santulana, balance

I once had the opportunity to attend a modern dance performance where I sat very close to the stage. The dance movements that seemed still from afar revealed their dynamism up close. Especially when the dancers held certain positions, I could see muscles engaging throughout their bodies to maintain the poses. The balance they were maintaining was not static at all.

The quality we turn to this week is balance, or santulana in Sanskrit. This balance does not simply mean having equal amounts of different components, but rather bringing different elements into appropriate proportion and adjusting opposing forces to establish balance.

You have all experienced this. Even when you are holding a pose, your body is not completely still. There are constant adjustments and subtle changes in the effort required to maintain balance. This happens even as we transition from one pose to the next. The more we practice, the more we learn to adjust the effort we bring to our yoga practice.

We will be practicing santulana, balance, in class this week so we can learn to direct our effort appropriately in each pose.

I look forward to seeing you in class.

Breathe easy,

Blessings,

Jorge Nihāl