Christmas Eve Day has always been my favorite day of the year, but my two days at Kripalu each year run a close second.
For about a decade now, once a year I escape to the beautiful Berkshires to spend a blissful forty-eight hours of R&R at the famed yoga retreat center.
I always arrive with grand plans of all I’ll do there, but the time slips by faster and faster each year and last week’s trip was no exception.
Still, I managed to take in a couple of yoga classes and interesting workshops, curl up for some uninterrupted reading and journaling, eat delicious meals and unplug from the rest of the world. The two plus hour drive each way provides additional quiet time.
This has become a must for me each year. My B-school coach refers to it as NNT (non-negotiable time). Countless coaches and authors have a different spin on the same concept, but the common denominator is identifying what you need (daily, weekly, monthly, yearly) to live the life that makes you most healthy, happy and whole.
My annual jaunt to Kripalu allows me time to clear my head, in a way my crowded busy life doesn’t usually permit.
Because it’s non-negotiable for me I always figure out a way to make it happen, though I could easily come up with obstacles and excuses. It might mean having a room with a shared bath or going on a weekday in order to be able to afford it.
Still, that’s the beauty of your non-negotiables. You just make it happen.