Mindful Living by Becky, Chanting Stork Yoga: Slow Living
“Anything worth doing is worth doing slowly.”
A yoga client recently said to me “it’s not really the calm but more of the slowing down where yoga really helps”.
This makes perfect sense to me, so I wanted to share and explain to you how yoga can help us decelerate.
1. Body – When we are stressed, and life is moving like a roller coaster we must hold on and scream! Right? This is exactly what is happening inside of your body too, except our body screams at us with pain and holds on through tension. Yoga postures and movement have been designed not only to build strength and flexibility but also release tension in our bodies by bringing ease into our muscles and joints.
2. Mindfulness – Learning to calm our minds is a valuable gift, it brings us into the present moment, a form of freedom. To “stay in the moment” and focus on what’s at hand can boost your resilience. Mindfulness allows your mind to observe and accept the emotions you’re feeling. This ability to take a step back and regulate your emotions helps us slow down.
3. Breath –The rhythm of the breath happens thousands times a day. When you spend just a few of these times noticing the calming energy the inhalation brings into your body, it begins to transform the other 99.9% that you take for granted. The deep breathing that causes your abdomen to rise and fall can calm a racing heart.
This yogic combination of body, mind and breath are the perfect formula to bring your body and therefore life back into homeostasis.
Slow living is not about living your life in slow motion; it’s about doing everything at the right speed so we can in fact gain presence, resilience and ultimately freedom because it gives us the option for action rather than reaction.
Peaceful wishes, Becky – Chanting Stork Yoga
