“Sometimes you need to slow down to eventually go faster.” ~Robin Sharma
How do you slow down? What does that look like? When was the last time you actually did?
If it’s been a while, here are a couple of ways you can try to slow down today:
Start with the breath. Check in on your breathing. Is it shallow, quick, constricted, high in the chest? Sit comfortably. Try drawing the breath long and down into the bottom of your belly. Place your hand on your belly and breathe to expand from the bottom of the belly up. Drop your shoulders and exhale slowly, pulling the belly back to the spine as the breath pushes out, again from the bottom up. Repeat 7-8 times or for about a minute. Deep breathing helps tap into the nervous system and promote relaxation.
Check in on chewing. Do you tend to inhale food, rush through to do something else, chew-chew-swallow without really savouring or thinking about the food? Take a bite. Count how many times you can keep chewing before the instinct to swallow actually kicks in. For many that’s about 30 times. With your next bite chew that many times and enjoy the flavours in the food. Set down the fork between bites and even close your eyes for a moment. Chewing slowly and thoroughly helps activate digestion from the mouth down and promotes feeling full.
Even if you can slow nothing else down today, checking on breathing and chewing at least at meal times can still make a big difference in stress and energy levels throughout the day, which can translate to better moods and fewer cravings as the day goes on.
Give it a try!
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