My memories of kindergarten include toting a napping mat with me to school. Mine was red on one side, blue on the other with a white piping around the edges. It wasn’t that thick but I wasn’t that big so it really didn’t matter. What did matter was that when it was time to rest the mat is what dictated my own personal space. When our quiet time finished we all sat around drinking milk and having graham crackers. What a life!
Unfortunately that behavior wasn’t encouraged much after kindergarten and off we were, launched into the ever active, scheduled and goal-oriented world. Nowadays times-out have become a way for parents to manage naughty behavior. When I was a kid, it wasn’t called a time-out it was, “Jaynellen! Go to your room!” Once there, I would chill out until I felt it safe to show my face and join back into family life. Mind you it didn’t happen that often (or so I care to remember it that way).
In our current cultural realm we navigate our daily lives as though we are guiding a boat over a lake with threatening rocks lurking just below the surface. If we become careless or mindless or move too quickly, we run aground and possibly stop our forward momentum. So we don’t stop…we just keep moving, plodding along through our to-do lists as we hear the pinging of our appointment reminders. But what would happen if we stopped?
My thought for the week is: how much can you slow down in your current life? Do you need to? What happens to you if you overpack your schedule? Do you begin to let go of the things that are supportive of you, such as exercise, making healthy food choices, getting sleep or having down time? What do you sacrifice in order to stuff more stuff into your day? At what point is it no longer beneficial to how you intend to live your life?
I ask these questions for two reasons. One is because I observe and listen to many clients throughout the week who have hectic, full days. The second is that I’m about to have a full weekend off, my first in about a month and feel like I am bordering on the edge of fatigue. Similarly, when students come walking into a class asking, “Is it time for Savasana?” (Sha-Vah-Sana – or final relaxation pose, the final pose at the end of a class), it’s fairly evident that it’s time to do less, draw inward and slow down. Writing about it reminds me that it’s as important for me as it is for everyone else.
One of my teachers, Judith Hanson Lasater asks the question, “What would the world be like if everyone did savasana for 20 minutes a day?”. My question to you is, “What would YOU be like if you did 20 minutes of savasana a day?”.
I hope this has given you a little inspiration to head into your storage area and dig out your old kindergarten mat. And then, maybe grab some graham crackers and milk. Now that’s a worthy time out!
