Slowing Down in a Busy World

Slowing Down involves many components, some you expect and some you may not expect. Certainly it means less rushing, trimming obligations, and incorporating leisure. It also means coming to know yourself, your body, and your environment at a more fundamental level.

If you listen, your body will tell you what it wants to do. It often has very little to do with what the mind wants. Listen to the body. The mind is a wonderful servant, but terrible master. Do not let it run the show.

Slowing Down will require some rejiggering of the schedule. We may be unable to perform our typical duties to someone, and we may need to request additional help for something we previously took care of. These things may be temporary. In any case, prioritizing our health is one of the commitments to Slowing Down.

If you value yourself based on what you do, slowing down threatens your self-value. It's an easy trap and most of us fall into it sometimes. Let your value be based on the fact of your being. Practicing this new value system within your one breath per day will give it traction. For at least that breath, who you are, right now, is enough.

Deep, restorative breathing signals to the body that it is safe to leave "fight or flight" mode and enter "rest and digest" mode, the Autonomic Nervous response that focuses on healing, restoration, hormone balancing and connection.

Life is always moving forward and most of us press on trying to keep up. But sometimes taking yourself out of that stream is ultimately rewarding. The full spectrum of experience (fast and slow) leads to a richer life. Both are necessary, both have their benefits.

Taking a deep breath and feeling into the body naturally drops you out of the thought stream, if only for a moment. That moment is crucial. The more deep, feeling-based breaths, the more time in mental stillness, which is even harder than physical stillness. Every breath counts!

Being even just a little more aware of the present moments offers opportunities for more understanding, piqued curiosity and deeper connection.

The practices! Employing just one daily will be helpful, but look through them all because you may find 2 or 3 other ways to be practically effortless and this can help you get traction quickly. 

Everyone needs a safe place: someone you can talk to, and a safe, comfortable place to sit in your home. Seems basic, but you'd be surprised how many people (like me) have to put a little effort into this.

Something you love and something you want to learn, these are the keys to your slowing down helping develop you into the person you want to be. Slowing down has taught me more than any degree, and provides a path that I am always engaging with something i love at a deeper level, and learning about something with some intensity.

Deep, intentional breath focused on the feeling in the body is the cornerstone of slowing down. It's what sends the good signals to your organs, it's what keeps you alive and WELL. 

Make no mistake, we are part of nature. And nature is what we are, and more than just a part of us. Connecting with Nature connects us with Life Itself, nourishing our bodies, souls and imaginations. Nature Heals.

Deeply relaxing the body and paying attention to the myriad feelings and sensations is core to slowing down. When we can touch stillness, we find the well of inspired action and are prompted to move in the right timing. This is a language worth learning.

Yoga, Tai Chi, Massage, Alexander Technique, Sound healing... Taking time to tend to the body with regular practices demonstrates the kind of listening and interest that lets the body know you are willing to work together. These practices give foundational relationship for trust and enthusiasm in the mind/body dynamic.

Meditation is pretty foundational. Sustained practice can be difficult to do right from the beginning, although please do give it a try. If it comes naturally, every breath you take in that state is like a supercharged positive influence on your body. If it takes a while, try coming at it from these other directions. You probably also have a practice you don't even know you have (watching your bird feeder, etc). A daily stillness practice is intensely self-nurturing. Start where you are. You'll get there.

Imaginings are telling yourself a story. Like the "win the lottery and three minutes to spend it!" kind of story. short, inspiring, getting your body to emit all of the chemicals of life going really, really well. Of course you don't have to limit yourself to three minutes. I love to go to sleep to an imagining...

You now know how to do it, and you may still not want to. That's why you can start small. Grief is natural and comes in waves. Be gentle with yourself. 

Often, we're slow because we're avoiding things... and it may be perfectly valid and too painful. but your body is telling you it's ready, in fact it needs to, so you can bet it will be there to sustain you as you face the traumas. 

Self-care is health care. All the rest is sick care. And you may need that too.