Time Out this February.
Between the valentine cinnamon hearts, gold and red dragons of Chinese New Year and family weekend getaways, there is a little known and seldom celebrated personal getaway to indulge in this winter: Adult Time-Out.
This month, I invite you to discover this simple yet effective healing technique. Save yourself from undue stress, winter blahs and even work burnout.
Take a time out today.
Embrace space, the final frontier. The word ‘final’ may seem so final. You are right. It is. As a healthy, mature adult, you surely recognize that certain times in your life you must take a step back, if you want to keep moving forward. You need a break. Hit pause on life. Embracing this moment of space in time is not about watching back to back episodes of Star Trek. Nor is it about day dreaming of flying through space on the Starship Enterprise, discovering galaxies. Embracing space is the act of embracing emptiness, quietude and solitude in your day. It is you welcoming down time. It is an intentional lack of programming and complete disconnect from the world around you, at least for a short period of time.
But what is space?
Madhya is a Sanskrit word that references the pause or the space between something, like the breath. Learn more about Madhya here.
Can you follow your breath to the end? No. There is no end. Yet, at some point, your inhalation stops and exhalation begins. How does that happen? There must be a pause.
But where is the pause?
There must be a proverbial end to the inhalation of breath. The pause, a moment of moving from inhaling to exhaling, is a moment of opportunity. It is where life is limitless. This moment can be a millisecond, several seconds, up to even three minutes in length. Very experienced divers can deep-dive for five minutes (or longer) underwater, before surfacing for their next breath. (explore deep-diving perspectives here) That is a long pause indeed. We don’t have to take is so far! Just a short increase of pausing 10-15 seconds between inhalation and exhalation and repeating this for five minutes will do. Put a timer on and give it a go. That’s about ten breaths total. It’s so simple, anyone can do it.
This space between two actions, such as in-breath and out-breath, is your personal escape.
It is you choosing an opportunity for deep relaxation, solace, healing and direct stress reduction. Embracing a longer pause in any activity or between activities can shift you from serving to thriving. It can promote a sense of well-being and offers you control over your environment – your body. After all, you are in charge of your breath, the errands in your day and the number of activities on your calendar.
Since it may seem daunting to reduce events on your social, work or family calendars this February, start with a short time-out instead.
Your time is YOUR TIME.
Your Adult time out can be as simple as ten minutes in a quiet room, focusing only on the sound of your breath and slowing down your breaths to five breaths per minute. In 2018, a systematic review in the journal of Frontiers of Human Science, was titled: How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life. This review of the included studies on breath work, concluded that voluntarily slowing down the breath “increased comfort, relaxation, pleasantness, vigor and alertness, and reduced symptoms of arousal, anxiety, depression, anger, and confusion.”
In summary, Adult Time-Out is good for you.
Slowing down and allowing more space between your actions directly improves your quality of life. Just taking a handful of deep breaths, in a time-out (yes, you can even sit in the corner if you want to) can reduce your anxiety and help you get through a tough day. If you need more proof, read the latest article in Salk News, November 19, 2024: “Neuroscientists discover how the brain slows anxious breathing”. In between ski trips, Costco shopping hauls and running errands, find yourself a little nook hideaway and indulge in a self-imposed Adult Time-Out. It’s good for you.
“Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths.”
– Etty Hillesum, An Interrupted Life: The Diaries 1941-1943, 1983
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