Always Rushing? Try This Somatic Movement Practice

Do you ever reach the end of the day wondering where all the time went? When we’re constantly moving from one task to the next, rushing can become so familiar that we don’t even notice how fast we’re going.
Sometimes we’re moving quickly because life is exciting and full of momentum. Other times, slowing down can feel uncomfortable because it gives us space to notice thoughts, emotions, or sensations we’ve been avoiding.
In this playful somatic movement practice, we’ll explore three different speeds and notice how each one affects our thoughts, sensations, and ability to connect with ourselves. The goal isn’t to move more slowly all the time. It’s to become aware of the pace we’re moving at and discover that we have more choices than we might realize.

Transcript

Do you often find that by the end of the day, You're like, Where did the day go? Meanwhile. . . In the morning, You are getting things ready, Moving through the day, You know, Like one thing, One hour, The next hour, Next thing you know, Pause. Hmm. . . Do you often get to the end of the day wondering where did the day go? Meanwhile, Your morning feels rushed. You're moving through the day, One thing after the other, Email, Lunch, You know, Just rushing, Rushing, Rushing through everything. Like if you feel like you don't have enough time in your day. My name is Lillian and I'm a somatic therapist and fascial stretch specialist. And I love helping people connect from their mind to their bodies. And sometimes that means figuring out which gear and which speed we are moving at, Because we can be moving really fast through the day. Because things are exciting. There's a lot of things going on. We have a lot of momentum. But we can also be moving quickly through the day because we have a hard time slowing down. Because in that place where we slow down, Big feelings come up. Or maybe thoughts come into the space and we just push them all away and we keep doing, Doing, Doing. So I want to support you with this practice called the three gears. We are going to move through three different gears. So literally physically move. And what I want you to do is just notice. When you are at these different gears, These different speeds, What's happening with the quality of your thoughts? Are you able to connect with your body? Are you able to feel yourself? And whatever comes up for you in this practice, Just notice. We're not trying to change anything, Do anything different. We're simply noticing what's there, Okay? So we're going to begin. Super fast mode okay this is like the energy so you can start kind of moving with me if it's available to you I want you to stand up and I want you to move around the room and just kind of like shake out your hands and just feel you know this is that time maybe in the morning when you're like I have to do this I have to do that you know you're halfway through your day and you're already kind of like moving through all the things you have to do before you finish one thing you're moving on to the next before you know it you forgot to have lunch and you just gotta go go go go go so let's move our bodies it's kind of like Bye. Shake everything out, Just like really feel. Are you able to notice the quality of your thoughts in the space when you're moving? Okay. Are you able to feel yourself when we're moving in the speed? We're going to exaggerate it even more. Let's go 10 more seconds where we're just like moving, Moving, Moving. If you're walking, I want you to move and walk super fast. And now I want you to just cut that energy, The speed by half. Okay. So we're still moving. We're still with our bodies. But what happens in that transition for you? Okay, So if you're walking, You walk at half that speed, If you're moving your body, I want you to just See what happens with Your thoughts. Did anything change in your body as we move through this? I want you to just kind of like feel, Does this feel good to move at half that speed? Maybe going from fast to a little bit slower was supportive or maybe it was boring. Just notice. Notice what happens when we start to move at just kind of like half that speed. Okay? Few more seconds here. Grrrrrrrrrr! And now your next inhale. We're gonna turn on the sloth mode okay for the next one take a nice deep breath in And as you exhale, We're gonna move like ridiculously slow. Uncomfortably slow. You're going to blink slow. Maybe this feels like a really yummy slow. But just notice. What starts to happen when you allow yourself to just like move your body in a very slow way. Maybe your breath. Deepens. Maybe it gets more shallow. It's okay. We're just allowing ourselves to observe. Hmmmm. . . What happens when everything slows down and there's nowhere to be? Nothing to do. Just notice what comes up for you in this place. See if you feel more connected to your body. More distracted, It's okay, Just allow whatever's here to be here. We're gonna take a last few seconds here. And now lastly, I want you to come to stillness. Allowing your breath. To gently Move your body. Sinking deeper onto your feet or on the surface that you are on. And just notice if you still feel that movement. And if you're able to embrace. Just a little bit more stillness, Even if it's 2%. Last few breaths here, Allowing yourself to sink a little bit deeper as you exhale. Mmm. And now in your final exhale, We're gonna begin to just like wiggle your toes and wiggle your fingers coming back. To the space here together. Maybe take a moment to reflect what that was like for you, To just notice the transition between the gears. Maybe taking a moment to notice which one of that felt familiar, Which one felt good. Or uncomfortable. And my invitation for you. In today or in the next few days. Is to notice yourself. The point here is not to go slow or not to go at a medium pace or fast. There is no real speed that we should be moving at, But is there a place where you're moving faster than you're supposed to? Or is there a place where you feel a little bit more stuck and you want a little bit of movement? For the next few days, I want you to experiment. What would it be like for me to change the gears in this one minute? Thing that I do, Whether it's drinking your coffee, Going for a walk. Writing in your journal, Whatever it is. Experiment with maybe changing gears and notice what happens. Thank you so much for moving with me. My name is Lillian and I will see you next.