Living slow

We spent this past week living  s l o w  in Edisto Island, South Carolina for spring break. It was such a great trip and a time to take it easy and spend time with the people we love most. We ate good food, biked, shopped, boated, watched movies, walked, swam and did all the vacation-y things. A glorious break from our everyday routine.

This got me thinking…about all of our best efforts when it comes to our health. Wellness isn't always eating better, another supplement, more exercise, following a specific protocol, or doing another thing. In our efforts to improve, we often overlook what matters most. Our nervous system! If we are running on overdrive, all of our other endeavors will have minimal impact. To maximize and potentiate all of the things we are doing to better ourselves, we forget about BEING. We all have a physical/mental/emotional need to slow down, rest, and sleep This is not a race, y'all. 

When we can bring ourselves into a relaxation mode, our parasympathetic nervous system is activated - a place where we can rest, digest, absorb - and where healing can happen. We need to get out of our minds and into our bodies and souls, listening to the whispers (and often quiet screams) of what we really require. We need time and space, naps and nighttime sleep, deep breathing room, margin, sitting down to bless our food and enjoy it with our people, laughter and 'laziness.' Now this works out perfectly on a week away, but on the regular we don't always have this opportunity.  The challenge is creating these moments in the midst of our everyday life.

And this is NOT a luxury - I'd argue it's the most necessary (and often missing) piece of our health. Start looking at your day through objective eyes, and build in some margin and space to bring yourself down from being ON all the time. This week, no matter where you are, focus on how you feel. Add in some of these as appropriate - really. Relax your shoulders, breathe deeply through your nose and into your belly repeatedly, take a nap, laugh, say grace and eat seated and slowly, journal, pray, get to bed by 10pm. 

(I promise the world won't stop). 

I'm willing to bet that these little changes will actually make you more productive, more satisfied, calmer, and better able to tackle all that life throws at you. It's ironic that the habits that can bring about the best results are the first ones thrown out the window when life gets busy in lieu of all the other activity. But if you truly want to live your best life, and bring about healing, these are non negotiable. Daily and weekly recharging, resting, regrouping bring you out of fight or flight and into your parasympathetic state. It's a change worth making - and necessary to actual wellness and living vibrantly. 

Let me know how it goes, I'm here cheering for you, always.