Take Your Time

I hope you all had a nice weekend. Last week I shared the idea of “Taking our Time”. When we use this term it usually is as a reminder to slow down. However what if we thought about “Taking our Time” as more than just slowing down; instead as an active way of choosing to make the most of our time by living truly in the moment. There are actually THREE parts to fully “Taking our Time”; TO SLOW DOWN, BE MINDFUL and to BE GENEROUS.

What inspired me to share this idea this past week was a dear friend of mine who passed away 12 days ago. She had been sick for a while but even with that she lived her life by “Taking Her Time”. She paused and looked for the beauty around her even when it was from her hospital room in Zurich and she was incredibly generous with others. She called me from her hospital bed at 2:30am her time 10 days before she died to tell me how much I meant to her. I got to share that same sentiment with her which proved to offer me so much comfort upon learning of her passing.

When we translate this practice onto the mat in our bodies, “Taking Our Time” can be equally powerful. We have the chance to move slowly with mindful intention and what we get is the opportunity to be generous with ourselves- to listen to what our body needs and meet that with kindness. And we know that what we practice on the mat allows us to get better at it off of it.

In life there is no guarantee about much time we have (my friend was only 55 when she died) but with practice we can make sure to “Take our Time” so that we truly appreciate the time that is given to us. The way my friend lived her life both before her illness and during it was a constant reminder of that for me. Often her facebook posts were beautiful pictures of flowers she saw or gestures of love around her. She noticed the everyday gifts of being alive. She took note of them and shared them generously. We all have that same opportunity; to SLOW DOWN, BE MINDFUL and GENEROUS and through that we can truly “Take our Time”.