Balance can be defined as purely physical:
-an even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady
Or, it can be defined in a way that gives a nod to the less tangible aspects of our lives:
-a condition in which different elements are equal, or in the right proportions.
Or perhaps you equate balance with words like harmony, equilibrium, evenness, symmetry...
Any way you look at it, balance is a process. It's not an easily gotten goal, it's not even static. Even while you are balancing in Natarajasana, let's say, you feel a LOT of movement going on to contribute to the appearance of balance. Balance changes every moment, every day, and we must do whatever possible to cultivate balance.
It's this changeable quality that makes balance so grounding, so centering. Just try making your shopping list in your head while you balance in Natarajasana or Vrksasana! Balance requires mindfulness, it requires your work and attention to maintain. And that's just in a standing balance. Imagine what is required to bring balance to a busy life? To the schedules of all the people in a busy household?
Balancing postures give us practice in the art of using all our faculties to focus and maintain harmony. Is it possible to take this practice and apply it to other areas of your life? I'm certainly willing to try! Imagine dedicating the same work and attention to balancing your busy schedule, your spending habits, your eating habits... the list is endless.
Just imagine what you can accomplish if you mindfully approach your life?
Rumi, the 13th century Persian poet wrote:
"Your hand opens and closes, opens and closes.
If it were always a fist, or always stretched open, you would be paralyzed.
Your deepest presence is in every small contracting and expanding, the two as
beautifully balanced and coordinated as bird wings."
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