Soulful Ways to Slow Down
As the summer breeze turns to winter wind, the sign of season shift stirs a certain sense; A need to pull back, reset, and grow. But in our modern world, where days move at the speed of seconds and months pass faster than a blink of the eye, most of us no longer heed, nor hear, hibernation’s call.
We’ve lost touch with time, and with it, our sensitivity to the physical, mental and spiritual affects seasonal transitions offer us. Distracted, cracks begin to form in our foundations, allowing stress, depression, anxiety, impatience, frustration, anger and other such maladies to slip in our walls and take form. We fight them, and fail. Fight them, then excuse them. And eventually learn to ignore the sinking feeling the cause as they infuse into our roots, transforming us from the core.
We all deserve happiness, and we all know our mindfulness meticulously manages our access to the place in which our happiness is stored. To communicate with our mindfulness and dive into our well of happiness we must make (and take) time for ourselves to quietly embrace moments of ruminate reflection where we might speak softly and listen gently to our soul.
Initiating this averted allocation of life’s most precious commodity is immensely aided by external cues, none better beaconed than the sight of season’s change, and none better anchored than through frequent ritual that is anything but mundane.
Below are four of my favoured ways to anchor inward.
1) WRITE A PERSONAL MANTRA
“It is important to check-in with yourself each season to see how far you’ve come, where you’re at, and where you are going.” –Holly Rose
Photo by Shane Woodward.
At the start of each season, I try to create a personal mantra. All you need is a piece of paper and a pencil, with which you write all the things you wish to shed, welcome, or nourish in your life. As you write each wish, hope, or desire, draw a symbol, repeating your newly created mantra in your mind. It can be anything you want: as simple as a heart or a star or as intricate as a detailed illustration. The symbol locks your mantra subconsciously into your mind and acts as a daily anchor, helping to guide you towards your greater state of being.
2) GO FOR GUIDANCE
“All life needs time below the surface, where it can breathe itself full and round, where it can reconnect with its nature and sprout again in its flushed form. Just as you can not force flowers to continually bloom, the same is true for all human beings. There is great value in letting go and dropping down. We must learn to remember, from time to time, to be like the tree in the winter.” –Sarah Blondin
In the prolific podcast series Live Awake, Canadian artist, mother, writer, and photographer Sarah Blondin shares her soulful insights and warmly motivating mindfulness, lovingly guiding towards greater states of wisdom and awareness enabling us to identify, face and embrace the parts of ourselves which need attending to and might otherwise ail us unnoticed.
Follow SARAH’S #LIVE AWAKE podcast HERE →
3) DRINK TEA
“Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves – slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future.” –Thich Nhat Hạnh
Photo by Shane Woodward.
The Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hạnh says peace, happiness and joy is possible during the time he drinks his tea. He teaches mindfulness, guiding all to take notice of and appreciate nourishment received; from the seeds which sprouted, to the earth which cultivated, to the farmers who tended, and on. With each sip he encourages us to imagine the path the herbs and spices took to reach our mouth and take the time to be thankful for them.
Follow THICH NHAT HANH’s teachings HERE →
4) RESTORE WITH YOGA
“Restorative poses help to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system’s ‘rest and digest’ mode. If you have trouble meditating, restorative poses can bring you into that meditative state. Breathing deeply and paying attention to the breath, you start to calm the mind. Fall often brings new beginnings with jobs, school, etc. It’s easy to feel the rush of new activity overtake some of the summer bliss. Take time for yourself, slow down, plant your roots, and ground. Even just regularly practicing these three simple yoga poses a few times a week could make a big difference in your energy and stress levels.” –Emma Rose
September is National Yoga Month, a practice which aims through meditation, moral guidance, and physical exercise to achieve physical, mental and spiritual unification. It is a way to bring bliss. I asked my younger sister, a yoga teacher, masseuse and osteopath, to share some simple restorative moves that anyone can use in moments where stress, depression, anxiety, impatience, frustration, anger or other unwelcome feelings rise.
It lets me share to fb but then it never uploads please help! Need to complete my brand badges on influenster.
Hi Z. Please reach out directly to Influenster if you’re having problems with their system.
I want to take good care of my body and improve my overall wellness. I appreciate the advice about how you should seek guidance to help you identify parts of yourselves that we need attending. Something else to do is to consult a health professional so that you can learn how to better take car of your body and improve your overall wellness.