Some Tips on Balancing Poses

The last time I went to my teacher's yoga class, a student requested we work on balancing.  Before I even walked in the class my mind was resisting this idea, I was thinking "I hope no-one requests balance poses today".  Sure enough my resistance was immediately challenged with the lady's request.  Dang it.  Busted yet again!

Balances are sometimes very challenging for me.  They take a lot of strength, much more than standing poses (which are reputed to take and build the most strength).  If I am "off" that day it is very humbling - especially when I fall out of a one-legged balance.  Here I'm supposed to be an instructor, a shining example (of what?) and I'm falling.  Thus the resistance.  It's a real lesson in always staying a student! 

I pressed on, wobbling a bit at the beginning of hand to foot pose (see photo below).  I didn't feel strong at all that evening, so I really had to work with the poses.  The balances got better and better. The more balancing we did the more my wavering body and confidence levels started to become more solid, more sure.  I have a few time-tested balancing hints which I'd like to pass on to you that helped me get through the resistance and do better than I thought I would. 

This senior is actually balancing on his hands. Great core strength!

Since I'm a very visually oriented person, it is a must that I be able to settle my gaze on a single point.  The wall at the studio I was at was flat, with no variation at all, and it is extremely difficult to look straight ahead onto a blank wall with not a crack or spot or variation in sight.  I set my body up this time to be right on the mid-line of the end of the instructor's mat, so I'd have a solid place to gaze at. Here are the tips:

1.  Pick a non-moving object, spot, grid-line, or index point to train your gaze on.  Keep your gaze there, keep it steady, stay focused.  This is really important, because if you are focused completely on one point, you can find the zone where you can open into and yield into the pose.

2.  Remove your resistance and performance anxiety by slowing down the breath.  Breathe slowly and steadily, do not strain nor hold the breath. Continue breathing steadily throughout the asana.  Too many instructors never teach breathing techniques, and this is unfortunate.  Breathing is the soul of yoga practice.  Volumes have been written simply about breathing properly. Slowing the breath immediately steadies the mind and body.  It is a master tool to go deeper into any pose.  We can change position or adjust on the inhale, and we can yield or go deeper and stronger into the pose with the exhale.  As we reconnect with the breath, we begin to ride it like surfing a wave.  Just go with it.  We can experience the stillness within the pose by using the breath. 

3.  If you're performing standing balances, ground your standing foot.  Imagine it is sending roots deep into the earth, press it towards the floor, and activate all of the muscles in the leg.  Squeeze the leg bones with the muscles.  Lift your arches.  This lifts your kneecaps. The whole body grows up out of your strong foundation.  We don't simply "stand" or "lean" on the floor.  We use it almost as if it were a springboard and we're going to push against it to start a race at a split second's notice. The standing leg is super active and awake.  Once you're in the pose, allow the leg to be strong, but loose.  You will be moving your ankle, knee joint, and hip joint slightly and continuously to maintain the balance. My instruction is often "press the floor with the feet".

4.  In standing balances, it helps me to imagine my breath as a vertical line of energy running up and down my spine from my standing foot to my skull and back.  A good analogy is the breath is similar to tree sap running up and down the trunk of the tree.  This keeps a vertical motion to the body's energy.

Revolved Hand to Foot Pose

5.  If you're in inverted balances, place the attention in the area that is contacting the floor.  Perhaps it's the shoulders, the forearms, or the hands.  Press them into the floor, lifting up from the floor with the rest of the body. 

Salamba Sirsasana (Headstand)

 

6.  If you're in a seated balance, keep your attention in the tailbone, pressing it into the floor. Without a strong foundation, the balance isn't going to happen.

Don't get discouraged.  Even though it's challenging, we can train our bodies, we can train our minds.  This discipline provides a multitude of rewards.  Working with balances in our practice and classes reduces stress levels, balances the way we look at the world, calms our emotions, and helps us face life's many challenges with composure and clarity.