34 YOGAJOURNAL.COM YOGA TODAY
w
hen yoga master B. K. S. Iyengar visited
the San Diego Zoo in 1990, he was struck by
the effortless aplomb of the flamingos. He
pointed to a gaudy pink bird as it balanced on one leg, as
steady as a boulder. Oblivious to its squawking neighbors,
beak tucked under its feathers, the flamingo was fast asleep.
Surveying the group of yoga teachers accompanying him,
Iyengar playfully challenged them: “Can you relax like that?”
The answer, of course, was no. For humans, nodding off
while balancing on one leg is out of the question. There’s no
faking it: The instant we lose focus, we fall over. Standing on
one foot, we naturally drop extraneous thoughts to focus on
the task at hand. That’s why practicing balancing postures
can instill a deep sense of calm even though it requires
intense, unwavering alertness.
When we balance, we align our body’s center of gravity
with the earth’s gravitational field. Quite literally, we place
ourselves in physical equilibrium with a fundamental force
of nature. But we can’t achieve this harmony by remaining
absolutely still. Instead, we must refresh our balance mo ment
by moment. The sustained effort to center and re center
brings not only our flesh and bones into balance but also our
nerve impulses, thoughts, emotions, and very consciousness.
Hence, we feel calm. Equilib rium brings equanimity.
Lack of equilibrium brings just the opposite. There is
something uniquely frustrating about losing our balance in
one-legged postures. It goes beyond the instinctive fear of
falling and strikes directly at the ego. After all, we rarely
tumble to the ground and hurt ourselves; we simply put our
other foot down. Yet that simple act can be maddening.
If we fall out of Vrksasana (Tree Pose) when practicing
alone, we of ten hear an internal critic saying, “What’s wrong
with you? You should be able to do this!” If we’re in a class,
the same fall can bring a sense of humiliation that’s greatly
disproportionate to the physical event. We feel out of con-
trol when we lose our balance, and the ego hates to lose
control—especially when other people are around to see it.
Despite the frustration, one-legged balancing asanas
offer so many benefits that it’s well worth the trouble to
practice them. In addition to promoting concentration and
calm, these poses strengthen our muscles and build our
coordination and balance, improving our ways of standing
and walking as well as how we perform many other everyday
activities. And these benefits might actually prolong our
lives, helping us avoid the falls that often lead to injur ies and
death among the elderly.
The three essential elements of balance are alignment,
strength, and attention. Alignment of the body with grav-
ity is crucial; it makes balance physically possible. Strength
gives us the power to create, hold, and adjust align ment.
And attention continually monitors alignment so we
know how to correct it from one moment to the next.One-legged poses give us a chance to find our center
of gravity and dance around its edges. Here’s how to put an
end to the wobbling and create a sense of fluid stability.
plumb
Pe r f e c t
By Roger Cole
Photography by John Robbins34 YOGAJOURNAL.COM YOGA TODAY