Balancing Act

All yoga postures involve a balance of some sort - whether an obvious balance in gravity like an inversion or a pose standing on one leg - or the balance of muscular engagement and flexibility of a seated twist.   Finding ease in the pose requires finding and maintaining the balance - one reason that yoga is so good for cultivating awareness and staying present.

One challenge with learning a new pose that is particularly challenging in balance - such as press up hand stand - is finding a safe way to put the body in the posture - or a close approximation to it - so that it can learn, and build the strength, flexibility and coordination needed to refine and master the pose. 

In the workshop I took yesterday, I learned some techniques that got me tantalizingly close to lifting up for the first time.  They involved standing on yoga blocks - 2 in my case - to compensate for hamstrings that aren't quite flexible enough - and using a wall to support and stabilize the pose.  

The basic mechanics of the pose are simple enough - if you can get your hips up over your center of gravity, the legs will come up easily.  The two key factors are how to get the hips up and over, and how to balance while the legs are coming up, during which the center of gravity is constantly and subtly changing.  The blocks help with the first issue, and the wall with the second.  

After work tonight, I gave it another try - not expecting anything more than to gain some more insight into the mechanics.  But on about the 5th attempt, I found things working and was able to lift my feet off the blocks and bring my legs all the way up into handstand.  I relied heavily on the support of the wall, so am far from being able to claim success at a press up hand stand.  But it's the step I needed to take - finding how to safely put my body in the vicinity of the pose so it can learn what to do.  I'll eventually be able to wean myself off of the props, and some months or years in the future the full pose will come.  

Life is full of opportunities to find balance - balance between activity and rest, between routine and new stimulating activities, between energy and time devoted to work and to family and personal interests.  

When there are changes, and you need to find the new balance, it may take energy and experimentation to move toward the new balance point.  As with press up hand stand, it may take a while of being in a state of imbalance - but closing in on balance - so that you can, through trial and error, learn how to find balance and stay in it.  

The props to help you may not be as obvious as yoga blocks and a wall.  They might be the support of a coworker, friend or loved one.  They might be removing some other stressors so you have the emotional energy to deal with the trials of finding the new balance.  Whatever they are, use them to help you on the way, but don't accept them as a permanent crutch, or you may get stuck short of the balance and ease you are seeking.  Most of all, accept that things will be shaky for a while. The imbalances are necessary steps in the path, and the best way to move past them is not to fight them, but to fully experience them.