Hit the Pause Button

Hit the Pause Button

Today at yoga, my instructor talked about her theme of “Hitting the Pause Button” during this holiday season, one that is especially and incessantly full of hustle and bustle.

The image of hitting a virtual pause button (you know how I love images!) really resonated with me. After all, it is so visually and physically translatable. Well, physical translation may be a wee bit challenging. Probably not for you, but definitely for me!

By the way, as part of this month’s (promised) self-care programming, I am going to yoga a minimum of 4 times per week this month. I have to tell you that Yoga has become my opportunity to pause. Seriously. And a serious Silver Lining. I never would have thought that I’d be able to get out of my head as easily and as quickly as I do at yoga. Though I do have thoughts that float in and out (e.g., “I need to return all of those emails” or “What on earth am I going to make for dinner?”), I find that I am so much less likely to obsess and – thankfully – let the white noise float on out of my mind.

After class, I jotted down a few other ways to “Hit the Pause Button” during this holiday season:

1. Bookend the day with reading inspiring quotes and then sit and think about them. Simple, I know. But also quite powerful.
2. Get some fresh air. Look at the clouds in the sky. Watch the waves roll in (sorry for all of you who are freezing your toushies off!).
3. Power down.  Take at least one day a week (or even an hour or two a day) without any “screens”. A good friend of mine has “Screen-less Sundays” – how great is that?
4. Take a long nap. Schedule two full hours to dedicate to this nap. If you find that you have a difficult time sleeping, then just close your eyes and breathe. Keep breathing until you – yep! – fall asleep.
5. Reflect. Write down anything that you’ve learned in the past week. Ask yourself: Is there anything that you really want to accomplish? What can you help move forward? Is anything holding you back?

The Silver Lining of hitting my own pause button is that I feel so much more creative and replenished – even from the teeniest of things.  Additionally, hitting the pause button helps me assess situations and prevents me from making knee-jerk decisions.