The Seventh-Inning Stretch: A Real life Mindfulness Moment
My favorite part of every baseball game is the seventh-inning stretch.
If you’ve ever been to a baseball game, you’ve felt it. The crowd, once lost in competition, noise, and snacks, all stands up together and starts singing the same song. For a moment, thousands of strangers come together—not to root for their team or to debate a call, but simply to pause. To breathe. To connect.
It’s easy to dismiss this moment as tradition or even filler, but the seventh-inning stretch can feel a collective exhale. A symbolic act of mindfulness. A break in the noise to ground ourselves in the present moment.
The Power of a Pause
So much of our modern world pushes us to go, go, go. We pride ourselves on productivity. We measure ourselves in wins, milestones, and finished innings. But our nervous systems weren’t built for endless motion.
Just like in baseball, life needs intentional pauses. Not just breaks, but moments of meaning—where we check in with ourselves and one another. The seventh-inning stretch isn’t just about physical relief; it’s about honoring the transition. It reminds us: We’re in this together. Let’s take a moment.
In therapy, we often talk about the importance of slowing down. Naming what we’re feeling. Making space for presence instead of performance. The seventh-inning stretch is a playful metaphor for that therapeutic pause—a chance to stretch beyond our automatic responses and step into conscious awareness.
Harmony in the Stands
When thousands of fans stand and sing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” they aren’t all rooting for the same team. They don’t all come from the same neighborhoods, backgrounds, or beliefs. And yet, in that moment, everyone can put their hands on each other’s shoulders and sway back and forth.
That’s the quiet magic of the stretch: harmony without sameness. A moment of shared humanity.
In a world that feels increasingly polarized, it’s easy to believe connection is only possible when we agree. But the seventh-inning stretch reminds us that harmony doesn’t mean uniformity. It means making space to coexist. To be present together. To acknowledge one another with kindness, if only for a song.
Mindfulness in Everyday Moments
So what does this have to do with your mental health?
Everything.
Mindfulness isn’t just meditation or deep breathing. It’s learning to notice. To tune in to your body, your thoughts, your relationships, and the world around you with curiosity and compassion. It’s creating small rituals of presence in your day—like your own version of the seventh-inning stretch.
Here are a few ways to practice this in daily life:
Stand up and move halfway through your workday. Not because you're behind, but because you’re human.
Sing or play music just for the joy of it. Let it connect you to something bigger than your to-do list.
Reach out to someone and check in, no agenda. Just connection.
Notice when you're in the middle of something hard or stressful. Ask yourself: What would a stretch look like right now?
Sometimes, that "stretch" is pausing before responding to a frustrating email. Sometimes, it’s closing your eyes and taking a full breath in a crowded room. These aren’t big impossible tasks, but they small achievable shifts.
Bringing Harmony to the Inner Game
For high-achieving professionals (the kind of people I often work with in therapy) the idea of slowing down can feel uncomfortable. Rest can feel like weakness. Pausing can trigger shame. But just like in baseball, no one plays all nine innings at full sprint.
The healthiest, most successful lives are built on rhythm. Action and reflection. Focus and flexibility. Effort and pause.
The seventh-inning stretch doesn’t mean the game is over. It means the game matters—and you matter—enough to pause and regroup. To breathe before the final inning and realign.
If you’ve been powering through life, disconnected from your own needs or numbing out in the name of productivity, maybe it’s time for your own version of the stretch.
You don’t need to earn rest.
You don’t need to reach the bottom to pause.
You don’t need to do it alone.
Take Me Out to the Ballgame... and Back to Myself
There’s a reason people smile during the seventh-inning stretch. It’s the unexpected joy of seeing your papa sing all the words, the surprise when the 3 year old in front you knows the words, and the popcorn that just spilled over someone’s head. A gentle moment where everyone is able to be themselves in the present moment.
Wherever you are in your “game” right now, whether it’s inning one or inning seven, consider what it would mean to pause. What would it look like if you were to pause, look around, and really feel your feet on the ground? Or listen to the hum of life around you and remember that your part of something bigger.
And if you need help finding your rhythm again, that’s what therapy is here for. Not just to analyze the past or push through the pain, but to reconnect with the present and focus on what it means to be here, now.
Because sometimes, the most healing thing we can do isn’t to win—it’s to stretch.
If you’re ready to step out of the hustle and back into yourself, I’d love to support you. Therapy is your seventh-inning stretch—a place to breathe, reflect, and come home to who you really are.
💻 therapybykimberlin.com
📧 therapybykimberlin@gmail.com
📍Based in San Diego, serving California
