It’s all in the Shaking: Finding Balance part 2

Part 1 can be found here.

Until, out of no where, a crisis occurred or a holiday season came up, swamping any semblance of balance my life was beginning to enjoy. It was as if a cyclone blew threw my calendar for an entire month (or two). There would be late nights and early mornings. I would get up every day feeling like a zombie. I drank extra coffee, and made sure to use enough concealer to hide the circles under my eyes. I was exhausted and balance seemed like a long lost dream.

Balance, felt like a destination I couldn’t fully reach. Every time I thought I had landed on its shore, it felt like a tidal wave crashed in and pulled me out to sea. I felt like a failure—that I either couldn’t cut it in my profession, or that somehow there was a secret to living a balanced life that no one was telling me. But instead of giving up, every time the balance in my schedule was lost, once things calmed down, I tried again. And though the cycle was frustrating, I learned something very important.

It was in the seeking to re-find balance, every time it was lost, that finding it became possible.

Which brings me back to Yoga. During that time of my life, I would go to a Yoga class at my gym. One night, while we were in the balance portion of the class (we might have been doing Tree), my instructor told us not to worry about shaking. “The shaking is our bodies’ way of finding balance,” she said. It was our bodies’ way of becoming strong enough to hold a balanced pose. It took me years to see the connection, but at some point I realized, the same is true in finding balance in our lives.

Balance in life, like in Yoga, is not a destination, but rather a state of mind. Every time we make a concerted effort to bring ourselves back on course when life throws our healthy eating, exercise, or our entire schedule off—mentally, we are becoming stronger. Over time, it becomes easier for us to re-find our balance, whenever it is thrown off.

Life is not predictable. It is not, on its own, balanced (if it were, it would be boring). But that does not mean we have to live in chaos. If you are working on eating healthier, exercising regularly, putting up good relational boundaries, or taking time for rest—and your efforts are feeling shaky at best—DO NOT give up. Remember that it is in the shaking that our practices become strong. Its in the shaking that we find balance. If the winds of life come and blow over your “tree,” give yourself grace. Then pick yourself up and try again.