Inner Balance

The beginning of the year always feels like a place of opportunity: we mean to follow through on our resolutions, there’s a sense of renewal, and something in the air just feels different for the first few weeks. Often, however, we simply jump into our schedules without much of a pause. This is why we thought it would be interesting to use our first newsletter to reflect on how the theory behind Integral Steps plays a role in our daily and personal life.
In past newsletters, we have discussed the three centers of integrative education: the mind (intellect), the body (senses) and emotions (feelings).
As Alejandra, Integral Steps co-founder explains, when all of our parts - mind, body and emotions - are taken into consideration, and are harmoniously balanced and stimulated, our core capabilities as human beings become more accessible. We increase our capacity to pay attention, to feel empathy, to love, to be patient, learn something new, problem-solve, etc…

Inner imbalances create tension and hinder our perception of the world around us. These imbalances of the self occur when there is an excessive engagement of one part of ourselves to approach a broad range of situations, like intellectual engagement for example, and a marked underuse of other parts of the self, like integration of the body or the emotional world.
With this in mind, we want to invite you to take some time to reflect on your personal tendencies. Do you approach life more from an intellectual standpoint? Emotional? How do you tend to integrate your body and be aware of its needs?
As a parent, teacher, or individual, reflecting on this question could be an opportunity to make a conscious plan to strengthen one of your centers or those of your students or children. 
For 2023, we invite you to join us for an integrated year!