So many of us are looking for more balance in our lives.  Life feels chaotic and overwhelming, so our natural inclination is to bring things back into balance.  All of life operates that way – both in nature and with humans.  We all thrive in states of balance or homeostasis.  But how do we get back to that when life feels so out of our control?  To answer that question, we will look at some top tips for finding more balance in your life… 

Breathing

One of the best ways to get recentered and balanced in the moment, especially when you are short on time, is through breathing.  Breathing is a technique that anyone can do at any time in just about any place.   Pausing to breathe helps the parasympathetic nervous system kick into gear, helping us to release stress and tension, relax, feel grounded and centered.  This is a great short-term fix when you are feeling out of balance.  Done on a regular, even daily basis, breathing can help us maintain a better balance in our lives.

Meditation

Like breathing, meditation helps the parasympathetic nervous system come online and bring us to a more relaxed state of being.  There are so many meditation techniques to choose from, the best one to choose is the one you will do.  The key point is to be still and work toward quieting the mind.  In doing so not only is the parasympathetic nervous system working, but we start to feel more grounded, centered, and thus balanced.  While you can meditate for as little as a few minutes, for this method to be most effective it is best to meditate for 10-20 minutes.  And again, a daily practice helps build up your resolve to navigate the unbalancing factors throughout your day.

Journaling

Sitting quieting writing in a journal is another powerful tool for finding balance.  The act of writing what is on your heart and mind helps you to release those things you are holding on to that are not serving you.  It can help you gain a better perspective on your life.  This is a great practice to incorporate into your morning and/or evening routine.  It is a wonderful way to reflect, release, and recenter.  

Alone time

This is one tool most of us are not very good at.  Time alone can be hard and scary, but at the same time, it is incredibly powerful.  When we sit alone with our thoughts we can reflect on various aspects of our life, we can work to let go of things we are holding onto that are not serving us, etc.  Like meditation it is a way to sit in the quiet and just be.  This can be grounding and recentering when done.  Often, this technique is best in conjunction with some of the others, especially meditation and journaling.

Get out in nature

The last tip we will share is that of getting out into nature.  Whether you go out for a walk or just sit somewhere surrounded by nature, being in nature has many benefits – fresh air, energy from the earth (literally grounding you), quiet (depending on where you are), etc.  This technique pairs well with any of the other tips discussed above which can make it an even more powerful tool for rebalancing.

Knowing that there are factors in our lives that create imbalance which we cannot control, it is even more important to incorporate these tips to maintain balance in the areas where you do have more control.  So please give one or more of these a try the next time you are feeling like life is out of control.  While you may not get rid of all the imbalances in your life completely, you will certainly find some relief, allowing you to recenter and rebalance for a period.  And again, the more consistently you practice these, the more balanced you will feel on a regular basis.  Namaste.