The word “balance” is used a lot today. How many books on Amazon espouse to hold the secret key to this mysterious quality that we all need in life? I will save you the trouble of researching that question: There are a ton. But it appears that it takes more than reading a book.

Many Canyon Ranch guests have shared with me that they’ve come the Ranch to learn how to create balance in their lives. As I worked with them to create a stay that might give them insight into what they sought, I realized that there was not one service or class that teaches you how to balance your life. Of course, everything at the Ranch speaks to balance, but creating this in your life is not simple, and we offered no one-stop shopping. Or so I thought.

Surprisingly, it was not the title of the workshop that caught my attention – it was the person facilitating it. I really enjoy being around Jonathan Ellerby, the Spiritual Programs Manager for Canyon Ranch, Tucson. There is something very welcoming and inclusive about him, so when he invited me to experience his weekly series of workshops, I took him up on his offer.

The first workshop of the series is called Sacred Balance. Jonathan explains that you do not have to take the whole series or take them in order to take away a great deal from the experience. If the other two are as powerful as the first, Canyon Ranch may be holding that sought-after magic key.

It came as no surprise to me that the source of balance in our lives comes from an understanding of spiritual self. This was a belief that I had held for quite some time. However, what was a surprise was how “spiritual self” is defined. Spiritual self is comprised of various dimensions, such as intuition, energy and compassionate love. Jonathan told us about methods we could use to manage these dimensions and discussed the difference between balancing the self and discovering depth in the soul. Do you love having a goal or a job on which to focus your energy? I sure do and I was inspired to learn that we all have a job to accomplish as spiritual beings: Our job in life is to seek out and remove all barriers we have built against compassionate love. Each point Jonathan brought forward in the workshop helped us in a very practical way to manage the dimensions of our self and create cycles of balance. This balance is deep, and is not just about creating wellness for the mind, body and emotions. I left the workshop inspired – and with a framework in which I could grow by taking action in my life.

As far as action goes, there is no magical key. It rests with me to choose to do something with I’ve learned. This series of workshops has started me on a wellness quest to nurture my spiritual self. I will be sharing with you my experience as I complete the other two workshops.