Losing Balance, Finding Alignment
When someone says, "balance," do you get images of juggling work, home, family, marriage, children, fitness, health...
I call it The Shopping List approach to life.
You get all wistful thinking about getting it all done, checking things off the To Do List and waiting for that feeling of accomplishment.
But did you ever notice that, on those rare occasions when you do "git 'er done," more things just show up? What kind of reward is that?
Flash: you will NEVER get it all done. And that's a good thing.
If you want a Great Life, forget balance. Go for alignment. Do you know the difference?
Balance; it even sounds elusive. Balance, like juggling, implies giving equal attention to all things. But how can you be great at anything if you're busy being good at everything? Sounds dull to me. And kind of lifeless. And exhausting.
In hot yoga class, when you fall out of Standing Bow Pulling or can't hold steady in Tree, we tell you to congratulate yourself. You went for alignment - following the pose instructions and "lining things up" in your body - and sometimes that feels strange and unsettling, the opportunity to realign with who you are.
In fact, here's how losing your balance in hot yoga can be your key to living a balanced life...
Our hot yoga teachers are all about alignment.
At Riverflow, your teachers spend a lot of time "setting you up" for the hot yoga pose - where your arms go, how your elbows lock, what to contract in your thigh muscle, when to interlace or release your fingers - and even correcting your alignment again once you're in the pose. PRESS instead of PULL. Stretch instead of strain. Breathe instead of clench.
Feel that alignment? Sigh.
Alignment means all the gears click into place; you feel the hum of your fully-functioning body machinery.
Alignment in your life feels like a sense of joyful ease, no matter how hard the task.
Align your body and those 26 hot yoga poses - hard as they are - become effortless.
Align your life and you get to be, do and have everything you want. Effortlessly.
That's right. Struggle hard and you'll get the big rewards? Don't believe it. Not in hot yoga and not in life.
Get into alignment.
When you are aligned, you are naturally following your life's purpose. Don't know what that is yet? No worries. Just stop and take a moment to feel good BEFORE you take any action. If it feels good, to it. And if not - even if it's on your To Do List - don't.
Procrastination is a message from the Alignment Gods: it's not the right time for you to act.
Just like moving into Trikonasana before you check that your knee and ankle are aligned, the results could be disastrous. Ouch. And sometimes crack. And then perhaps doctors applying outside forces to align you.
Alignment is your new buzzword: finding a fundamental stability before taking any action. It's true in hot yoga, and in life.
In hot yoga, you align by following ALL the teacher's instructions (we give many detailed instructions - it's what makes Riverflow hot yoga unique) to the best of your ability today. In life, you align by following the instructions from your heart.
These instructions are not born of the logical, pro-and-con debates of your mind. Heart instructions are more direct: if something feels good, you're hearing the sound of your alignment.
Hot yoga uses the body as a representation of your life. As the physical, so the emotional, and then the manifested. If you're "off balance" in yoga, check your alignment: are you living the life you want?
Out of alignment as in, I hate my job. I am settling because it's the best I can get. I'm not worthy or capable.
Being out of alignment sounds like bullshit.
Go all in. Give 100%. Be completely aligned with your purpose and let nothing distract you. Especially not something as mundane as a To Do List.
Go ahead and lose your balance in hot yoga. Once you let go, you're in line to receive everything you want.
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
Reader Comments (3)
Motivational, Rhonda! ONCE AGAIN!
It IS exhausting to be 'good at everything.' Being interested in SO many things is a curse. Only when you can segregate FUN from ACHIEVEMENT, than multi interests are great. It's a fine line. I haven't found it yet.
I wish I had this advice in the past about procrastination.. You 'get it done', but with no heart there's no fulfillment. So what's the point?
And I love the end up being 100% aligned with your purpose. Then things simplify dramatically! You truly do embody that principle so well. Sing it sister!!!
Cheers!
There is a lovely little children's story about a duck, a bird and a frog who all go to school together. After being tested, the duck is placed in remedial jumping and flying classes; the bird in remedial swimming and honking classes; the frog in remedial singing and hissing classes. In the end they pass their courses and graduate - but with average grades. Instead of following their strengths - the bird, singing; the frog, jumping, the duck, swimming - they were taught to become mediocre at everything, and forgot that they were once born excellent.
It's not only possible to be good at many things; it's your birthright. Do everything you love and don't worry over the rest. When you pursue your passion you automatically align with YOUR best life.
Follow your joy. No other figuring out necessary.
Beautiful! I love the parallel between our practice in the rooms and our PRACTICE in our lives outside. I feel this and know this, but changing old habits and patterns is a challenge that takes practice, practice, practice for me!