Yoga & Balance
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Themes
Overview
In this lesson, we explore the concept of balance from multiple perspectives, including physical, mental, emotional, and energetic dimensions.
Objective
Understand the many aspects of balance in yoga practice, how imbalance manifests, and which practices are said to support balance.
What You'll Get
You'll discover that balance isn't just about standing on one leg—it's about the interplay of countless opposites like strength and flexibility, expansion and contraction, doing and being. You'll learn why physical asymmetry creates stress and strain, and how mental and emotional imbalance can parallel physical imbalance. This lesson gives you a framework for sequencing classes that support balance and helps you articulate why practices like alternate nostril breathing and yin yoga are considered balancing. Whether you're addressing your own imbalances or teaching a balance-themed class, you'll have deeper insight into this fundamental concept.
Questions Answered Here
- When we speak of “balance,” what aspects are we referring to?
- How does physical imbalance manifest?
- How else might we experience imbalance?
- Why doesn’t a particular practice necessarily bring about individual balance?
- How is sequencing related to balance?
- What are some yoga practices said to be generally balancing?
- What sorts of balancing is yoga asana designed to bring about?
Introduction
Here we bring together perspectives and readings to support a class theme of balance that may or may not accompany a practice focused on Balance Poses. The teachings here go deeper into the topic from both outer world and inner world perspectives.
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