The Power Of Downtime
The Power of Downtime
My favorite part of a yoga class has always been savasana or corpse pose, the part at the end where I get to fall asleep on the mat with a blanket over me. Golly, I could rest like that for a few hours, but the yoga teachers always wake me up after a measly 5 minutes. I’d love to take a yoga class that was 90% savasana. Or would that be a nap?
Not sure, but naps are awesome as well. I always had a tough time at my 9 to 5 jobs because I like to nap around 3 — I NEED to nap around 3. I would close my eyes in mid afternoon and face the wall. If someone walked in, I’d snap awake. I had another job where I’d lock the door and sleep on the couch. Not sure why businesses don’t have nap rooms for the employees. A tired employee can barely stay awake, let alone perform a job function. It’s 15 minutes well spent by an employee.
I toss walking into my downtime pot as well. It relaxes me to stroll around my neighborhood in non-electronic mode. Not in a race to get anywhere, just ambling along with creative brainstorms flashing across my mind. Maybe that’s why I like to have wine with friends. It’s a slow activity centered around relaxing and conversing.
For me, downtime makes me feel more awake, more alert, more happy. I’d like to see schools implement downtime as well. The kids hop from one activity to another, when I bet a lot of them might like a nap. Why we think naps are just for tiny children makes no sense to me.
It’s good for your health to kick back and do nothing or next to nothing. Or do something that can’t be measured like painting or drawing. During a trip to Spain, Jimmy and I really got into getting up late and strolling over to a cafe where we had a leisurely tea and some baked goods. Always feel de-stressed when I return from a country that values downtime.
Now if you have a “to-do” list three years long, you might think, “I don’t have time to take time for myself. I don’t have time to sit around and chill. I don’t have time to do something that doesn’t move my life toward a concrete goal.”
Maybe re-evaluate your “to-do” list or the goals you have? Couldn’t frequent timeouts be a goal if you are a fan of goals?
Our bodies need time to unwind, not just at the end of the day but all during the day. If you read music, then you know that a song doesn’t sound right unless it has periods of rest. There are even rest notes to ensure this happens. Paintings needs areas of rest for the eyes or it becomes painful to look at. Nothing in this world can gallop full speed ahead without stopping. Like that quote says, there is no rest for the weary.
If you don’t yet take yoga, try a class and see if the Savasana nap speaks to you. Maybe it will. Maybe it won’t. If that doesn’t work, make up your own downtime routine. Maybe you sit in a chair and shut your eyes. Maybe you sit in your backyard and listen to the birds sing. Maybe you grab a cup of tea and sit on your front porch.
It’s good to stop and smell the roses instead of racing by them to get to some other place where there probably aren’t any roses. I make it a point to lean over and smell flowers when I pass them. Such beautiful little works of art that can only be seen when I’ve taken the time to slow down ….
Yours in savasana,
Giulietta “Julie” Nardone
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