The Power of Gentle Progress
“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” Anaïs Nin
March carries a quiet buzz.
The light is returning, energy is rising, and with it can come an unspoken pressure to move faster, do more, become something new. But gentler qualities often serve us better here: time, patience, and trust. Quiet virtues that nurture life rather than force it.
I often feel a quiet rebellion when everything around me speeds up. When the world feels urgent and loud, I want to step off the treadmill and slow things right down. I remember having a newborn baby and feeling completely overwhelmed. An older woman in a garden centre noticed and offered the simplest advice: “When it all gets too much, have a cup of tea and sit down.” It stayed with me. A reminder that slowing down isn’t giving up – it’s listening.
This way of moving through life is something I see again and again in my work with Chanting Stork Yoga. On the mat, we don’t rush to the deepest shape. We return to breath. We take one small movement at a time. In yoga philosophy, this is known as abhyasa – steady practice, gentle perseverance. Change doesn’t arrive through force, but through showing up with care.
It’s true that growth can come from resistance. Deadlines, pressure, and the squeeze of life often shape us. But transformation doesn’t need to happen quickly. Not everything needs to bloom at once.
If you are nurturing something right now, an idea, a relationship, a new way of living, consider taking the pressure out of it. Give yourself time to explore, observe, and stay curious.
And when it all feels like too much, perhaps the wisest thing you can do is exactly what that woman suggested all those years ago: put the kettle on, have a cup of tea, and sit down.
Sometimes, that small act is where real strength lives.
