Permission To Slow Down

Slowing down often has a bad rap, but slowing down is hugely beneficial for the body, mind and spirit. In this practice we regulate our nervous systems and invite ourselves to slow down, embracing the benefits of what being present, slow and not rushing offers us.

Transcript

So welcome to practice friends.

Today's practice is going to focus all about slowing down and the wisdom and the nourishment that comes from slowing down.

So in a world that prioritizes doing and rushing and being fast and doing things quickly,

Sometimes we hold this belief in our body.

So maybe logically we know that we need to slow down,

But what is it like to invite our bodies to slow down?

And can we regulate our nervous system to feel safe in slowing down?

I know because the conditioning of rushing and doing was so ingrained in me when I first started to slow down,

I kind of like panicked.

Like what about if I slow down,

What about this stuff?

Is this going to come crashing down?

Is,

You know,

My inbox can be full of stuff that's unread.

And these were all things that the mind started to play with and kind of spiral out of control with.

So in today's practice,

We're going to do some nervous system regulation and invite our bodies to really slow down.

And if you find resistance in this,

Know that that's very normal.

Know that that's okay.

With practice,

I think we can get more comfortable with slowing down.

So our practice today is going to include breath work,

Visualization and somatic experiencing.

So tuning into our nervous system,

Tuning into our bodies.

And as always,

This is your practice.

So please do what you need to,

To feel comfortable and safe.

To start,

I'll invite you to make yourself really comfortable.

And this might mean seated or lying down.

If you need to wiggle,

Stretch or dance before you sit in stillness,

Please feel free to do that.

Taking this moment to feel length through your spine.

To feel your shoulders drop away from your ears.

To feel a sense of relaxation through our jaw.

And to choose to either soften your gaze or completely close your eyes.

Letting your hands rest in your lap or on your thighs.

Maybe even alongside the body if that's comfortable.

Feeling a sense of softness as you sink into your seat,

Into your cushion.

Take a deep breath in.

Exhale to sigh out.

We'll do that one more time.

Deep breath in.

Exhale to let go.

Release.

Closing the mouth to start to breathe in and out through your nose.

This is a great way to calm our nervous system.

Gently letting go of anything that's happened before our practice.

To gently let go of your plans,

Rituals to do lists for after the practice.

And to invite yourself into the present moment.

Getting our minds home to the body.

Just take this moment to notice how you're breathing today without judging it,

Fixing it or changing it.

Notice if your breath feels easy,

If it feels challenging.

Notice if it's deep,

If it's shallow,

Long or short.

And maybe it's a mix of all these things.

And if it resonates here,

Starting to intentionally deepen our inhales and lengthen our exhales.

Breathe in deeply.

Breathe out slowly.

Relaxing just a little bit more into your seat.

Feeling supported by your cushions and the earth underneath you.

And without moving or needing to do anything,

I invite you to bring your awareness to your left hand.

Just feel that left hand come alive.

Bring awareness to your right hand.

Feel the right hand come alive.

Using your imagination,

Using your intention and your awareness on your next in-breath,

Imagine that you're drawing your breath up the right hand,

Up the right arm into the center of your chest.

And then exhale,

Bend your breath down the left arm to the left hand.

Inhale,

Draw your breath up the left side to the center of our chest.

Exhale,

Down the right side.

Inhale deeply,

Imagining that breath travel up the right arm into your heart center.

And exhale back down through the left.

Inhale,

Breath travels up the left side.

Exhale,

Travels down through the right.

Continuing to draw your breath up one side and down the other.

And see if you can let yourself get into a bit of a rhythm with this breathing technique.

Visualizing that breath or feeling that breath moving from side to side.

Keeping your breath deep and slow.

Cultivating balance between the left and the right.

And inviting our nervous systems to regulate into maybe what we're feeling is a new baseline,

A calmness,

An ease,

A groundedness.

Inhale deeply and exhale slowly.

And the next time you exhale down and out through the left side,

I'll invite you to gently let go of this intention of breathing side to side.

Just notice how you feel.

With this breath and this energy we fill in our bodies,

We invite ourselves to be open to receiving.

Open to receiving the wisdom that happens when we slow down.

Open to integrating a belief system that slowing down does not make us weak or less than.

But that slowing down allows us to be human.

Slowing down allows us to take care of ourselves.

Slowing down allows us to get in touch with our spirit and our energy.

Slowing down allows clarity and insight.

As we marinate our bodies,

Our breath and our minds in this phase of slowing down and the juiciness of going slow,

I invite you to reflect on what are the possibilities for you when you slow down?

What does slowing down offer you?

What does it support you with?

Breathe in deeply.

Breathe out slowly.

Visualizing something that you need to do today,

Maybe something that you have planned or is on your to-do list.

Can you imagine yourself doing it slowly?

Can you imagine the benefits of doing this slowly?

Maybe it's cooking a meal and doing it slow lets you cook with more intention and love,

Lets you see the vibrancy of the food's color.

Maybe it's writing a text message or an email.

And slowing down offers you the space to be more honest and real with what you write.

Whatever it is you have to do today,

Start to imagine yourself doing it slowly,

Soaking in all the benefits of doing it slow.

Imagining yourself feeling really good when you do it slowly,

Really nourished when you do it slowly.

Taking one more deep breath in and a slow breath out.

Inviting this visualization to soften and disappear as you gently bring your awareness back to your physical body.

The feeling of yourself sitting on your cushion,

The feeling of your hands in your lap.

In your own time when you're ready,

You can gently flutter your eyes open,

Bringing your awareness back into your space.

Embracing today's practice,

Embracing this new way of being.

Reviews

I just noticed I keep coming back here for quite a while now. Very calming, thanks!🙏🏻

Thank you. I really appreciated your guidance and the reminder of the benefits of slowing down ❤️🌺🙏🏻

Great way to slow down after a hectic work week. Thank you very much for sharing this meditation Victoria 🙏

Just the right amount of guidance to allow me to flow, lovely.

Very helpful. By slowing down I will be less stressed, more mindful and better able to respond rather than react.
Thank you.

Really nice thank you 🙏🏾