free time and the modern yogi(ni)

"viveka-khyatir-aviplava hana-upayah"
"The means of attaining cessation is the unceasing vision of discernment" - Yoga Sutra 2:26


"The first thing to do is to introspect.  Take stock of yourself and your habits, and find out what is standing in your way" - Paramahansa Yogananda, Where There Is Light


"Stillness is not the same as a void in activity, it's more like a stabilizing strength" - Daniel J. Siegel, The Mindful Brain

Time off is relative I think.  Some folks get an entire summer "off", some take a week or 2, some have long weekends.  For parents with children, is there really such a thing?  If you are self-employed, what does this mini expression actually mean?  If you "can never relax", as some people have expressed to me then is time "off" really valuable or any different than time "on"?  As well, what are we taking time "off" of?  It seems to me that the expression is dependant on one's mind-set.  And that, dear friends, is what the system of Yoga can help you with.  A relaxed mind can travel through time and space with more ease.

So far it is a working summer for me, so time off is full of things I need to do, which I try to balance with things I want to do and also not to let this short season go without being outside and just enjoying fresh air and sunshine.  One thing I have really been reflecting on therefore is how to take time off while you are still in the midst of being on-duty.  Not in the sense of spacing out, but rather, taking a little break from one thing here and there to change the routines up and hopefully experience a newness within the daily flow.  A relaxed mind can travel through time and space with more ease.

Here are a few examples:

-take a break from social media for a day or two or more
-turn cell phone OFF not to vibrate
-skip one thing in your routine, to see if you miss it
-change your routine, whether the path you walk or change an activity
-do less of something
-do more of something else
-try a new yoga posture
-try a new pranayama, or if you haven't read this here before, learn how to relax
-cut out one yoga posture from your daily flow or -try the same posture but just try it a new way
-take a break from sitting a lot by standing and shaking your legs out
-periodically close your eyes or look away from the computer and take a few easy breaths
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the blank spaces are for you to print this up and add your own to the list

Balance is organic and is created and re-created constantly in the process of taking time off from doing all the same things all the time.  What you call habits are things that may have worked last year or month but right now, are outdated.  The only way to tell is to give yourself space.  Space can be physical - which is what taking a vacation does, it changes your location.  Space is also visceral- mental/emotional/spiritual.  I just took a two week hiatus from writing.  I felt I had nothing new to say, and in stopping, waiting for inspiration, I saw what was right in front of my nose.  I just needed a little break.  This cue is now food for the blog so it obviously worked for me.
S - stop
T - take a breath
O - observe
P - practise

Now some people find it hard to give themselves space.  They have perhaps  internalised that silence is scary, and that being busy is a great thing while not being busy is a sign of laziness.  I would just say that even a computer will 'bomb' if all the programs are running full speed all the time.  I actually think short brain holidays are the key to health and wholeness.  Yoga based breathing exercises can be fantabulous for this! Stress shortens us - the muscles, the temper, the breath... I like to think of space as feeling of expanding, of freedom, and options. Try now, slow exhales slow exhales slow exhales...

Let me know how it goes!
Om shanty shanty shanty, Om peace peace peace
Rana