Barbara Samuel O'Neal is the author of more than thirty award-winning novels, including THE LOST RECIPE FOR HAPPINESS and

The Secret of Everything
The Secret of Everything

A native of Colorado, Barbara loves teaching, travel, reading, writing, yoga, walking, food, cooking, photography and...okay, reality television.

Follow Me:
Twitter
Facebook

The struggle for balance

In my exuberant embrace of all things Nia, I have been neglecting my yoga practice.  This morning, I woke up with the hunger in every joint and thought I might go to a class at the Y, but the roads are too icy.   I unrolled my mat in the living room, and just ran through some sun salutations, some sitting poses, some twists, and some joint-specific asanas given to me by a yoga-physical therapist for my tight shoulders and arms.   I spent maybe 20 minutes at it, and my whole body is breathing thanks.    Dance is wonderfully spiritual, joyful, and aerobic.  One also needs the quieter, internal practice of being inside the body, listening to what it might need to say.  (Get rid of that chair! Buy new shoes! Get more sleep–when I fall asleep at the end. :) )

Balance in all things.  Never my strong suit, but I keep trying.  Yoga helps.

What things help you stay balanced?

4 comments to The struggle for balance

  • Pam

    I’ve been trying meditation lately – it makes a big difference. Also, exercise is key – when I’m active, I tend to be much more balanced.

  • Barb

    Yoga, time by myself, a good, restful vacation and a great meal and conversation with friends.

  • I just found your book A Piece of Heaven in the library this week. Loved it. Yesterday, while in the waiting room. while my husband had laser surgery on his eye, I got several odd looks while I sniffed and blew my way through the the last pages. But, it was worth it.

    Glad to see you have many more books to read.

  • During winter I miss the balancing benefits of working in my garden, so I try to bring more green inside by potting some new indoor plants and flowers and making evergreen wreaths and swags. I also make sachets from summer herbs I’ve dried to put them in the closets and drawers.

Leave a Reply

 

 

 

You can use these HTML tags

<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>