Half-Moon Pose

I'm toying with the notion that equilibrium isn't all it's cracked up to be. Working parents are inundated with articles, ads, etc., about maintaining "balance" between work and family, and I've read them as eagerly as anyone, looking for the tip that will make things work. But what if there isn't one? And what if it doesn't matter?

I like balancing poses in yoga a lot. I tend to be better at them on one side (left, I think) than the other. And yesterday I managed a half-moon pose for the first time. That's the one where your (say) right hand and leg support you, while the left leg is up, making a line with the back, and the left hand points straight up. Rather than look down your head is to the side, chest wide open. It's difficult--for me, anyway--and I'd never been able to do it in class, where we tend to start out standing, then lean down to touch the ground and rotate the chest up. This time, following instructions in my Om Yoga book, I started in a sort of lunge, with my hands already on the ground. Then I straightened my standing leg and the other one just lifted on its own. I still can't hold the pose very long, but it's very cool, somehow--it feels victorious to hold it for even one breath.

Still, it's just a pose. And you can't stay there all day. So I guess what I'm saying is I like the feeling of balance, but I need to remember it's tenuous and only fleeting. Of course we can all balance with two feet on the ground, but how often do we get to stay there? Way more often I feel my hands flung out to the sides, one supporting leg wobbling wildly as I try to stay up, just for a minute. Maybe the minute is enough.