We live in a culture obsessed with linear time:
Clocks, calendars, schedules, deadlines, appointments.
But we are not linear beings. We operate through rhythms and cycles.
Changes to jobs, moving to a new home, having a new child, divorce, death, and other events take us out of our rhythm.
When we lose our rhythm, we often try to force ourselves harder into linear time. We cling tighter to what was.
We set harder deadlines, clamp down on the schedule, get more rigid with our routines.
Not surprisingly, this doesn’t work. It leaves us more out of rhythm. It can disregulate the nervous system.
When life is in turmoil and you feel yourself out of rhythm, just remember that you aways have a seed of the rhythm within you:
Your breath.
Find a place where you can have a few moments of silence. Start watching your breath. Notice the inhale and the exhale, and the pause at the top and at the bottom.
Inahle. Pause. Exhale. Pause.
This 4-part breath matches the rhythms and cycles of the seasons, of your day, and of all of nature.
Pausing to focus on your breath will help you get back into rhythrm.
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