Are Americans Getting Enough Mental Down Time?

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Are Americans Getting Enough Mental Down Time?
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• Life seems to be getting more hectic all the
  time. The daily schedule of the average American
  is packed with so many responsibilities at work
  and at home that it seems like there are never
  enough hours in the day. While there can be a
  certain satisfaction in the feeling of being busy
  and in constant demand, there are now more and
  more Americans who find it difficult to cope and
  who are in desperate need of some mental down
  time. The stress of constantly packing more into
  a day than can reasonable fit is taking its toll.

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• Taking a vacation
• Some are fortunate enough to be able to take time
  off from work, either on a regular basis using
  personal days to get a bit of relaxation or at
  least catch up on the backlog of projects and
  responsibilities at home. Many are also able to
  take vacations for more extended periods of rest,
  but thats not always the case. Unlike in the
  European Union, which mandates 20 days of paid
  vacation annually, the U.S. has no federal laws
  guaranteeing all workers paid leave. Many
  employers do offer a week or two of paid vacation
  time, but plenty more do not.

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• For those who live paycheck to paycheck, the
  financial hardship of taking a time off can be
  substantial.
• Even those workers who do get paid time off
  frequently dont use it all. Just over half of
  all Americans leave vacation days unused,
  amounting to hundreds of millions of potential
  days off each year. Even when folks do take the
  time to get away, research shows that many people
  are unable to switch off from their jobs during
  their down time, and obsessively check and
  respond to work-related emails from colleagues or
  clients.

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• In our competitive and fast-paced economic
  environment, it seems that Americans have become
  preoccupied with their working lives, to the
  point where they no longer afford themselves
  enough time to unwind or be creative in other
  aspects of their lives. As the stress and tension
  mount without an outlet, the long-term side
  effects are potentially severe.
• How important is mental down time?
• Most of us understand and appreciate just how
  important it is to have some time away from our
  work, but the fact that some of us deem our jobs
  to be of higher

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• importance and value than our outside lives means
  that we are willing to sacrifice a great deal for
  our careers. In doing so, were failing to give
  ourselves an opportunity to relax and rejuvenate
  ourselves, and we risk getting caught in a
  perpetual cycle of mental exhaustion.
• Giving our bodies and our minds an adequate break
  from our over-stimulated environment can even
  help us to perform better in our work. Down time
  helps our brain to replenish its ability to
  retain information and boosts its capacity for
  productivity, motivation, and creativity. In
  theory, a vacation such as a yoga

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• retreat, where exercises are undertaken to help
  the brain and body unwind, can refresh us in ways
  that have long-lasting benefits. Oftentimes, this
  type of reset can help us to perform better in
  every aspect of our daily lives, not just at
  work.
• Why yoga retreats make great down time vacations
• Regularly performing yoga poses and meditating
  are proven ways of helping us to connect better
  with the most genuine aspects of ourselves. This
  can be a tremendous tool in helping up to
  reappraise our priorities and focus on what is
  most important.

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• It can help us to see more clearly any negative
  or self-destructive behaviors that may be holding
  us back or steering us down the wrong trck.
• The yoga tradition has a tremendous amount of
  guidance to offer us beyond the physical poses.
  In the end, the focus of yoga is primarily on
  mental clarity and calming the mind, with the
  active postures comprising only a part of the
  path. On a yoga retreat, we have the opportunity
  to explore the practice in greater depth and to
  integrate the broader teachings of the practice.
  Not only does a yoga retreat offer relaxation in
  the moment, but also a grander perspective of how
  to assimilate these lessons into our daily lives
  once we return.

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• Reintegration
• The act of taking time off to relax and refresh
  is very important. Just as important, however, is
  being able to return with a new perspective and
  improved skills in coping with our hectic,
  harried lives. Its easy to fall right back into
  our former patterns and find ourselves just as
  stressed as we were before without having any new
  coping mechanisms or techniques.
• Thats where it becomes important to integrate
  the lessons learned while on retreat into our
  daily lives. With greater perspective and new
  techniques for reducing stress and calming our
  minds, we can find ways to bring a sense of calm

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• and equanimity to handling both our work and
  personal responsibilities. In this way, our down
  time away on vacation can help us long after we
  return.
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