Recently Robin asked me if you could have any superpower in the world
What would you choose and without even needing to think about it?
my answer was
To slow down time because I constantly feel like there's so much that I want to do and there just are not enough hours in
The day to get it all done
And to top it all off this last week
I was pretty sick with a cold which you can probably still hear and
It really forced me to slow down and I feel like I also had it coming because I was just constantly
Go-go-go and I feel like nine times out of ten to you ask somebody how they're doing and their answer is I'm good
I'm busy like busy has just become such a norm
But if you feel like you have been affected by busyness either mentally or emotionally or like me physically
Then let's do something about it. We're gonna practice seven days of slow living retaliating against the rat race, but still getting things done
It's more just about living mindfully if you'd like. There's a PDF to help guide you along
You can get the link in the description box below. But for now, let's delve into each day one by one
For day one we're gonna keep it really light and simple just tuning in to the senses
So go about the business you normally would the only thing is we're in a conscious we try to tap in to any physical
Sensations like can you hear the ambient noises around you? Can you really feel the things that are in your hands?
What do you smell? What do you see?
Can you notice the fine?
Details of things that are around you this exercise is quite easily the quickest way I can ever bring myself into a slow living mindset
Just immersing all of my senses into the present moment
A lot of us take shallow breaths throughout the day. They feel like the more anxious and overwhelmed
We become the more rapid and shallow those breaths also tend to become so for today's challenge
We're going to anytime
We notice the breath try to consciously breathe a little bit more deeply one exercise to try is called square
Breathing where we just breathe through our nose for a count to hor
Hold for a count of four then exhale through the mouth for a count of four and hold for a count of four again
And then repeat after a minute just take a moment to pause and bring awareness to the body
What do you feel?
Is there any lightness?
Is there any tensing and if so, and if you need it?
Feel free to go ahead and give yourself a little stretch or massage before getting back to whatever it is you were doing
For day three, I think you guys are gonna love this one. We're gonna bring our attention to food today
Especially we're gonna focus on staying hydrated and making food choices that nourish the body
we're gonna really try to be in the moment from the beginning to the end from
washing vegetables
to cutting things up from noticing the colors of the
Spices to the steam coming off the food as it's being cooked and as a bonus slow living exercise today
we're gonna really take our time to plate the food as if we were serving that dish to ourselves at a
Restaurant and you know how sometimes you've only just put food in your mouth and already you're scooping up the next bite
Getting ready for it to go in right afterwards. Yeah, we're not gonna do that today today
We're gonna sit and enjoy and savor every bite
Trying to pay close attention to how it tastes and how it feels in your mouth and when it's finished
That's when we can scoop up the next bite and the same process holds for making our coffee or tea
It can be a rewarding experience
Just going slow pouring and tuning into the senses
I
Personally find it really hard to mentally slow down and feel come when my space is really cluttered
My mom always used to say busy space busy mine
So for today's slow living exercise
We're gonna take some time to create space clearing things off surfaces doing a good old wipe down
Heck even treating ourselves to some flowers because why not but here's the thing while we do the cleaning decluttering and organizing
We aren't just gonna do it quickly just to get it over with
We're gonna really immerse ourselves in it feeling the motions of sweeping the floor what muscles are activated when we clean off the table
What temperature is the water when we clean the dishes then have a seat and bask in the inviting space you've created?
Sometimes when we live life in its fast pace
It becomes really easy to take things for granted
We get frustrated when we lose our Wi-Fi reception
overwhelmed when we get stuck in traffic we get
Annoyed when our co-workers or friends or family call us because they need something and I know we all pay lip service
Sometimes to being grateful for things like our health and our loved ones. But today we're gonna take it to a whole new level
Finding gratitude in the simplest things things. We don't even usually give a second thought like grateful
There's a postal worker who just delivers things to us
And there's someone out there picking fruits and vegetables for us to enjoy and how cool is it that we have?
Electricity available on demand or that we can FaceTime with someone from halfway across the world
Within seconds and on top of being extra grateful today
We're also gonna practice
extra compassion making time to talk to someone instead of just
rushing through a conversation
Because we feel busy or making time to call a loved one or a friend just to say hi
And that was the only reason we called
Today is all about slowing it down to appreciate the small things the things we can sometimes take for granted
Sounds are around us all the time, but I don't think we realized just how much they can implicitly affect our mood
So for today's exercise we are going to use audio to slow things down
Removing any sounds that bring about a feeling of tension and replacing them with sounds that bring about a feeling of calmness
for example
We can change our morning alarm to something
That's more pleasant or listen to some ambient music that boosts our mood while we work or study and if your phone's notification
Sound grates on your nerves each time you hear it then today is the day we're gonna change it to something
We enjoy hearing and when we get home from work or school
We can play some relaxing tunes or unwind with an audio book one book. I keep going back to over and over
It's one of my all-time favorites is the book The Alchemist by Paulo, Coelho
it's an incredible story about a boy who has these recurring dreams of finding hidden treasures near the pyramids of Egypt and he
takes off on this journey and along the way learns a whole bunch of valuable life lessons and
As much as I love the story itself, what makes it even more enjoyable is the voice of the narrator?
You'll know it when you hear it. It's just the most calming thing ever to hear him speak
So I want to thank audible for partnering with us on today's video
And if you'd like you can get this book
Which I definitely recommend or any other book of your choosing absolutely for free in addition to a 30-day free membership by visiting audible.com
forward slash pick up lines or see the link in the description box below
And
Finally for day seven, we focus and bring our attention to the most important thing of them all
We schedule all sorts of things into our calendars appointments deadlines date nights with friends
But we don't as commonly scheduled in a block of time for ourselves. So that's what we're gonna do today
You're gonna set aside some uninterrupted time just for you
Whether it's for grooming or a bubble bath some yoga or a little walk in nature
It's whatever makes you feel happy and calm and grounded
You deserve this time more so than anyone else deserves your time
And after this week of slow living you might start to notice you pick up a few of the activities
Spontaneously from time to time and that's the most rewarding experience of all knowing that you can tap into mindfulness into the present moment
Into slow and intentional living at any second
things have a way of always feeling busy and time has a way of just flying by but tapping into the present moment and
Living intentionally really helps to slow things down and it really is like having a superpower
Thanks a lot for watching and for putting up with me sounding a bit congested
Hopefully it'll be gone for the next video
But there's nothing like getting sick to remind us that we can slow things down
If you enjoyed today's video it always means a lot when you give it a thumbs up
remember to grab that PDF link is in description and
Pick up lime signing off. We'll see you in the next video