Sponsored post: We’re honored to partner with Bhakti Chai, the spiciest, sweetest chai we know and love. Started by a friend of ours, Bhakti is an example of a successful woman-founded startup. And it’s in glass! ~ ed.

A message from the Bhakti Chai team.

Few of us take the time these days to get a massage or a pedicure, let alone cuddle up with Jane Austin or a sci-fi paperback for a few hours.

But “me time” is nevertheless essential to our happiness.

Indeed, scheduling alone time is correlated to increased work productivity, a happier home life, improved self-esteem and stronger relationships.

At Bhakti Chai, we are passionate about balance.

Balance is the key to brewing our unique chai and also the key to ensuring we show up to work feeling whole, rested and ready to take on the world.

We urge you to prioritize a “Me Moment” everyday.

It doesn’t have to be much—even a few minutes of quiet can make a huge difference in your productivity, patience and overall health.

Below are a few quick, easy ways the Bhakti Chai team unplugs—we hope they inspire you to slow down and take your own “Me Moment”.

You deserve it.

 

#MEMOMENT TIP: Drinking your morning coffee (or chai!).

Instead of fussing with your phone or laptop over breakfast, make yourself a hot cup of something and just sit. At the end of the day you can steal similar moments for yourself but substitute with wine!

“It’s non-negotiable. Not only do I need time alone, either at home or in the office to sip my morning Bhakti without distraction—but I need other moments for myself, so I make appointments with myself. Literally, I schedule time everyday where I can hike alone, walk alone or sit and stare in my backyard alone. This restores me!”

~ Brook Eddy: Bhakti Chai Founder & CEO

 

#MEMOMENT TIP During your yoga practice.

In our day-to-day lives we often find ourselves thinking that the external world—our work, family and hobbies—need to calm down before we can calm down. We run to our yoga mats for an hour to chill out but then our thoughts easily turn to how we look, the next pose or the teacher’s nasally voice.

Instead of just going through the motions, use your yoga practice to get out of your head and spend undivided time with yourself.

“Whenever I get caught up in minute details or self-consciousness during my practice, I focus on how grateful I am to move and how it amazing it feels to be alone with only one ‘to-do’.”

~ Caroline: Marketing Coordinator

 

#MEMOMENT TIP: Having a “smoke break.”

When smokers quit, they often lament the loss of time previously allotted to recouping over a cigarette. While the majority of us no longer smoke, we should still take breaks!

Set an example for your coworkers by going outside and taking a five to 10 minute breather every few hours.

Walk outside, look at the sky, hang out with yourself, inhale the fresh air.

“Taking a few minutes outside during a mid-day break is crucial to my workday. I sit on my favorite bench and connect with my breath. I people watch. I try to just clear my mind and rejuvenate.  ”

~ Allison: Events & Marketing Manager

 

#MEMOMENT TIP: On your commute.

Abandon your need to be productive on your way to and from work. Listen to music (or enjoy the silence with the radio off), open your window and breathe.

Where are you holding tension in your body?

Literally low down and let yourself just “be” without rushing to get there. Focus on nothing but giving yourself permission—and time—to feel good.

“Now that I give myself plenty of time to get from place to place and allow myself to check out, I actually savor my commute. It’s the one time in my day when I don’t have to be ‘on’—I can just be me.”

~ Morgan, National Sales and Marketing Manager

#MEMOMENT TIP: Walking your dog.

Forget your phone at home and have only leash in hand. Embody your dog’s innocent capacity to be playful and present. Sometimes we don’t realize how stressed we are until we leave our tasks behind and feel our bodies physically lightening and letting go as we walk.

“The ‘me time’ I afford myself while walking my dog is paramount to increasing my energy level and maintaining my mental sanity. Sometimes walking Thunder and Tildee is the only time I am outside, all day. Though I walk along busy streets, I’m findally quiet inside.”

~ Jacki Litz: VP of Sales

 

Connect with Community: For a chance to win free Bhakti Chai and gear and be featured in our elephant journal “Me Moment” series, tell us on Twitter or Instagram how you take time for yourself!

Hashtag #MeMoment and #BhaktiChai.

 

 

 

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Author: The Bhakti Chai Team

Editor: Ashleigh Hitchcock

Photo: courtesy of the author