Yoga Teacher Training Journeys

Bringing back the balance

Have you ever found yourself saying “I wish I had more time to do that”? Do the hours, days and weeks in your life appear to be slipping by so fast you wonder where’s the time ‘gone’? Perhaps you’ve asked yourself at some time of your life, the “What am I doing with my life?” question! Fair question, that! In yoga practice, a key principle is adopting an attitude of acceptance, of everything that is, rather than what could be.

It’s this approach of being aware, of being rather than doing, that’s fundamental to every aspect of yoga , both in student practice and teacher training. Applying this in daily life means allowing time in our daily routine for ‘time out’, to nurture the soul and restore balance within and throughout our lives.

You already know from your interest in yoga that achieving balance in our every day of life is important. You know that, because the class you might attend is based on a philosophy of balance and harmony – of body, mind and spirit. Within or alongside every posture or asana, there is an opposing or complementary asana intended to restore balance to the physical body.

Regular yoga practice helps clear the clutter! It brings back the balance. A loss of balance in our daily lives can leave us despairing the day simply isn’t ‘long enough’ to enable us to do everything we want. We move to more of an awareness of being rather than doing.

We know a yoga class can leave the body in more than just a state of calm. It brings back balance too. How many times have you completed a practice feeling the cares and concerns of your daily life have just dissolved away, like rain drops off a bitumen road at the height of a hot summer afternoon? Is it just at those times, life seems to have struck a balance, and what an incredibly calming feeling that is! Our challenge through yoga is to take that practice into life beyond the class, and applying that philosophy to our every waking moment. And while it’s good to consider doing less or cutting back on our list of daily deeds to do, being less busy (rajasic) is just one step along this path of restoring balance.

Wouldn’t we all be attracted to live a life where we feel more in control of what we do and how we juggle our commitments? To make time for everything in our lives, we must first appreciate some times are best spent doing less. Could it be I’m not making enough time to spend perhaps alone (in meditation). This is not time management. Rather, it’s about respecting time for what it is – the present, repeated – and allowing us to restore the balance we otherwise might be ignoring.

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