The Balance Game

Source teaching · Alex Julian, 2024

The original lesson

Working on your balance is one of the best things to improve the mind-body connection and get you into the present moment. Like correcting poor posture and poor breathing habits, developing balance can be tough and incredibly frustrating in the beginning. However, please hear me out before you give up on balance.

Don’t think of balance as binary. Think of it as a spectrum. Not only did I teach regular yoga for many years, but I also taught chair yoga to seniors. This is obviously not a diss, but none of them could balance for long. I had to come up with a way to help them practice balance without getting frustrated and giving up. Looking at balance as a spectrum was the game-changer I was looking for.

Let’s say you are standing on both feet, with 50% of your weight on each foot. Now, imagine you shift more of the weight onto your right foot so that the distribution is 25% of your weight on the left foot and 75% on your right foot. Keep going so that it is now 10% on your left foot and 90% on your right. Both feet are on the ground, however maybe only your toes are touching with the left foot. This is practicing balance! You don’t have to lift your opposite foot off the ground to develop your balance. You start from where you are, and you work with what you have.

You could do a similar thing with a wall, or anything that is stable you can hold on to. Let’s say you put both hands on the wall, then lift you right foot completely off the ground so that only your left foot is down. This is still practicing balance! Just get lighter and lighter with the amount of weight on your hands over time.

These are very effective ways to “use training wheels” for developing balance. This way you can practice without getting frustrated, and also really strengthen the mind-body connection. Let’s move on to some fun challenges. Please make sure you properly develop your balance first. When you have done so, you can start to see how long you can balance on one foot. I know this sounds unbelievable, but my friend Tabauhris could do 90 minutes straight. This is not to discourage you, but to shatter any limiting beliefs.

See how long you can balance. Maybe you end up doing some of your workflow while balancing? That is advanced AI Yoga Master training!

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