When local fiber artist Madeleine Soder Bays was looking for a new home to rent, she specifically sought out a house that would allow her to have her own personal space where she could create.

It wasn't enough to have a corner of a room dedicated to her art or even an art room that also doubled as an office.

"I had my studio together with my office in my previous home, and that didn't work out too well," Soder Bays said. "It's really important to have a separate space, because I can't create in all places. There has to be some sense of peace, a peaceful place just for myself. That's why I've kind of created a space at home."

While the concept of a personal space makes sense for artists, having a space to be alone and to get away from life's everyday stresses is something everyone can benefit from, said Soder Bays.

In addition to her alone time with her art, Soder Bays also sets aside a separate space and time in the morning for a brief meditation practice.

"It's always in the morning. That's when no one else is up. I know if my husband were to be up at that time, I'd be irritated. I need that alone time for myself," she said.

OVERCOME LIMITATIONS

Jamie Jackson, interior designer and co-owner of Pacific Home, said clients often express interest in creating personal spaces.

"In Hawai'i, space is limited and tends to be small. But people do want and need a place that is their own, especially someone in a family, maybe a mother who doesn't have that space," she said.

Few people have rooms they can dedicate to personal spaces, so Jackson suggests that you create your sanctuary within other spaces, but make it a place that is uniquely your own and where you won't be disturbed.

For Kundalini yoga instructor Maria Steele, her yoga mat, which she rolls out in the living room of her two-bedroom Makiki apartment every morning at 6:30, is her personal sanctuary.

For Steele, the most important element of a personal sanctuary is that a person can take time just for herself in the space.

"In today's world we're constantly going and receiving messages," she said. "Physically, we have to find time to slow down, to reflect and to process."

She thinks another key element is "just to be playful like a child. Be alone and do something that takes you back into your feeling zone. The point is to feel good."

A PERSONAL SANCTUARY

What's the benefit of personal space?

Pieper Toyama, principal of the Pacific Buddhist Academy, says personal time in a sanctuary helps slow the mind and temporarily remove you from the pace and struggles of life.

Toyama carved out his space at work, dedicating a corner of his office to a four-foot butsudan, or Buddhist altar. And even though not all students at the school are Buddhist, they all can benefit from the space, he said.

"In the course of the day there are lots of things happening. So what I do, because (the altar) is right there in the office, I stop, hit the gong, say the name of the Buddha. It most definitely slows you down, makes you pay attention," Toyama said.

Toyama says the time he spends in front of the altar is his time to reflect and "thank everyone that brings something to my life."

He also encourages students who may be facing problems in school or at home to use the butsudan as their own space for reflection.

"That act and space," he said, "serves as a mechanism to change your state."

Reach Loren Moreno at lmoreno@honoluluadvertiser.com.