Free to be slow: An exploration of mindful movement.
I allow myself to take my time and move with exaggerated intentionality.
I notice where in my body I experience sensation.
I am free to be slow.
Every May, I notice myself falling into the “hustle culture.” It feels like I’m asking myself and my family to go-go-go as a jumpstart for the summer. My to-do lists are long, and my plans are big! I am emerging from my season of wintering, and although the new season before me is one that is naturally filled with activity, play, friends, and movement, I feel like I could benefit from inviting in some more slowness before the hustle takes over as my new habit. I know myself, and I know that I feel most centered and supported when I remember to balance my doing with my being. Hustling is to doing as slowing down is to being. A wise teacher reminded me that each day does not need to be perfectly balanced between these two elements; instead, a balance of doing and being can mean allowing cycles and seasons to happen naturally in their own time, which therefore creates an overall balanced life.
This week, as I am reminded that even within a season of doing, I am still free to be slow, and I will take my time and use inquiry to explore my experience with this practice…
In what areas of my life am I being asked to slow down? How do I notice my body responding when I slow down? Is my heart racing? Am I feeling discomfort? Are fear and anxiety creeping into my thoughts? Where in my body am I experiencing sensation? If this sensation were a color, what color would it be?
When I combine slowing down with noticing my breath, does it ever feel like a sigh of relief for my nervous system? Where in my life can I invite myself to slow down?
In addition to allowing myself the freedom to be slow, I am also practicing three ways of noticing my breath in my physical experience, using it an an anchor to keep me coming back to the present moment:
- Placing my hand on my belly and noticing the rise and fall with each inhale and exhale.
- Placing my hand over my heart space and noticing how that area moves with each breath.
- Placing my hand in front of my nose and noticing the feeling of my breath as I inhale and exhale.
How does noticing my breath affect my body’s physical response to being slow? Where am I being asked to offer myself compassion, acceptance, and gratitude for being slow?
Can I honor this ability to slow down as a gift? How can I use this gift as a way of savoring the pleasant within my current experience?
How does using my breath as an anchor support the art of slowing down? What happens when I allow myself a longer response time when I feel like there is something I want to say? Can I use my breath as an anchor to slow down…to pause for a moment, a single breath in and out, before I respond to someone’s question, request, or comment?
What does it feel like when I allow myself to be a little more like this guy?
