Arm Balances: Building the Foundations of Strength and Stability

Written by LJ

This year our studio’s overall theme is Sadhana, or personal/spiritual practice, and Seva, to serve, and this month we’re lifting into spring with arm balances!  Through the dynamic practice of arm balances, we have opportunity to strengthen our physical bodies and can deepen our Sadhana, the disciplined commitment to our practice.

Did you know that we also have a theme for each quarter? Last quarter was all about Repetition by checking in with our familiar and common movements. We check in to these places often to make sure the habits we build are still working for us! This quarter we’re focusing on Play and Novelty. Repetition helps us see our growth and gives us familiar tools, while adding Play and Novelty keeps the learning fun and fresh!

Arm balances are not just about big, bold poses; they’re about building a solid foundation of strength and stability. Poses like Side Plank (Vasisthasana) and Chaturanga (Chaturanga Dandasana) engage the core, shoulders, and arms, inviting in strengthening and fostering a deeper understanding of body awareness. The journey of building this strength can be as transformative as the end result itself. Arm balances can offer lots of support too, like the hip and heart-opening of Wild Thing (Camatkarasana,) or the spinal movement we find in cat/cows from Tabletop (Bharmanasana,) alllll the way to our beloved warm up and resting pause of Downward Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana.) Yes! Those are arm balances too!

Navigating the challenge of using our arms to support us, and maybe, lifting off the ground can teach us to embrace discomfort, deepening our personal practice and inviting self-discovery. As we hone our focus and concentration, arm balances become a moving meditation, fostering a deep sense of mindfulness that extends far beyond the mat and into our daily lives!

Throughout this Funky Focus, we invite you to remember that the true essence doesn’t always lie in the complexity of the poses but in the journey itself. Each attempt, wobble, and moment of weightlessness teaches us valuable lessons about our bodies, minds, and spirits.

Here are a few resources to support this Funky Focus!

Arm Balance Recovery Postures

Using blocks to support arm balances 

We invite you to join us in this month’s workshop to deepen your practice!

The 4 Noble Truths & The 8-Fold Path

Written by Larissa

The Four Noble Truths, in simple language:

1. Stress/suffering exists. (unskillful cause)
2. There’s a beginning to stress/suffering. (unskillful effect)
3. There’s an end to stress/suffering. (thank goodness! –> skillful cause)
4. There’s a path through the stress/suffering. (the 8-Fold Nobel Path –> skillful effect)

In her book When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times, Pema Chodron said, “The first noble truth of the Buddha is that when we feel suffering, it doesn’t mean something is wrong. What a relief.”

What a relief, indeed! Pain, suffering, all the “ugh” parts of life are not unique to you alone. We all experience this, experiencing pain does not mean something is wrong; it’s just part of being human.

Many of us have been working with a, likely unconscious, pattern of avoiding pain and suffering while trying to gain more happiness. That doesn’t seem like a bad strategy! The problem is that’s simply not how life works…

This pattern of avoiding pain and clinging to comfort can lead us into territory like ‘if this, then…’ thinking: “Once this thing happens, then I’ll be happy…” or, “When I’m/others are like this, then I’ll feel successful.”, and “Once I get out of the weeds here, then I’ll make time for myself.”

It can also lead to trying to hold the tough stuff in, “I should be able to handle this,” or pushing our pain out onto others. Sometimes it feels like we’re never quite out of the weeds, because another grew, and another, then a whole crop rose overnight and now what?

Remember that weeds, or pain points in life, are not all bad! The 4 Nobel Truths remind us what it’s like to be human. And the 8-fold Noble Path is a set of tools to help us make wise choices as we inevitably stumble into the weeds. Join us in meditation practice to learn about your own path, and how to support yourself in this journey of being human.

If you’d like to dive deeper, we invite you to join us in-studio for our monthly meditation circle and check out these resources:

The Four Noble Truths by Thich Nhat Hanh

Explanation of the 8-Fold Path with Sharon Salzburg (Article and Podcast)

Walking the Eightfold Path with Koshin Paley Ellison & Sharon Salzberg – Metta Hour Podcast Ep. 201

Check out our Youtube for an overview of these concepts or a meditation practice to try them on <3

As always, we hope that you join us M-F at 7:30am for free, live, virtual meditation to learn how we can take these tenets and welcome them into our lives, our practice, and our world <3