Dynamic Balance
The Art of Inner Equanimity in a Changing World
Have you ever found yourself at the brink, balancing precariously between professional obligations and personal well-being, peering down into what seems like an interminable abyss, wondering if there's a better way to manage it all?
If so, you're not alone!
Over many coaching conversations in the last few years, I found a recurring theme - deep emotional exhaustion.
Leaders who found themselves, time & again, digging into reserves that felt non-existent, running on empty and still going.
Career women juggling motherhood or caregiving with work, pouring their hearts into healing others with no time or energy to heal themselves.
Creatives exhausted at producing creative work at gunpoint, the relentless push for immediate results and efficiency erasing restorative, generative pauses.
The BANI world demands:
Better. Faster. More. All OF IT. NOW.
The relentless staccato beats of today’s world pounding heavy on them, many I spoke with had nervous systems that were dysregulated and tried to cope by
Freezing: by numbing their emotional response, disconnecting from their bodies and their feelings and functioning on autopilot
Fighting: by turning to rage and frustration, to mask their fears and manage their anxiety at what seemed like loss of control over critical parts of their life
Fleeing: finding ways to distract themselves, changing environments or partners only to realize too late that their problems had followed them
I had been guilty of the same, for many years.
And then, I rediscovered art and movement in my life. Suddenly, a whole new way of accessing my inner wisdom and sense of balance became open to me. One that required no words or explanations or skills. Simply a willingness to notice my own experience and reflect on it. To shed what wasn’t serving me.
Better. Less. Timeless. ALWAYS THERE.
The first time I experienced such a profound moment of inner connection and alignment, I was on a Zoom call with a few dozen others from different parts of the world. With that moment also came the insight that this sense of balance was accessible to me in my world, exactly where I was, and required very little of my time, resources or effort. It could be found in the ordinary, in my own body and its sensations & feelings.
Over time, I have reflected on the nature of this insight and the process which got me there. And articulated it into an approach I call “Dynamic Balance”.
Dynamic Balance isn't just about standing firm; it's about moving gracefully and flexibly through life's inevitable ups and downs. It's about finding and returning to your center again and again, noticing how in that process of return we find new pathways each time. And noticing how that elastic response is a key to our emotional wellbeing and resilience.
"Open your mind and your consciousness will open too." - Michael Singer
The Essence of Dynamic Balance
Dynamic Balance is the art of maintaining your inner equilibrium amidst the external chaos. It’s about knowing when to hold firm, rooting into deeper ground, and when to let go, understanding that true balance is not static but a continual adjustment to the changing tides of life.
This was borne out to me powerfully in a conversation I had some months ago with an old classmate. We’ve known each other for 20 years now and been in touch as & when life permitted. As we watched our kids playing together, we got to discussing identities and how parenting had unmoored us in some ways from old ways of being.
We’d both come through a competitive MBA environment & fought our way up organizations by outworking and outperforming others. Then came motherhood, and the resulting chaos heavily frayed our nerves. Our kids didn’t care how important our jobs were, they still needed us in fundamental, human, irreplaceable ways that had nothing to do with the rest of the world.
Cue overwhelm. And anxiety. And guilt.
The global pandemic was simply turd fondant laid on thick on this shitcake.
Dynamic Balance as a Way of Life.
We both love our kids deeply and wouldn’t change a thing. We both love the work we do and don’t plan to ever retire. And yet, both of us yearned for simpler, freer lives. Lighter ways of moving through the world and through our own thoughts.
More laughter, less stress. More doing, less fretting. More being, less striving.
And in conversation, we realized that we were guilty of one thing only - carrying every iteration of our identities on our backs, piled one on top of the other like Persian rugs at a carpet shop.
Our ability to respond flexibly and freely in the moment was hindered by this hidden load we carried. And this load showed up in how we had slowly disconnected
from our bodies, no longer receiving critical wellbeing signals, and
from our hearts, no longer asking if our actions served our soul’s purpose.
This static and rigid sense of false balance we had created in our lives, a scheduled and regimented marching beat, was preventing us from truly being in the moment, noticing our experiences and responding with intention.
Living with Dynamic Balance gave us permission to put down this load.
Why Dynamic Balance Matters More Than Ever
We live in a complex and fast paced world today. The ability to adapt and maintain balance is more crucial than ever as we face a relentless stream of demands and decisions, each capable of tipping the scales.
Mastering Dynamic Balance means not just surviving but thriving - learning to trust our own instincts and bodies again, tuning into what is always present within us and navigating the world through a compass that orients to our heart’s deepest desires and our sense of purpose.
By zooming into what's truly important to us, we can let go of everything else.
Travel light through life, trusting that what we need will turn up when we need it.
Dynamic Balance enhances decision-making, fosters resilience, and nurtures leadership capabilities. It allows us to lead not just with our minds but also with our hearts, making decisions that are as compassionate as they are strategic.
And our world desperately needs more wise, compassionate leaders.
Core Practices for Cultivating Dynamic Balance
To cultivate Dynamic Balance, we must engage both mind and body through practices that ground us and restore our sense of equilibrium. Mindfulness meditation, focused breathing exercises, and regular reflection are foundational tools that support this balance.
Today, before you turn in for bed, I invite you to walk outside, find a patch of green grass and remove your shoes. Feel the damp crunch of the soil beneath your soles, the soft blades of grass brushing against your heels and insides.
Curl your toes into the soil, feel fragments of soil tickle the skin between your toes. Close your eyes and deeply inhale the fresh smell of life growing under your feet. Open your arms and spread them to your sides, feel the breeze on your face and arms.
Inviting Change through Somatic Awareness
Notice how your feet are not static, there is a gentle sway as your body calibrates continuously to its surroundings and finds Dynamic Balance in every moment. Notice the ease with which this happens. Notice the sensations in your body, what they are and where you feel them. Notice how you feel, what emotions come up for you.
Now, tense your body - hold yourself as rigid as possible, like you’ve turned to stone. How does it feel to be in balance in this tense, rigid way? What sensations and emotions does this way of being evoke in you?
Notice which way of moving through the world feels more resilient and capable.
Our bodies often hold the key to understanding our deepest patterns of response and reaction. Through somatic awareness—paying attention to the physical sensations in our bodies—we can gain insights into our emotional and psychological states.
Join Us to Explore Deeper
If you're intrigued by the concept of Dynamic Balance and eager to explore how it can transform your approach to both life and leadership, I invite you to join me on May 11th for a dedicated workshop. This is an in-person full-day event in Singapore.
Sign up here to reserve your spot and take the first step towards a more balanced, resilient future.
While somatic & emotional awareness through Dynamic Balance brings you back into your body and deepens your grounding, a complementary practice is Creative Contemplation, which frees up your intuition to sense-make and visualize. You can read more about it here and here. The workshop combines both approaches to equip you with tools to navigate life’s complexities with grace and agility.
I invite you to embark on this journey with Joanna Maneckji and I, learning to sway with the wind rather than stand rigid against it, and discovering how flexibility and adaptability can lead to a richer, more fulfilling professional and personal life.