The candles have been lit. The instrumental and melodic music has been set on play, and here I am sat with my laptop in front of me. Considering how important it is to take a moment and take a breather from life. I often try to use times like these to clear my mind, and bring myself back to the present moment, and I thought this time I would try and share my experience with you readers. I mean, have you recently found yourself in a similar situation, where it feels as if you are stuck in a cycle of never-ending chaos, and just wanted to take a minute to yourself or maybe even five? To reward yourself with a moments peace?

We often get stuck in a rut when we have nowhere else to turn between work and family life, or when we’ve hardly found the time to have an hour or so to ourselves. We’ve all been there. Unfortunately. The main thing is, is what you do afterwards. Now, it would not be the greatest of ideas to just accept the situation and let the opportunity of having 5-minutes to yourself pass, oh no. We’ve got to make the time for ourselves. That’s what is key here. Standing up for what you need for yourself, and in this case it’s that all important break. I know it may sound odd but there are some of us that don’t allow ourselves that break – I’ve seen many of my friends and family crash and burn because of things like this, instead we dive into all these different tasks we feel we “need” to do. I admit I do this often myself. But I’ve come to realise that this is not a good trait for your health, your body and it is certainly not good for your mind.

Right now, as I said, I have the candles lit around me, an incense burner burning in the background for that extra aroma, and an ambient instrumental melody playing on the stereo. Instead of writing – as I am doing right now, I often try and engage in some mindfulness or yoga. Something I’ve been attempting to do regularly this past year or so. Even though, I would define myself as just a “beginner”, it’s still a useful technique if you can get yourself stuck in with it. Ideal for helping you connect to your inner self, and allowing you to really breath. Practising breathing exercises really help in moments like these too!

At the moment, I have a mix from ‘Meditation Music Masters’ playing on the stereo. There are many pieces you can find online, either on Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify or even YouTube. Just search for instrumental melodies and see what you find! Perhaps you may like the silence instead, so you can always practice these methods in silent. Whatever makes you feel comfortable. You might feel it allows you to focus on your breathing much better. The choice is yours, but I’ve always found melodies of waves and piano pieces very therapeutic, I must say.

After the many weeks or months I’ve had recently – feeling as if I haven’t had a moment to myself, it is why I feel the need to try and encourage you – the reader – to at least stop what you’re doing and reward yourself with that much-deserved break. If you feel you do so deserve it. I’d recommend trying at least one of these ways above to help you get in the right frame of mind too, when you do try. Don’t just tell yourself you’ll wait until the opportunity arises, try and make the time for yourself, and allow yourself to breath. Make it happen! Play some music, read a book, light some candles or have some tea! Completely switch yourself – and perhaps your electronic devices – off, and cut out the distractions. You’re future self will thank you for it!

This post is merely a reminder to you to give yourself the time you need to rest, whether it is for 15 minutes or an hour. Indulge in some “you” time, for a change. For future pieces, I will be sure to create a list of my ‘Top 10 Ways I Find Peace’ or something along those lines, to help provide you with some further and future inspiration. So, be sure to give us a follow to see future posts from @ourjourneyinchapters!

Much love to you all, and thanks for reading!

~ Jayne