Balance is one of those aspects of our lives that seems to continually need readjusting and fine tuning. It also seems to be something that we all too often recognize with the statement that we are so out of balance. Balance is really a major key to our overall joy, satisfaction and fulfillment in our lives.

No surprise, then, to recognize that balance is also a key component to our physical health and well-being. I find myself regularly telling my massage clients that it all comes down to a continual balancing act. The more “in balance” we are the better we feel. 

In my 30 + years of massage and bodywork experience, I’m not sure that I’ve actually ever seen a body in perfect balance. However, this is what we are constantly striving for and wanting for ourselves. It is really an ongoing work in progress, since no sooner do we come to a “really good place” in our bodies and our lives, than something comes along to knock us off center and out of balance. 

So, we begin again. 

Thankfully and by the grace of Spirit, our body’s innate wisdom and desire is for wholeness, wellness, and balance. Thus, our body itself is helping us with this task of re-centering to a healthier place.

Take a geodesic dome for example… Buckminster Fuller coined the term “tensegrity” to define an “equal state of tension” in this type of dome.  It keeps its shape and strength through integrity and tensegrity. 

These miraculous bodies of ours work in a similar way, albeit with much more complexity and so many more variables to deal with, than a geodesic dome. Nothing is truly stable. It’s all inter-dependent on the tension or lack of tension on some part of our overall anatomy. 

This of course, then brings in the importance of balance. Oh my, what a balancing act it is, too. With over 600 muscles, approximately 4,000 tendons and 900 ligaments pulling and counterbalancing each other, it is a wonder that we don’t just wander around in circles or in some strange gyration!

This is where massage comes in — as well as chiropractic, yoga, chi gong, tai chi or any number of healing modalities that assist the body in realigning itself. 

Regular practice and/or assistance is really a necessity if we are going to navigate these crazy, complex, and stressful lives of ours with any semblance of ease, grace, presence and, of course, balance.

If you’re feeling a little off center, perhaps it’s the perfect time for a massage and bodywork reset!

Scott Patton