Balance – the moments between the movements

I’ve been thinking a lot about balance lately, and the Spring Equinox feels like a good moment to share some of these as we go through this moment of day and night being equal, and move into the longer days.

For any living thing to be in balance it must be constantly moving – small adjustments responding to the internal and external environment. What we think of as balance are the moments of stillness in between. Your body performs myriad actions to maintain homeostasis – keeping within the limited ranges of temperature, fluid balance and chemical levels that you need to be well. 

Living between 2 big tidal rivers brings the ebb and flow of nature into my daily awareness as I cross the water and spend time by the shore. The flows of tide and river often make the surface turbulent and chaotic but there are periods each day when the tide turns and the churning water turns to glass. It can feel like time standing still before it begins to flow out the other way.

In our the rhythm of our bodies, between the in breath and out breath, without consciously holding, there is a similar fleeting moment of balance. If we can catch these moments, like the river, and the equinox, the stillness can seem to expand. Noticing these moments brings me a sense of calm and connectedness to the world around me. Zoom in the rhythm of exchange within our cells, zoom out to the rhythm of the seasons.

As harmony is created by the space between the notes, balance is made not from fixing in place, but from the moments between the movements.

In a shiatsu treatment, I work with the shifting flows of energy. I can no more ‘balance your energy’ than I can stand still without making constant micro-adjustments. What I aim to do is encourage a balance between the ebb and flow, and bring space to the pauses.