Feeling Off Balance at This Time of Year

Are you feeling off balance at this time of year? You are not alone!

Entering a New Year and diving into the depths of Winter is such an interesting time of year in the Northern hemisphere. It’s a time of transition and mixed messages that easily throws us off balance.

Many of us have enjoyed Holiday celebrations and over indulgence/s! We may feel a bit guilty about that and have become self critical. Our bodies want to naturally attune to the season and nature. Then the external world tells us we have to create a new and better “me” and launch ourselves in a new direction for the year ahead.

That’s a lot of pressure at a time when nature goes into hibernation and the season calls us to nourish and take care of ourselves in readiness for the burst of energy in Spring.

No wonder we feel off balance and think “I can’t even control myself!”

These words from Judith Lasater and the wisdom of the Yoga Sutras may throw some light here:

“He (Patanjali) in short, counsels us to give up attachment to controlling what we see around us… The more we are willing to let go of control and simply stay present, with what is, the more control we have…

In the final analysis we can only control ourselves. But we are often dismayed at out inability to master even this. What prevents us? When we feel out of control, it is usually when there is a conflict between what we think and what we feel. Our feelings may scream one thing, while our minds demand something else. But our bodies, which are the storage units for our feelings, simply cannot lie. Whatever we feel in our bodies is our truth.”

~ Judith Lasater taken from “Living Your Yoga”

Whenever we begin to feel guilty, criticize ourselves, or become insensitive towards others, it’s a signal to pause and explore, rather than divert our attention and launch ourselves into a “fix it” project.

We are not a problem and there is nothing wrong. We are simply out of balance. We are in our heads and disconnected from our feelings and the wisdom of our body … and nature itself.

Now more than ever is a time to pause and Find Your Middle Ground.

~

Time hurtling forward

Pressure to bring about change.

A fix me project!

~

Find your Middle Ground

Reflect and nurture your self

Follow nature’s way

~

What we do to find our center again will differ for each of us. For me, it’s a call to practice more yoga and be mindful to the alignment of mind, body and spirit. To pause more and to check in with how much energy I have. For some, it can be to recommit to more movement or healthy eating, simply to feel more comfortable. We all have creativity within us, and this is a good time to begin journaling and noticing what inspiration is waiting for expression.

When we become more present, we feel more in control, and paradoxically, can let go more to find our balance again.

Winter is a time of reflection and nurturing. An inner tilling of the soil so that seeds can be sown and growth takes place with the upsurge of energy in the Spring.

Namaste