Patience is a virtue, they say.

This week in my online community we decided to focus on patience as a theme and immediately you could sense that for the majority, the practice of patience is a challenge.

This is not a quality many people embody. Most of us are caught in the pattern of wanting quick results. We want immediate gratification.

Yet, we know deep down that our impatience has zero impact on getting what we want faster. As we dove into this topic this week I was reminded how life is unfolding at it’s own speed. We have very little control and our best bet is to allow life to unfold.

This doesn't mean we stop participating. This is not to say we can’t take action. However, detaching from the outcome is where we can grow.

There is a concept in Yogic teachings about releasing our attachment to the outcome of our action. Vairagyam translates as dispassion, detachment, or renunciation, in particular renunciation from the pains and pleasures of the temporary material...

If we talk about balance in the world of modern Yoga we tend to envision Tree Pose or some other posture where we are standing on one leg.

However, as a long time Yoga instructor, I cringe when people pick up one leg and shove all the weight onto the standing leg, hip or knee.

That is NOT balance!

When I explore balance with my students I like to ask them what they notice in the body.

Can we become aware we are more in the front of the foot or the back of the foot?

Can we become aware of dropping more to the inner edge of the knee or ankle or are we distributing the weight evenly?

When we start lifting a foot off of the ground do we lose touch with what is happening in our upper body?
If we are attempting standing balance poses are we equally aware of both feet? The inhale and the exhale? Can we notice the tendency to pull up or are we pushing down?

Balance is a dance. Balance entails a relationship. Earth and sky. Left and right. Up and down. Back and forth. Too little and too much....

We are a couple months into the New Year and it is a good time to take stalk. Many people, at the start of the year, set in motion some wonderful intentions. It’s a great idea to set goals. There’s no knocking putting our intentions out there. Good for you!

Now, the other part of reaching our goals, or accomplishing our dreams is the action taking part!

Goals are in the future. Our daily habits are what we do today to take ourselves in the direction of our dreams.

Let's take stalk. Are we willing to pay attention to what we are doing from moment to moment? Can we ask ourselves to look honestly about how we are spending our time?

I would argue time is our most precious resource. We all have the same amount of time in the day.

How do we make use of our time?

What are the habits or actions that lead to what we want?

If our goal is around health and wellness, we can break down what actions lead to health and wellness.

Health hinges on eating right, moving our bodies, making...