Throughout my life, a deep voice within has constantly asked me to slow down.
Don’t get me wrong; I thrive when I have deadlines, when I have to push myself to get somewhere. I love being quick in what I do.
However, over the last ten years of living like a superhuman and then having to find a semblance of quiet after the birth of three adorable babies, I have begun to realise that being quick in what we do is in itself not worrisome; feeling rushed is.
The struggle between being in ten places at once and being in just one place at one time was immense.
Even today, I still feel the urge to check my mobile and send out a quick email as I walk my little ones to the park.
Slowing down just a little has taught me the power of pausing and gathering perspective.
On the surface of things there might be chaos—the tooting of horns from the street, your children screaming for you, or that endless pile of washing.
Take a deep breath anyway, look around, and see how there is stillness in the objects around you.
The earth that is bearing us; the furniture, still and sturdy; the air, present and quiet. Observe the nature of stillness around you and allow your thoughts and actions to slow down just a little.
You see when we are rushing we release stress hormones. These stress hormones adrenalin & cortisol wreck havoc on our health from painful periods to fluid retention, from anxiety to weight gain. When we live on adrenalin we tend not to sleep restoratively, crave (and give in and eat!) sugar despite our best intentions, and find it harder and harder to utilise stored body fat as fuel.
The more we can tap into the rest & digest (parasympathetic nervous system) the better.
Take a day or more to experiment with slowing down and, as difficult as it may be, you’ll find it expands the time that we often think we lack.
Gina xx
