The Dance With the Tension of Life

This week’s Community Yoga class was all about finding steadiness in motion—what yogic philosophy calls sthira. After a full weekend and the start of a new week that had me rushing to “get my practice in,” I made space for a slower, more intentional morning. And in that space, I was reminded again: balance doesn’t mean stillness—it means staying steady even as life swirls about. (Or more poetically, dancing with the tension of life 😉).

In class, we explored Natarajasana, the dancer’s pose—named after Nataraja, a form of Shiva, the cosmic dancer. In the story, Shiva dances the rhythm of creation and destruction, a divine movement so powerful that when his lifted foot touches the earth, the world as we know it dissolves. A potent symbol of transformation—and of the fragility and beauty of every moment.

In practice, we warmed the spine with supported fish pose, opened the heart with bridge and sphinx, and challenged our steadiness with balance work, including side-lying dancer pose and its full standing expression. Each variation invited presence. And like the myth itself, each one asked us to meet the dance of life with both strength and surrender.

Holidays, long weekends, or life’s curveballs have a way of disrupting our rhythms. But the work isn’t in holding the perfect pose—or schedule. It’s in coming back. In remembering that even when life pulls us off-center, we can return. Again and again.

In Natarajasana, there’s a lift, a reach, a rooting down—and a beautiful tension between holding and releasing. Each breath becomes part of the rhythm. Each wobble, part of the choreography. And within that dance lies something deeper: the willingness to soften the heart, to stay open even when the ego wants to rush or control. It’s in the softening that we discover our strength. Not in forcing ourselves through, but in choosing care. Choosing breath. Choosing presence.

Here’s to the dance—the wobbly, beautiful, courageous dance of being human.

Reflection Prompt: What does “dancing with the tension of life” look like for you right now? How might you meet it with steadiness and grace?

With steadiness and heart,

Michelle