Balance
on wobbling, laughter, and the grace of beginning again
I love yoga—the practice and the philosophy. It has shaped how I live my life. I have been devoted to it for over thirty years and still practice four times a week.
…and right about now you may be thinking, “I’m not going to do that.”
I know.
This is not about convincing you to start yoga. There is a bigger picture here for all of us humans.
My Unbalance
At the beginning of a yoga practice, you are asked to set an intention.
This morning, as I continue placing more emphasis on my art and writing, the perfect word came to mind: balance.
And what was the focus of the class that day?
Balance.
During one pose I simply didn’t have it. I tipped, wobbled, and rolled right over.
I laughed.
That is the practice of yoga.
It’s why it is called a practice. You never achieve perfection. You just keep returning, adjusting, trying again.
Which got me thinking about balance in life.
What Balance Is Supposed to Be
We hear a lot about living a “balanced life.” It’s often described as a careful equation: balancing work, relationships, health, and personal happiness.
The ideal sounds appealing—physical, mental, and social well-being all neatly aligned.
But the reality?
Life doesn’t move that way.
We slip easily into work-hard mode. Jobs demand us. Families need us. Friends expect us to show up, sometimes at the drop of a dime.
Over time, the pressure to keep up can quietly turn into perfectionism. Our schedules become rigid, our days packed. We move from one obligation to the next without realizing we’ve stopped actually living our lives.
And when we finally pause, it often looks like a reward system: a glass of wine…or two…okay maybe three. An extra topping on that double scoop of ice cream. A little shopping “therapy.”
None of these things are wrong. But they rarely restore balance.
What Balance Actually Is
Here’s the truth I keep learning on the yoga mat:
Balance is not something you achieve and hold forever.
Balance is something you continually find again.
Life will always bring moments that throw us off—sometimes by choice, sometimes not. The skill is not preventing the wobble. The skill is learning how to recover.
Balance is movement, not a static state.
It requires flexibility—emotionally, physically, and mentally. It asks us to soften our perfectionism and treat ourselves with a little more kindness.
In yoga, when I topple out of a pose, I don’t quit the class.
I laugh.
Then I try again.
Life can work the same way.
When things tip, when plans unravel, when the day feels chaotic, we can learn ways to settle our nervous system and regain our footing.
Not perfectly.
Just enough to stand again.
Because balance isn’t about never falling.
It’s about remembering that we can.