Relax, don't do it....!
By Barbara DeLeo
Today's the day the eight of us set off on our three month trip away. The organisation, the planning, and the logistics of taking so many people so far from home has left me in a frazzled heap. I know I'm going to have LOTS of time to relax in the coming weeks, though, and that's one of the things I'm looking forward to the most.
In the day-to-day bustle of jobs and school and afterschool activities and hobbies and friends and families, it's often hard to find time to relax. In fact sometimes I feel as though I've forgotten how. My husband meditates every morning and he swears by the quiet time
to get himself set for the day. I've tried it, but always end up thinking of shopping lists and working out whose turn it is to clean out the fish tank....
When our kids were really young —and when things weren't going to plan—we used "time out" A LOT. Mostly it was as much for our sanity as the kids'. Having some space from each other, even it was an enforced separation, usually resulted in a change in behaviour. A moment to take a breath and recalibrate can do wonders.
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| A little corner of my "breathing room" |
As the kids have got older "time out" has lost it's magical powers.....so we've instituted a "breathing room". It's a place where any one of us can go when we feel cross, or frustrated or just need some "breathing room" and time to relax. The rule is that when someone goes into the breathing room (really just our spare room with a few little symbols of relaxation and a nice chair in the sun) no one is allowed to disturb them. It might be just for a minute, or five, or twenty, but it's a great place to get centred, and to RELAX. It's defused many a temper tantrum and full scale battle in its time. (Confession: I still think about who should clean the fish tank but it's such a lovely place to do it in).
So are you like me and struggle to relax, or do you have some favourite techniques. Do you take a sceneted bath? Listen to some favourite music? Read a romance?
