Living Beyond Time Blocks: Why Well-Being Doesn’t Follow Society’s Calendar
After my recent podcast interview about AI, wellness, and the future of being human, I found myself filled with questions. I started reading more about well-being and wondering why something that should come naturally to us now requires conscious effort. Why do we need to “pay attention” in order not to overstep our own boundaries in daily life?
For most of my life, I heard that rest had specific, socially approved places in the year.
Vacation during the summer in July or August (in Brazil in December or January). A long break at Christmas. Retirement at 65.
These were the “acceptable” moments to pause, recharge, and reflect. Everything else happened in between.
But the more I work with people through yoga, somatics, and embodied practices, the more I realize:
Well-being does not follow our society’s calendar.
Our bodies don’t know what month it is; our nervous system doesn’t wait for official holidays; and our circadian rhythm, this ancient biological clock, has no idea what “retirement age” means.
And yet, we still shape our lives as if our needs must fit into perfectly scheduled blocks.
Even our wake-up and bedtime expectations rarely change with the seasons. Why aren’t we allowed different rhythms in winter and summer? My body reacts differently, so why can’t I respect that? I am forced to wake up at a certain time because “work starts at 9 am” or “classes begin at 8:30”… but my inner rhythm doesn’t always agree.
Let's Explore The Circadian Rhythm: Our Internal Clock
Long before workplaces, calendars, and retirement plans existed, we lived in accordance with the sun. And our bodies still do.
The circadian rhythm — our 24-hour internal clock — regulates:
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energy
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hormones
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sleep
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digestion
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mood
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creativity
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motivation
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healing
It doesn’t matter if it’s Monday or Sunday. Our bodies simply respond to light, rest, movement, nourishment, and emotional states.
When we push ourselves through rigid social structures, working at full speed until that one vacation, we disrupt our natural pacing. A two-week holiday often can’t “fix” burnout because the rhythm was shattered long before the break arrived.
What if, instead of waiting for the next assigned time block, we lived in alignment with our internal rhythm, daily, weekly, seasonally? Our Inner Tempo?
What if rest became a practice, not an event?
This alignment begins with:
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noticing when your energy rises and falls
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allowing small breaks instead of pushing through fatigue
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choosing movements that match your body’s moment
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creating micro-rituals of grounding throughout the day
- honoring your emotional weather
- accepting that everybody has their own rhythm — there is no universal “right time” for productivity
This doesn’t mean rejecting structure.
It means redefining structure from the inside out.
Retirement as a Living Process, Not a Future Goal
Many people postpone dreams, passions, and self-care until after retirement.
But retirement is not the only moment we are allowed to pause or reinvent ourselves.
What if we allowed small retirements every day?
A retirement from stress — A retirement from rushing — A retirement from ignoring our needs — A retirement from pretending the body is a machine?
This is the essence of wellness: a rhythm of renewal woven into everyday life.
We often dream of living to 100 — or even to 108. And I love the idea of 108.
In many traditions, 108 is a sacred number, reflected in the beads of a mala used for meditation, prayer, and intention. Each bead represents a cycle — a breath, a mantra, a moment of awareness.
108 cycles of presence. 108 invitations to return to yourself.
If we think of life this way, longevity doesn’t depend on savings, retirement plans, or how many holidays we take.
It depends on how many moments of presence we live each day, how many times we return to our breath, and how often we honor our rhythm instead of society’s schedule.
Maybe living to 108 is not about adding more years to your life, but adding more presence to your years.
We don’t need to wait for summer holidays or milestone birthdays to permit ourselves to live more gently, more consciously, more embodied.
Your body is speaking every day. Your circadian rhythm guides you every moment; your well-being is a continuous conversation, not a plan.
Maybe the real invitation is this: Instead of living according to society’s structures, begin living according to your own biological truth.
Your rhythm is your teacher; your body is your calendar, your wellness is now.
An Invitation from me, from RUDÁ Yoga
Many people hope to live a long life — perhaps to 100, or maybe even to 108. And the number 108 carries a beautiful symbolism. In many traditions, a mala has 108 beads. With each bead, you return to your breath, your intention, your inner truth. 108 becomes a reminder of cycles, renewal, and presence.
And maybe life works the same way. Maybe longevity is not about our retirement plan, but about how rhythmically and intentionally we live each day:
How often do we pause?
How often do we return to ourselves?
How gently do we treat our bodies?
And how deeply do we listen?
I am here to support this way of living — through yoga sessions, calming practices, breath work, rest, community gatherings, specially during our retreats, and soon an online platform with simple tools you can integrate into your daily life.
Let’s grow old together — joyfully, rhythmically — maybe to 100, maybe to 108.
Teach your children through your example: live according to your body’s rhythm.
Never stop growing or learning or working on things that gives you that sense of purpose just because the age arrived — but allow yourself to rest a little every day.
Find joy, peace, and affection for yourself and for others.
You are warmly invited to connect with us at RUDÁ Yoga.
We bring well-being back into your life — one breath, one bead, one moment at a time.
Do these ideas land somewhere in you? Do they awaken something you’ve felt before?
Are you postponing the rest your body has been asking for — waiting for vacation time or for “one day” when life finally slows down?
So many of us delay listening to our natural rhythm. We push, we wait, we ignore the whispers of our inner wisdom. But our bodies are always speaking. Our intention is always there — sometimes buried, sometimes forgotten, but never gone.
You don’t need to wait for a perfect moment, a long holiday, or a distant retirement.
You can begin now. Gently. One breath at a time.
If you feel disconnected from your inner guidance, your vitality, or your sense of self, come to RUDÁ Yoga.
Together, we practice returning to the five layers of our human experience — the physical body, the mental body, the emotional body, the energetic body, and the spiritual body that lives underneath it all.
Walk this journey with me — rhythmically, intentionally.
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