Balance vs Harmony

“I’m a great believer in harmony, but balance is bogus....... 

                       Balance in this world cannot be achieved, so get over it."

          ~ from Harmonic Wealth by James Arthur Ray ~

I mention balance all the time , I love the idea of living a balanced life and the suggestion that it is unattainable, at first, was unacceptable. My picture of balance is not one where everything in life is equal but the weight of each part is balanced against its value or importance to the other aspects of life. If we break these areas of importance down, as James Arthur Ray does, into financial, relationships, mental, physical and spiritual we can gain perspective of how things really are.

Ray uses the example of a scales when it is in perfect balance, it is static, not moving or changing. If that is our life it becomes stagnant and that is not my vision of the meaning of  balance. Rather, we want continual motion for dynamic growth and vibrancy. Ray calls this harmony, all parts working together to create fluidity, working off of and for the energy of the five main areas of our life.

Osho, in comparison, suggests that we use the word balance wrong, instead of making it a noun we could be using it as a verb, making it a dynamic action. His example is that of a tight rope walker moving in and out of center to maintain balance, he is balancing, if he remains still or static he falls. When balance is achieved it is only for a split second and then the action of balancing must resume to achieve the goal of staying on the rope.

Yet another analogy is that of riding a bike, the bicycle is designed to be balanced while in  motion. If you stop moving forward you fall over unless you place your feet on the ground, then you become static and not moving. However, when you lift you feet and begin pedaling again you are balancing and going forward once more. Plus, you have the added bonus of being able to look behind and see how far you have  traveled and  how your balancing has moved you forward.

So, becoming balanced may be unattainable but it is also undesirable. 

Rather, we should be pursuing a life of harmony and of continual balancing to keep life growing and flowing.

 And, when you look back you will see that it all works together, the ups and downs, the ins and outs, the highs and lows and you will be able to appreciate the "harmony" and "balancing" that is required 

to discover your best life.

Life is like riding a bicycle, 

in order to keep your balance you have to keep moving!

Wake Up With Sun Salutations

Sun salutations give you a great all over body "pump-up'' and can be a complete practice in

and of itself. These 12 or so poses linked in a series can lengthen and strengthen, flex and

extend many of the main muscles of the body and get your blood flowing. 

There are many sun salutation variations, like this lunge salute that lengthens and

contracts the psoas muscle, our major hip flexor. The psoas connects in the groin at

 the lesser trochanter to all the lumbar vertebrae and up to T12, giving important

 flexion and length to the lower back.The lunge also stretches the musculature of the

 upper and inner thighs while also stimulating the stomach, spleen, and liver meridians.

      This can be the beginning of your practice or a full practice in and of itself. 

 And,  when performed consistantly, allows your practice  to become a

slow dance of conscious movement dedicated to energized presence.