Finding Balance

I woke up this morning to beautiful sounds: the raindrops falling softly on the tin awning & the soft rumble of thunder in the distance. Beautiful rain! This region needed this temporary reprieve from the recent drought so badly.

As I sat on my patio last night with my family, we realized how out of balance nature is right now. The night was silent. There were no chirping crickets, no symphony of tree frogs, and no mosquitoes biting my feet. There has been no rain to sustain them.

Balance. Mother Nature depends on it & has and always will find a way to maintain inner and outer balance. Its the same with people, as we are a part of Nature. This is what my yoga practice shows me.

Balance has always been a recurring theme for me. When I was divorced at a young age (21) and had 2 small sons to raise, it was about finding the balance between working, going to school to finish my education, growing up myself, and being a mother to the boys. There was hardly time to socialize or pursue the hobbies I enjoyed.

I am now at an age, 25 years later, where my body is changing. There is a balance that needs to be maintained between exercise & sleep;  food & activity; stress & hormones, compassion & assertiveness; fast & slow; work and play & business & family.


As an Independent Educator, I have to constantly find balance between my student & work relationships, my family relationships and my friendships. When I see other people (and myself) doing too many things and not accomplishing anything, that is a sign of a chaotic frame of mind, and time to find that balance again.  


As a student (and also as a teacher) of yoga, balance poses have always been my favorite: In Tree Pose I always had a sense of rootedness; confidence in 'where I stood'.  Side Angle Pose gives me a new peperspective during shifts of balance. Crow Squats allow me to focus on how far I am leaning/rushing into things. Triangle and Revolved Triangle just make me feel alive and stable even though I am twisted in different directions as I reach to new heights.

I draw these analogies with the kids when I am teaching a yoga class. It is not only good for the physical proprioceptive sense integration, (internal equilibrium) but also for the larger sense of Life. If this idea of internal/external balance is instilled at a young age, hopefully our children will grow in to young men and women who handle the busy-ness & everyday stresses of Life with a more self-confidence & ease.


Here is a game I call "Yo-Jenga" to play with kids to help them understand the idea of balance and focus: (Courtesy Alluem Kids  &  Yoga In My School. )

The best family game to teach the idea of balance has to be Jenga. This game consists of a tower of  little wooden blocks that are removed one by one carefully without toppling over the tower. (You can find a $5.00 version of this game called "Timber Tumble" at Five Below stores.) This activity will quickly develop patience, focus, fine motor skills, social and communication skills and problem solving.

By writing balance poses on the wooden blocks, (tree, crow, feather dancer, triangle, etc) you can turn an ordinary Jenga game into 'Yo-Jenga'!

Have each child pick a block from the stack, then teach the pose to the others. Then place the block on top of the pile to see how tall the tower can go!

I also have a few "Create-a-Pose" blocks in the pile as well. This allows the player to make up their own balance pose.

Include a few "Breathing-Break" blocks to keep the players grounded and focused. The game is over when the tower topples, or when the players are losing interest, or when the time limit is up.

For more balance & Sensory games visit us at:  BodyLogique



.