In Pursuit of “ Me Time”

Wednesday afternoon - An office colleague, extremely exasperated, slamming her notepad on her work desk, yelled, “I need a break! I need some me time”. A good organiser that she was, quickly got in touch with her friends and in no time organised a drive to a luxury villa for a stay over during the weekend. 

Friday night, was a happy night for the colleague, after all the quintessential me time was happening. The next day, woke up 15 minutes before the alarm could go off and was ready to step into the car in the next 30 minutes. Absolutely looking forward to the 4 hour terrain drive on the manual car to reach the magnificent villa. 

Wow! It looked better than the pictures the owners of the villa had posted. The colleague, quickly pulled out the phone and started clicking pictures of the rooms that were opulently designed, the morning sun reflected charmingly on the water in the swimming pool. Quickly changed into a swim wear, pulled out a can of beer and the gang dived into the welcoming pool. It was all fun - beer, friends, jokes, gossips and the apparent joy. 

The weekend was spent over drinks, cards, games, trek, food and connecting with the gang. 

Sunday evening, began the long and arduous drive back home. Reached home, dumped the bags and began posting pics on social media. Immediately started received likes, comments, oh! You know how to live life, and some posted, you perfectly balance work and personal life. It was time for dinner, a couple of beers and the colleague crashed to bed.

Come Monday morning, woke up late and rushed to work...smiling for having a great weekend, to have checked-in to a beautiful place . The body pulling itself to get to work.

How many of us practice or have experienced something similar? Sounds familiar? 

We tend to take breaks, making us believe or rather fooling ourselves to believe that this what we need, however the break at times is a short term escapism from the real world. And when we get back to routine, confusion, irritation and unsolved problems not only continue to remain but appear bigger. 

Experts are of the opinion, that regular me time, where you take time to focus on your mind and body is extremely important. For our mind and body to function optimally, they need to be aligned. 

It is believed, stress and tension come to the fore as pains and aches. Ever experienced, the niggling neck pain, headache, migraine or that cramps in the stomach? It is also established that a physical injury or for that matter, the recent lockdown that has curbed our physical activities triggers a change in mood, trouble in focusing and concentrating and a constant need for motivation. This only emphasises, how the body and mind are connected and initiate a response or reaction when one or the other is affected. 

Most of us believe Me Time is the time spent in doing things that is different from our daily chores, perhaps shirking or lazing or playing a game maybe? However, experts believe, Me time is about looking inward, bringing the body and mind to a state of equilibrium. Me time, is introspecting, identifying short comings, exploring solutions and being able to navigate our hurdles. Again, this can be different for everyone, but breathing and focus are key ingredients. Consciously taking deep breaths in and out allows your body to turn off any stress induced consciously or subconsciously. According to age old science of yoga, concentrated breathing helps in rejuvenating and invigorating every cell in your body whilst helping with focus and regulation of the nervous system.

It’s time for ME Time, when you start experiencing the niggles and aches. It is time, when you feel stressed and concerned. This is the time to deep dive into yourself and start untangling the lingering and more often than not, intertwined botheration, by asking questions, looking out for solutions and end of it all, coming to terms with the fact, If I can do something about it, then act upon it. Answers for some questions is not easy and for some questions there ain’t any answers, accept it and take it in your stride. A little proactiveness and focus, is all it takes to align your body and mind.

Time to deep dive into some Me Time, look no further, look inward & Breathe!