Feeling a Bit Off-Balance? Consider a Re-Set

Last month, I shared some lessons about balance I’d learned from Aubrey, the Stretch and Flex instructor at my gym. (See post.) I listed three words Aubrey uses often when instructing us on how to achieve balance: grounded, stabilized, focused. Another word that comes up when the class is working on balance is re-set. 

A strange thing about physical balancing is that you can be holding a pose, feeling strong and grounded. Then a mysterious “breeze” causes you to wobble like a Weeble, and that strong pose collapses like an under-baked soufflé. When this happens, Aubrey instructs us to re-set: re-establish our foundation, consider what wasn’t working for us, and consider what might work better. In class, Aubrey says “… if that doesn’t serve you well, try this” and then offers optional moves or techniques.

In life, as in yoga, those mysterious breezes can come out of nowhere, causing us to lose our emotional or spiritual balance. Those times require us to re-set and choose new options which will “serve us well” in our new circumstances. Deciding on those options requires us to define and perhaps re-evaluate our goals. 

A couple of years ago, I became determined to master the crow position in yoga. I’d tried that tricky pose once before and received three stitches in my brow bone for my efforts. I gave up that goal for a while but just couldn’t completely let it go. Surely, if I tried a little harder, applied a few laws of physics, and positioned a pillow between the hard floor and my face, I could succeed. I struggled with that pose for weeks and was getting very close to achieving it, when I woke up one morning with a huge, red lump on my elbow. Dr. Google informed me it was an inflamed bursa, caused by the repetitive, excessive pressure I’d been applying to my elbow.

 

This is the crow--the pose I never mastered.

 

     Before considering options on how to proceed, I had to ask myself why performing this particular move was important to me. Why was I doing yoga in the first place? To maintain bone and muscle strength to get me through my senior years or to perform “party tricks”? (Now you’re probably wondering what kind of parties I attend.) Ultimately, I could see no time in the foreseeable future doing the crow would serve me well. I had to re-set and consider the options—other yoga positions or exercises—that would benefit me in the coming years. 

Further pondering has inspired me to look at other areas of my life and question if what I am doing is serving me well and if I need a re-set. One of the first areas that came to me was my  Bible reading practice. I’m not trying to come across as saintly here, as I struggle with consistency in this area. In the past I have found it helpful to join with my church in a yearly Bible reading exercise. This generally works well for me as it gives me a sense of accountability (although no one other than me is keeping track of my readings). These group endeavors have taken me through a complete reading of the Bible twice, both of which were helpful and enlightening. 

Because those group readings served me well in the past, this year when our church proposed another Bible read-through, I decided to go for a third time. After all, the Bible is one of those books (or collection of books) that can reveal new insights with each reading. I obtained the guide and schedule print-out and began checking off boxes.  

I made it through Genesis, which is always interesting no matter how many times I read it, and Job, which always leaves me with many questions to ponder. But about halfway through Leviticus and the five-hundredth instruction on how to properly sacrifice a bull, my interest began to wane—to the point that last week I confessed to two friends this latest Bible-reading regimen didn’t seem to be serving me well. I was considering a re-set but feeling a bit guilty about giving up.

Then, last Sunday, to my delight and relief, our pastor ameliorated my guilt. He recognized this latest exercise might be proving a bit too ambitious or taxing for some of us non-Bible-scholar types and granted us the grace to amend or re-set our 2026 Bible reading agenda. Hallelujah! I’m now prayerfully and happily considering my options, of which there are so many good ones.

The idea of asking whether a particular habit or practice is serving me well, might sound selfish. But if something enables me to be a better person physically, emotionally, or spiritually, does that not positively affect those around me? If I’m stronger and healthier as a result of exercise, will that not lessen the future healthcare I’ll require? If I’m kinder and more loving as a result of Bible study, will others not benefit from that? In all of these situations, I sincerely hope so!

Have unexpected breezes rendered your life a bit “wobbly” lately? Maybe practices that served you well in the past are no longer effective. Or maybe some of your goals have changed and require new activities or new outlooks. Re-evaluate, consider new options, and experiment. Maybe just a small re-set and some new choices that serve you well can restore your balance.

My WOTY for 2026: Balance

A few years ago, I abandoned the futile task of making New Year’s resolutions, those good intentions doomed to be broken before the final period was placed at the end of the list. Instead, I began selecting a word that would serve as my guiding principle for the year—an attitude to strive for rather than specific actions to perform. I’ve had some good words through the years—goodness, community, hope—and have found most of them helpful. On occasions, just bringing the word to mind gave me inspiration or direction.

 

 As I was struggling to choose my Word of the Year (WOTY) for 2026, Aubrey, the instructor in the Stretch and Flex class at my gym, gave each of her students a balance stone, accompanied by a sweet and inspiring note. Voila! Just like that, I had my word for this new year—balance.

 

 

      My balance stone--a reminder

With my WOTY settled on, I thought a good idea would be to define it, get a clear grasp of what exactly balance is. Turns out, this was a difficult task. Dictionary.com alone gives twenty-nine definitions, depending on how the word is used. But the definition I finally settled on for my purposes is a condition in which different elements are equal or in the correct proportions.

I like the “correct proportions” part of this definition. It seems more applicable to balancing life as we live it. I don’t look at balance as having each day perfectly arranged and proceeding in “equal” portions. Not only is that impossible, it sounds positively boring—like a “lifetime of nothing special.” (Remember that great line from Steel Magnolias?) Sometimes achieving balance has to be looked at over the long run, with improvement—not perfection—being the goal.  

Aubrey’s note listed requirements for achieving and maintaining balance, which, with her kind permission, I’m sharing. “Balance . . . requires us to be grounded, to activate our stabilizing muscles, and to focus on intentional breathing.” While this applies to physical balance, these requirements can also be key in achieving balance in many areas of life:

• Be grounded —Establish a strong foundation; it’s difficult to balance on a shifting one.
• Use stabilizing muscles—Stabilizing muscles, whether physical or mental, enable us to withstand opposing forces.
•  Remain focused on intentions—We tend to go in the direction of our focus. If balance is our goal, we need to stay focused on it.

Over the course of this year, I’m going to occasionally blog about areas of life (especially my own!) I think can be improved by striving for balance. I’d love to get your input on this endeavor as we go along. For starters, how do you define balance? Do you consider it a worthy pursuit? What are some ways or areas in which you’ve achieved it? Please leave your comments or suggestions on Facebook. And, oh, yeah …

HAPPY NEW YEAR!