Balance........

So often this word is misinterpreted, overused and modified as per the needs and conveniences of people and situations. And still…….it remains the most difficult thing to achieve even for the best of us. Everyone seems to running around to create this 'Balance' in their bodies, minds and life situations.

I am a Yoga teacher and so I often use this word ‘Balance’, while instructing a student on posture but what that really means for the student is left open for interpretation.

We imagine Balance as some physical state of being in which you feel stable and secured. But if you observe deep down, how balance is achieved, you will notice that balance is a continuous adjustments of parameters of imbalance just in the right proportion.

The Balance of your body is definitely a continuous adjustment of your muscles to support you against gravity and other forces. What about Balance of your mind?

Imagine Mind as a big muscle. It is such a flexible muscle that it can be stretched in absolutely any direction for however long distance you want. It will keep showing you the world from the angle that it is stretched at. If you would like to stretch it now on the opposite side, that’s ok too.  But once it is stretched too much on one side, the other sides, faculties and perceptions of your mind do not yield the same results they used to before. And you start experiencing Imbalance in your life.

The Mind too can be brought under Balance by continuous adjustment to its tendencies against various forces. This too is a continuous process throughout your existence.

But as you can imagine, it requires much too effort to keep maintaining this balance throughout your life.  Until….until such a point that it becomes natural for the mind to remain balanced. Just like you hardly put any effort in standing on your two legs now.

Despite all of the efforts that we put into maintaining the so called balance in our bodies and mind, we fail and sometimes fail miserably and experience exactly what we are trying to avoid.

What if I told you, there is a state of being which does not require any effort to Balance and has Balance as a natural way of existence?

This state is a state of pure consciousness. We access it multiple times throughout the day but immediately lose focus of it as mind takes over.

In Yoga, We always start a session with deep breathing and ask the students to clear their minds and focus on the breath. This might sound like a simple activity but has a deep profound side to it.

When you take a deep breath in and exhale, you access the pure consciousness that you are and create a momentary break from mind activity. In that very precise moment you are absolutely balanced, perfect and whole, without a need to correct any course or adjust any part of you.

This beautiful moment of breath is available to you at all times, with you, as part of you. However, you will find that after a few moments of breathing, your mind resumes control and you get lost in the fight of balance and imbalance. You lose the sight of the precious gift of balance you always have.

Great Spiritual Master Eckhart Tolle once said that, you can be aware of just one breath at any moment of time and create your awareness a breath at a time, living moment by moment, living in the NOW.

In the very moment, you take deep breath in and become aware of the breath, your mind ceases to create a flow of thoughts and hence no mental stretch to any particular side is created. As the mind quietens, the body gets absolutely still and needs no adjustments or balancing. You are in the perfection called Balance. This resonance of your mind, body and beyond into an absolute Balance is nothing but Yoga.

In that moment of pure consciousness, you gain insight, find truth, feel love, joy and freedom and know the wisdom that was always within you.

So,please take a moment …….. Breathe deeply……exhale slowly…..and tell me if you are in need of a balance?