Guest Author - Jen Blackert

Is balancing the mind, body, spirit and your life overrated? The obvious answer is “no,” but let’s think about this a minute. If you feel excited and passionate about an activity, why would you do less of it? If you love playing tennis and it is not getting in the way of your family’s goals, your business goals or other goals – what’s the harm? Why not over indulge in this pleasure? The harm would be held in type of energy the body feels. Excessive activity (3 hours or more a day) could cause other areas of your life to be of a lesser quality. You may feel hyperactivity and feel you are often distracted. Maybe you notice less attention to detail. And the obvious -- you may have less physical energy. Or you may not be able to offer loved ones quality focused attention or time. This is for you to decide and choose where you should be spending your time.

The sanskrit word “gunas” describes your “unmanifested” energies or your internal states. It’s the activity of the prana or energy inside of you. The energy is present and available, but if not brought into balance can destroy your physical reality.

There are three gunas and when you notice and listen to body; the gunas help you make the next proper choice. They help bring you back into balance.

Sattva: Balance and alignment. It brings us back to the midline. This is of course the goal.

Rajas: Expansive energy, upward energy flow. Movement and action represents raja.

Tamas: Condensed energy, cooler, downward flowing energy.

If you don’t exercise – yet I hope you would at least practice yoga – your energy will become tamasic (tamas guna). This means you may “manifest” with tight muscles, depression and a feeling of heaviness. When you feel and notice that you are in a state of tamas, you are then presented with a choice. Your choice would be do the same things you always do and feel more tamasic or choose to create some rajasic (expansive) energy to balance yourself. Rajasic is movement, activity and exercise. Another example is when a software development company which has spent months focusing on the creation of a product. When the product is completed they must move into the activity of marketing. And they need to put as much passion and energy into it as they have product creation.

With this new insight, I would love to invite you to explore where you are experiencing an imbalance and how you can make simple corrections to ensure future of success.