Achieving Inner Freedom by Reducing Stress Without Adding Time to Your Day
- Brainz Magazine
- Jul 1
- 5 min read
Written by Triva A. Ponder, Family Therapist
Triva A. Ponder helps individuals and couples identify where they are losing energy and guides them in reclaiming it. She specializes in communication skills, helping couples replace painful conversations and complaints with constructive, needs-based expression.
In a fast-paced world where time is currency and stress is epidemic, self-care has become both a buzzword and a burden. The advice is everywhere: meditate, journal, take a walk, unplug, get more sleep. But for many Americans, especially those navigating high-pressure cities like Los Angeles, New York, or Chicago, these suggestions feel impossible. What do you do when there isn’t a spare hour to decompress?
You reimagine what it means to care for yourself.
This article explores how to access inner freedom, a sense of peace and emotional spaciousness, without adding a single task to your to-do list. Grounded in neuroscience, psychology, and creativity-based practices, we offer accessible, research-backed tools to reduce stress and cultivate resilience in real-time.
Why traditional self-care often fails busy people
Classic self-care routines like sleep hygiene, technology detoxes, or early morning journaling are valid but don’t address a core issue: they require time and often more mental energy than stressed people can spare.
As psychotherapist and author Nancy Colier puts it, “We’re told to unplug, slow down, be present. But in a world addicted to urgency, the pressure to be mindful becomes another stressor” (Colier, 2016). Add a turbulent economic backdrop shaped by global instability and tariff policies, and it's no wonder people are feeling emotionally and financially frayed.
What is inner freedom?
Inner freedom is the capacity to remain calm, emotionally agile, and mentally spacious regardless of external chaos. It’s not dependent on a cleared calendar, a quiet room, or the "right vibe."
According to writer Nikola Maras, inner freedom is the ability to “respond with poise instead of reacting with fear,” and to choose thoughts and behaviors that align with your higher self rather than inherited patterns or cultural panic (Maras, 2023).
When you cultivate inner freedom, you don’t wait for stress to disappear, you meet it from a grounded place inside yourself.
The neuroscience of small shifts
You don’t need a weeklong retreat to reset your nervous system. Studies show that small interventions can shift brain activity and hormone levels in under two minutes. For example, engaging the imagination disrupts amygdala-driven stress responses and re-engages the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain associated with creativity, empathy, and reason (Siegel, 2012).
MIT-trained scientist Pete Sanders Jr. promotes micro-imagery exercises that activate the brain’s pleasure centers, reducing stress without a time cost. His approach centers on playfully engaging the septum pellucidum, a brain structure linked to calm and joy.
Sanders writes, “By using absurd visuals, you redirect the brain’s stress pattern and trick your nervous system into releasing tension” (Sanders, 2021).
Two-minute techniques for instant reset
Here are several zero-time or two-minute practices that deliver measurable relief. No calendar management required:
1. The boardroom ballet
Imagine your next serious meeting. Now picture everyone wearing tutus, performing pirouettes and grand jetés while discussing quarterly metrics. Let your mind linger there for 60 seconds. Notice the shift.
Why it works: Humor activates the reward system and breaks limbic loops. Even imagined absurdity can reduce cortisol levels (Martin, 2007).
2. Kangaroo shoes
Visualize putting on shoes that bounce like kangaroo paws. Every hop releases glitter. You’re awkward. You’re joyful. You leave trails of sparkles through your inbox.
Why it works: Playfulness increases dopamine and rewires associations between routine and reward (Panksepp, 2004).
3. Time-traveling elevator
Picture each elevator floor opening to a new era: dinosaurs on 3, astronauts on 7, Renaissance painters on 9. What are they doing with your team presentation?
Why it works: Novelty and surprise deactivate the overworked Default Mode Network, allowing mental space for reflection (Raichle et al., 2001).
Emotional intelligence in micro-moments
Inner freedom also comes from naming your emotions as they arise. A UCLA study found that labeling feelings reduces amygdala activity, the brain’s emotional alarm system (Lieberman et al., 2007).
Next time you're flooded, try:
"This is anxiety."
"This is tightness in my chest."
"This is overwhelming."
Then add: "And I can be with this."
This subtle script doesn’t require deep introspection or a quiet room. It simply asks you to show up.
Reclaiming margins: The myth of no time
You may not have an hour, but you have margins, the three seconds between emails, the breath before replying, the walk from car to door.
Dr. Rick Hanson, psychologist and author of Hardwiring Happiness, recommends seizing these micro-moments for emotional nourishment: "Let the good sink in. When something feels warm, safe, or pleasurable, pause and absorb it. That’s how the brain rewires for resilience" (Hanson, 2013).
A mindset shift: From productivity to presence
Ultimately, inner freedom is not about doing more. It’s about being differently.
In times of financial uncertainty or societal unrest, this shift becomes even more vital. When we can’t control the economy, we can still master our internal state. The pursuit of inner freedom allows us to respond from clarity, not chaos.
As Deepak Chopra writes, "The most precious freedom is inner freedom. Only when we are free inside can we be effective outside" (Chopra, 2022).
Conclusion: The sacred pause
You don’t need to change your schedule to change your state. Inner freedom isn’t a destination, but a practice, a series of sacred pauses in ordinary moments.
Incorporate absurd visuals. Name your feelings. Use your imagination. Absorb what is good. These are the quiet hinges that swing the doors of your nervous system toward peace.
Freedom isn’t found in hours. It’s found in how you inhabit your minutes.
Visit my website for more info!
Triva A. Ponder, Family Therapist
Triva A. Ponder is a family therapist and the founder of Inner Freedom Consulting, where she helps individuals and couples reclaim their energy and improve their relationships. She specializes in communication skills, guiding couples to remove pain from conversations and replace complaints with clear, positive expressions of their needs. With a compassionate and practical approach, Triva empowers clients to cultivate deeper connections, emotional resilience, and healthier relationships. Learn more at InnerFreedomConsulting.com.
References:
Chopra, D. (2022). The Most Precious Freedom is Inner Freedom. DeepakChopra.com.
Colier, N. (2016). The Power of Off: The Mindful Way to Stay Sane in a Virtual World. Sounds True.
Hanson, R. (2013). Hardwiring Happiness: The New Brain Science of Contentment, Calm, and Confidence. Harmony.
Lieberman, M.D. et al. (2007). Putting Feelings Into Words. Psychological Science.
Martin, R.A. (2007). The Psychology of Humor: An Integrative Approach. Elsevier.
Maras, N. (2023). Unlocking the Power of Inner Freedom. LinkedIn.
Panksepp, J. (2004). Affective Neuroscience: The Foundations of Human and Animal Emotions. Oxford University Press.
Raichle, M.E. et al. (2001). A default mode of brain function. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Sanders, P. (2021). You Are Psychic! Free Soul Publishing.
If you’re looking for inner peace but have no time for traditional self-care, these practices invite you to stop chasing minutes and start claiming moments. Inner freedom is already available. The portal is your attention.
