balance. We find ourselves exhausted, short-tempered, or reaching for things to numb ourselves. We spend too much time in one area of our lives and little or no time in another, and we feel the world tipping around us too far in one direction. This can be a great tool for self-awareness. When we notice these feelings or reactions, it’s an opportunity to get quiet and bring ourselves back. We eventually learn to realize the perfect place is right now in this moment as we choose it. The world will not shift to our demands, but we can shift our perception of the world, and in doing so, create what will allow us to thrive. 

  The yoga tradition has a belief  a part of you remains in balance, no matter what: the part of you that is always at rest, always at peace, and can discern what you need for you to thrive in any given moment. These philosophies and practices teach  and show us everything is always in a state of flux. Just like the balance postures, the awareness of what needs attention keeps us upright! Some days we might need rest, and other days we might need to go for a run. At times our work needs more attention, and at other times, we require rest and rejuvenation. Perhaps the point is to acknowledge total harmony cannot be a destination. The journey is a state of flow where listening, discernment, and action all interact with one another. 

We feel the pressure to “have it all,” but what does that even mean? We cannot believe the images we see on social media or  T.V. are real. These are lives that have been carefully curated, and the outcome is something unattainable and certainly unsustainable. It’s not to say that we can’t be inspired by what we see, but it might be less stressful if we release the concept of total harmony in all aspects of our lives. Embracing doing less and enjoying the spaciousness that comes with more time ultimately helps us to decide what would serve us in any given moment. This seems like a nice counter to the constant striving and achievement-based pressure cooker happening all around us. Let go of the myth of balance, and instead make choices that bring you in closer alignment with the peace and calm available to you whenever you are ready to listen.

 

A dedicated teacher, guide, and humble student, Betsy Weiner has been working and learning in the spaces of yoga, meditation, Yoga Nidra and spiritual life coaching for over 20 years. She believes we already have everything we need within, and that each one of us is whole and complete, exactly as we are. Betsy moonlights as a back-up singer in a cover band and thinks laughing might truly be the best medicine.

Related Posts

Evolve Intuitively
Health + Wellness

Evolve Intuitively

May 17, 2023
Ayurvedic Slow-Aging Transformation
Health + Wellness

Ayurvedic Slow-Aging Transformation

May 3, 2023
The Power of the Sankalpa
Health + Wellness

The Power of the Sankalpa

April 28, 2023
Channeling Your Inner Wisdom
Health + Wellness

Channeling Your Inner Wisdom

April 19, 2023
The Importance of Discomfort
Health + Wellness

The Importance of Discomfort

April 12, 2023
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Tags: balanceminnesotamn yoga life magazine
Share123Tweet77
Previous Post

Studio Spotlight: Up Yoga

Next Post

How Yoga Saved Me … and Still Does

SIGN UP

BLOG

Why is it beneficial to drink turmeric?

Why is it beneficial to drink turmeric?

May 24, 2023 in Lifestyle When we were younger, we used to hear our grandparents talk about turmeric all the time. They would call it the best thing for just [...]

Read more
Evolve Intuitively

Evolve Intuitively

May 17, 2023 in Health + Wellness “Intuition is more important to discovery than logic.”                                [...]

Read more
Spotlight: Back to Center – Laura Willenbring

Spotlight: Back to Center – Laura Willenbring

May 12, 2023 in Spotlight A holistic veterinarian and yoga teacher in Saint Cloud, MN, Laura Willenbring teaches through her own platform, Back to Center. Sheworks on her family farm [...]

Read more
Aligning Your Dollars to Your Dreams: Your business changed, have your finances changed with it?

Aligning Your Dollars to Your Dreams: Your business changed, have your finances changed with it?

May 10, 2023 in Lifestyle As our businesses evolve, our business plan changes too! You may have been required to write a business plan to obtain a small business loan [...]

Read more
Is Body Hatred Sneaking into Your Yoga?

Is Body Hatred Sneaking into Your Yoga?

May 5, 2023 in Yoga + Movement Western culture can make it difficult to love our bodies. Inherited hierarchies and divisive dualism pervade the language and mythology. Spirit and body [...]

Read more
Ayurvedic Slow-Aging Transformation

Ayurvedic Slow-Aging Transformation

May 3, 2023 in Health + Wellness Western science affirms that Ayurvedic lifestyle and energy management practices extend telomere length, protecting us from decline and disease. What are telomeres, and [...]

Read more
The Power of the Sankalpa

The Power of the Sankalpa

April 28, 2023 in Health + Wellness If you’ve ever participated in Yoga Nidra, you’ve probably been prompted to create a Sankalpa. It’s a bit of a tall order, especially [...]

Read more
Spotlight - Hillman Retreat House

Spotlight – Hillman Retreat House

April 26, 2023 in Spotlight We found Hillman Retreat House in February of 2021, at the very beginning of our search for a lakeside property. The pandemic was just hitting [...]

Read more
Yoga Therapy for Happy Hips & Hammies

Yoga Therapy for Happy Hips & Hammies

April 21, 2023 in Yoga + Movement In ten years of teaching yoga, whenever I ask students for requests of areas of the body to tend to, they consistently ask [...]

Read more
Channeling Your Inner Wisdom

Channeling Your Inner Wisdom

April 19, 2023 in Health + Wellness As I sit down to write this article, the words to Don’t Stop Believin’ keep rolling through my head. After all, I am [...]

Read more

INSTAGRAM

Follow Us!

© Copyright 2021 | MN Yoga + Life Magazine

  • HOME
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • BLOG
  • CONTACT
No Result
View All Result
  • HOME
    • ABOUT
    • OUR TEAM
  • BLOG
    • SPOTLIGHT
    • HEALTH + WELLNESS
    • LIFESTYLE
    • YOGA + MOVEMENT
  • PODCAST
  • BOOK CLUB
  • PARTNERS
    • DIRECTORY
    • PROFILES
    • JOIN US
  • EVENTS
    • EVENTS CALENDAR
    • EVENT ROUND UP
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • SHOP
    • Cart

© 2023 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In