Taking the time
Taking the time…..
Just before Christmas I embarked upon a Hot Yoga challenge to try and complete 20 consecutive days of Yoga. This was accompanied by an unintentional “detox” of sorts. It was the perfect thing for me at the time. I had a lot of parties and events to go to. Which can all become a bit exhausting even before Christmas itself. What better way to manage it all, then a test of this kind. All events attended without a sip of festive merriment and being at home, in bed by 10.30! Gosh….I’m so rock ‘n’ roll!! I was asked at one of these events “who does a detox in December?” To which I replied “I do, it’s something for me“. It doesn’t sound like much of a trial and in the grand scheme of things it wasn’t, in fact it was an absolute joy. Most of the classes I attended were at 6.30am which meant getting up at 5.30. Weirdly this is my favourite time to practice! I hadn’t realised I was a morning person (yep, at my age), one would have thought I’d have noticed that fact by now….maybe I’ve changed. Which kind of brings me to the point of this post….. without this experience, this is just one of the things I might not have discovered about myself. More on that later.
We generally in our busy lives tend to prioritise a number of ‘things’ above ourselves. Whether it be the important things like parenthood, relationships (with our partners, friends or family) our jobs or simple things like housework etc. We often opt to put ourselves and time with ourselves on the back burner. It might not be a deliberate thing. I get that…or at least I DID get that. I was one of the aforementioned. I’m not advocating selfishness…in fact quite the opposite. I’m making the case for being the best, well balanced, emotionally and spiritually nourished you, that you can be. And I’m a firm believer now in taking the time, really taking the time….and space to recharge. Somehow time spent just for us can leave us with a sense of guilt. Indulgent? No!
A beautiful Sunrise over Alexandra Palace after an early morning yoga practice.
What I have found is without that alone time to regroup, to be with yourself for a little while, things can actually become counterproductive. I have known this for a very long time and for some reason…kept ignoring it. My unconscious mantra would be “I have to get this done or that done, there just isn’t enough time in the day or nnneexxxtttt!”. But counterintuitively by not taking the time… those oh so important things (some of which are legitimately so ) don’t actually get done properly. With the busy lives we live things can become stressful, we can become irritable over the need to complete the ‘things’ and onto the next, which in turn escalates the stress.It all mounts up.
Committing to taking the time regularly, we approach daily situations with clarity and vigour! We exsist in a society where everything moves at such a pace. Or at least that was the case with me, an endless cycle. I had a conversation with someone recently, she spoke about the fact that she would finish one thing then it would be straight onto the next. Leaving her no time to process anything. It was at this point I felt compelled to write about my experience of taking that time. For some of you, I may be “preaching to the choir”… if so, good for you! But for those of you like me who found it difficult to regularly take the time to yourself for yourself. Please try! Something that doesn’t detract from being with you and doesn’t take up too much brain power. Something physical? getting out of ones head and into your body is ALWAYS a good thing. I can’t tell you the difference taking the time has made to my life…sounds dramatic but it really has.
Why not give yoga a try?….. If you’re in North London check out Yogacentric a hot yoga/pilates studio in Crouch End.
Do whatever it is that brings you peace…
Something that’s for you that you enjoy, is most definetly time well spent!
Karen xx