This is really the key, isn’t it? When we are balanced, we feel good and centered. When we shift too heavily to one thing or another, we are unbalanced and start to feel frazzled and bad. It’s like the old balance scale above. If things are fairly even on both sides, it will stay steady. If too much weight is added to one side, everything shifts in that direction and the whole thing can tip.

Our bodies and minds are the same. Take sugar, for example. I rarely eat sugar and we don’t keep sugary foods in our house. When I do eat sugar, it is some delicious homemade treat by a friend or some other special occasion. A couple of weeks ago, I really wanted some old traditional chocolate chip pan cookies. I just love those. I made a batch and enjoyed eating a few without guilt. What I forgot to think about was how many the recipe would make and that there would be leftovers. Of course, since they were there, I started eating at least one a day for several days until they were gone. The results were very interesting. Within 2 days, I was waking up feeling achy in the morning and I felt tired in the afternoon. My mood was a little unstable and I could tell I gained about 5 pounds of water weight. It didn’t take me long to get back off sugar, since my intake is usually minimal, but it was an unpleasant few days. My point here is that I can eat sugar now and then and feel nothing, because I am in balance. If I overeat sugar, I can quickly tip the scales to imbalance.

Our bodies work constantly to keep us in a state of homeostasis. Wikipedia describes it as this, “The property of a system in which variables are regulated so that internal conditions remain stable and relatively constant. It is a process that maintains the stability of the human body’s internal environment in response to changes in external conditions.” Basically, perfect balance. When we generally treat our bodies lovingly with excellent food, a positive mindset, and plenty of sleep, they will do all the work for us. As soon as we over-do really anything, homeostasis is more difficult and symptoms arise as warning signals that we need to get back to balance.

My midwife always had a rule she called the 80:20 rule. As long as 80% of what you are eating is really healthy, 20% can be whatever you want. This makes sense. Of course, I would argue more of a 95:5 rule, but you need to start where you are. Are you more of a 20:80? Where can you begin tipping the scales back to better balance?

We can actually even become unbalanced during happy times. Think of how exhausted you can get on vacation when you are pushing to have as much fun as you can during that short interval of time. It is actually possible to find balance at all times. Last month, I went to Las Vegas with a bunch of family and friends to celebrate my Dad’s 75th birthday. There were some group events planned, site seeing, gambling time, etc., but there was also time when nothing was planned. I took advantage of these times to get re-centered away from the unhealthy lighting, constant noise, and tobacco smoke. One day, I spent several hours outside at the hotel pool and another day, a group of us did a Yoga with the Dolphins class. After a one-hour yoga class peering in the lower windows of a dolphin pool, we had access to a beautiful spa with whirlpools, a sauna, and a steam room. It was an amazing recharge in the midst of some pretty intense energy.

Imbalance can show up in just about every area of your life: overworking, over drinking alcohol, eating too many carbs, not drinking enough water, drinking too much caffeine, not going to bed early enough to get 7-8 hours of sleep every night, worrying too much, negative thinking, no exercise or too much exercise, etc. You get the idea. The point is that even subtle changes can bring us back to balance. If you are not exercising, it doesn’t mean you need to start training for a marathon. Taking a walk at lunch would be a great start. What can you do to take a little weight off the heavy side of the scale?

When symptoms arise, think of them as warning sides that your balance is off. Take a little time to listen to what that symptom is trying to tell you, then make a small shift. I always tell my patients that awareness of what your body is telling you and then listening and acting on those messages are the first and most important steps in the healing process. You can have balance in all aspects of your life, but first, you have to recognize where the extra weight is hanging on. Then, remove one weight at a time, until you are completely balanced again.

Here is me at Yoga with the Dolphins:

What areas do you struggle the most with balance? Please share your comments and questions below and be sure to share these reminders with your friends.