Balancing Flamingo?
When I decided today’s blog post would be about balance and focus in a yoga practice I googled the term “standing balancing in yoga.” An article from the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health came up. What caught my eye was the detailed description on how to do the standing balance, the Flamingo Pose (!), or Marulasana. I had no idea there was a Flamingo Pose, guess you learn something new every day!
Balance and the ability to focus are directly connected. After all, if you aren’t fully present while practicing a standing balance, you’ll most likely be all over the place. Balancing is difficult for most beginning yoginis (although women kick butt in balancing over men), but gets easier with practice. Some helpful points for standing balances:
- Find an object not moving to focus on and keep your eyes on it even if you fall out of the pose.
- Keep your breath steady.
- Feel the bottom of your standing foot grounded evenly on the mat with toes spread wide.
- If you fall out, come right back into it to tell your body you aren’t giving up that easily!
In time you’ll find that as your mind settles down, your body does too and balancing becomes a piece of cake. Nothing can knock your Flamingo down!