Holly Flood Yoga: Life in Balance

"Life is a balance of holding on and letting go."
~Unknown

In the balancing act of our lives, we are faced with things which we must either hold onto and cherish, or let go and release. We make decisions every day that either bring balance into our lives, or throw us out of balance. Everything from what we eat, to how we treat ourselves and those around us, to the way in which we view our life situation determines our state of balance or imbalance.

As yoga has become integrated into my life, I've found that it was the missing piece that brings all aspects of life together. From my love for my family, my passion for running, my desire to eat healthy, to my career, yoga brings all of these things together, giving me the greatest sense of balance I've ever experienced. In recent posts, I've focused on a whole foods plant based lifestyle and the more I explore this way of eating, the more I see the connection to a yoga life.

My fitness manual states that "adherence is the primary factor in determining permanent weight management." While overall health, not weight management specifically, is my focus, this statement is why I always refer to the way I eat as a lifestyle, not a diet. The word diet brings to mind fad diets and nibbling on little more than lettuce. A diet is something we grasp for a temporary solution. A lifestyle is the way we live our life. And this is true not just in the nutritional aspect of our lives but in how we live our lives, mind, body, and spirit.

We must find balance in our bodily and spiritual selves. One reason I find plant based eating so complementary to living a yoga life, if that fruits, vegetables, and grains must be combined and balanced together to insure intake of the necessary vitamins and minerals we need. As such, we must find that balance in other parts of our lives - on our yoga mats in Warrior III pose, in our minds when we want to react in a heated argument, in our hearts when we are faced with extreme circumstances, both happy and sad. We must find that balance within work, play, family, and the time we need to devote to our own selves.

A physical yoga practice focusing on balance brings calm and steadiness into mind body, and spirit. Try the sequence below to find your own centeredness, letting go of your fear and testing your limits in each pose. Hold each pose for at least 5 breaths.

Downward Dog