Time Out: Breathing Through Life's Waves: Finding Balance and Inner Sanctuary

Sometimes you just need some time to yourself. To gain perspective. Take in what you have done, where you have gone, what has happened in life. Time to asses, breathe, and regroup. An opportunity to shift your vibration to level up to the 2.0 of you. 

This image is of a woman in the middle of the ocean. She is by herself in the water. Treading but not phased by it or working too hard to stay afloat . There is a peace about her as she looks back on the land where she came from. She is taking it all in. The small road through the hills just off shore. The big beautiful timeless mountains. The far away shore. The sound of her breath, the water and nothing else.  

Man, life has a way of go go going sometimes. If you are not ahead of it, you are playing a game of nonstop catch up. Just like running around physically makes you loose touch with the rhythm of your breath, so does energetic running. 

Taking the time to breathe, step back, reorganize the rythmns in you and realign them to nature is a beautiful way to find balance. An energetic time out. It's like we have this in our back pocket - but we don't always remember to use it. When we were kids, we used to play hide and seek, ditch 'em, tag, whatever.  When we got tired or that awful cramp in your side from running and laughing to hard we would call time out! It's not like at the beginning of the game we each had a certain amount of time outs or even discussed whether or not they were allowed. We just all intuitively had a "time out" in our back pocket. Or better yet a home base where you were safe. Sometimes that was called out at the beginning of the game, sometimes it wasn't. But still. There were the options of time out and home base. Catch your breath and Safe. 

As an adult, it isn't always clear where our "safe" home base is. Or if we have any time outs or the opportunity to use them. Sometimes its because we think they have to look or be a certain way. I know I have fallen into this trap. "I need like a week alone from everyone, then I'll be ok" I mean yeah that would be nice, especially at like a destination spa by the beach or something super fancy and fun and luxurious. But that isn't always possible or feasible. BUT, we still get tired. We still get worn out. We still need to feel safe and have a touchstone for our energetic home base. 

So how do you find it? Good frigin question. Well, I can tell you this. It is not the same from one person to the next. Which I realized is not super helpful. But can be massively magical. 

There is one thing no one can take away from you. Your mind. Your imagination. 

According to yoga the mind or citta is made up of three things: mind, intellect and ego. When this citta is focused, anything is possible. Everything is possible. At least that is my massively abreviated cliff notes of the patanjali yoga sutras.  If you don't know, sage patanjali was the first person to write down any information on yoga which are now called, The Patanjali Yoga Sutras. Chapters filled with aphorisms on what yoga is and how to go about it. It is believed these sutras were written down around 5 thousand years ago. Prior to Patanjali all yoga was passed down as an oral tradition. 

So, if thousands of years ago the understanding of the power of the mind was known, where and how did we forget it? How do we get it back? 

In my experience life is a series of choices. Choices between turning your light on and using it. And choosing to stay in the dark. Those are options you choose. Either on purpose or because you do not know any better. If you choose to turn on the light within, see things in your life with clarity, you can also choose your safe space and when and how to "time out"

It seems like an oxymoron that when you feel like you don't have any time, to sit and meditate. Because that takes more time. But I swear to god every time I have felt that way and meditated despite myself, I felt like there was magically more time in my day. Carving out time and space for a "time out" to catch your breath and gain perspective can be as simple as a daily 5 min. mediation. It doesn't have to be as elaborate as week destination spa get away. But I will NOT turn that down if offered, just saying if you are. A safe space, could be a magical space, or place you create in your mind. You have the power to create safety. You have the power to stop the game when it is making your side ache because its going too fast. 

Breath and Mind are linked. The body is to the breath as the breath is to the mind. If you can not control anything else in your life. If you are feeling overwhelmed. Start with the breath. Feel its rythymn within. Get out into nature, listen to the sounds of the earth. The earth never forgets to breathe. Let your mind create beautiful things, filled with love, light and peace. Thank it for allowing you to cuddle up in the safety of you. Your mind is powerful. Choose to work with it. Gain control of the reins of this carriage of life you are on. Stop when you need. Touch base with safety when you need. Breathe... always.