Issue 15     May     2009

Micro-Adjustments for Balance

Recover your balance when under pressure by making necessary micro-adjustments. 

You can recover balance even in the middle of the high performance demands of a busy life, by making skillful choices. This is a dynamic process of responding to imbalance. By making regular, small adjustments you can increase both your effectiveness and your energy. 

Imbalance is fundamental to life. And how you respond to ongoing changes is the critical factor in developing dynamic balance. Remember the teeter-totter when you were a kid? The balance could be thrown off with even a slight shift in your body movement or in the movement of the other person. And with a small shift, it could be re-established.

When you’re in need of refreshment or renewal and respond to that need, you support your own balance. This needs to be repeated over and over again, because balance is never a steady state. Dynamic balance is a process of making steady, effective adjustments in response to your own imbalance, your needs and circumstances around you.

The following ten suggestions focus on micro-adjustments that you can make when schedules and demands are very tight and you only have a few minutes to refresh. Your mind and body function at their best with a short break every 90-120 minutes. So remember to take regular breaks in order to re-adjust and find balance.

Any of the following ten suggestions can become a ritual that can expand and renew your energy. They can be practiced almost anywhere, including work. With enough renewal rituals, you can find balance and higher performance without necessarily changing the number of hours your work. This will lead to clearer, more energizing and powerful choices and performance.

Action Steps

1. Get up and stretch or go for a walk. Go up and down the stairs. Walk outside for 10-20 minutes if possible.

2. Care for your head. Gently roll it.  Scratch your scalp if that feels good. Massage around your hairline and the bony ridge around your eyes.

3. Breathe deeply. Breathe into your abdomen. Then exhale slowly for 5-6 seconds. Do this to interrupt the fight or flight response when upset, anxious or angry. Try holding one hand on you abdomen and one on your heart, while you do this deep breathing. It’s very soothing.

4. Imagine the best. Visualize positive outcomes.

5. Drink lots of water—before turning to sugar, caffeine or alcohol.

6. Express appreciation. Say what you value and appreciate to someone else. Expressing appreciation is believed to increase the oxytocin levels and a general state of well-being. (Oxytocin: a neurotransmitter and hormone that has been described as the cuddle, bonding or love hormone.) 

7. Tell a joke. Or find something to laugh about.

8. Listen to music that you find inspiring or energizing. Dance a little. Or a lot.

9. Take bathroom breaks and use those few moments alone to relax, remember who you are, what is important to you, and why you want to be alive.

10. Get some blood in your brain. Fold forward with bent knees and gently sway for a minute or two. You can hold your elbows or just let your hands drop.