Stress was a trigger used to keep us alive in the times of living in the wild, where the elements and creatures of the world could readily reach us. This “fight, flight, or freeze” response was needed as an energy boost to find the best and quickest way out of a dangerous situation. It’s done its job in keeping us alive up until this point, but now its constant activation is making us sick.
Thankfully, we’ve reached a place in society and culture where most of us aren’t subject to the dangers of the wild anymore. However, our bodies are reacting to stress more than they ever did in the past. A nearly constant state. Which can be damaging to many functions of our minds and bodies if left unchecked.
Our stress response can’t tell the difference between a tiger chasing us and a pile of paperwork. It’s activated, nonetheless. This means, now more than ever, we have to actively work at finding ways to calm this stress response so that we can move through our days smoother, calmer, and without causing damage to our health.
Enter “The Pause”
One of the many things we have in common as humans in today’s world is the endless piles of tasks that require our attention on a day-to-day basis. These piles keep our stress response almost always act as we tirelessly move from one to the next without breaks in between.
A simple solution to this constant activity is to give yourself a few breaths in between each task. No matter how busy we are, we can benefit not only from lowered stress levels but also a more focused and clear work progression if we allow ourselves to create the tiniest bit of space in between each thing that requires our attention.
As one task comes to an end:
- Pause
- Check-in with your posture (tall spine, shoulders back and down, heart center open)
- Relax the face and shoulders
- Take 2-3 slow, deep breaths
This realignment helps to restore energy flow that may have been constricted in the tension of anything you had to accomplish before it and gives you permission to “just exist for the sake of existing” for a minute before giving your time, energy, and attention to the next thing in your never-ending list of things.
In a world that glorifies “the hustle,” we often forget that the yin (downtime) is just as important as the yang (active time). We need both, in their beautiful balance, woven into our days to create a sense of harmony within ourselves.
Your worth does not lie within what you can accomplish or how quickly you can do so. You deserve the space and grace needed to thrive as you flow through your responsibilities simply because you exist. This is your permission slip to allow you to slow down and breathe. To realign and recalibrate so that you can show up at your best consistently.
