Dynamic Balance

Today is the Autumn Equinox - a good moment to pause and take stock.

In my younger years, I used to think that if I could just come up with the  formula of the right amount of exercise, the right foods, and meditation for X number of minutes a day, I could create balance in my life. And if I just kept doing all those things, I could keep my life in balance.

You can guess how well that worked out.

Once I found Chinese Medicine, I understood the error in my thinking. Chinese Medicine is based on the simple yet - in modern times - the radical notion that humans are part of the natural cycles. Cycles that change daily, monthly and yearly. 

So the notion that I could "nail down" balance was inherently flawed. Instead, I needed to shift my understanding of balance to reflect the ever-changing natural world. 

There are just two days in the year when the amount of daylight - Yang - equals the amount of nighttime - Yin: the Spring and Fall equinoxes. Does that mean that they are "out of balance" for the rest of the year? No. It means that the relationship of Yin and Yang is dynamic, and it shifts and changes throughout the year.

In reflecting on this, I gradually learned to adopt a dynamic understanding of self-care, of life balance. One that shifts and changes throughout the year: Dynamic Balance. 

While the "ingredients" in my self-care "soup" remain constant - eat well, sleep well, move, be still, express myself creatively - the ratios and ways that I express those elements change. My self-care mid-winter looks quite different than it does mid-summer.

Today’s equinox is a good moment to reflect on your life balance - and see what you can do to bring it into alignment with the larger cycles.

Change is the only constant,
Kirstin Lindquist
Owner