Slowwwwww Down!

Do you like snails? Not to eat, although they can be tasty. I mean to emulate.

Snails are never in a hurry. perhaps because they carry their houses on their backs. Snails are always moving at the pace that suits them best. Sloooooooowwwwwwwww.

I know that slowing down may feel counterintuitive as school and work and everything else gears up in the Fall, but really our minds and our bodies are looking for rest..

We ignore this, though, and push it until we feel run down or worse, actually get sick.

I know because I was like this for YEARS!

As soon as Fall hit, I was packing my schedule FULL of work and events and to-do lists and everything in between. And that was after a Summer full of other work and vacations and travel.

As a result I would get sick every November or Decemebr and wonder why.

It was because I was depleting myself every Fall and my body literally lacked the resources to keep going. So it made me sick so I would be forced to slow down whether I liked it or not.

Here is the deal, most of us have fairly active Summers of playing and fun (hopefully), and vacations or travel of some sort (maybe). And even if you stayed close to home and didn’t get out much you still had to contend with Summer weather, which can be drying and heating.

Ever been Kiln Dried?? Sure, Lots of Times!! (IYKYK)

All of this can leave us feeling worn out and parched even before Fall rolls in.

Then Fall shows up with all its Vata and we are inclined to move even faster and do even more than ever before.

It’s now, however, that Ayurveda asks us to slow down, to replenish, to nourish.

I can hear you now:

“But HOOOOOOWWWWW, Veronica?? I have so much to DOOOOOOOO!”

**le sigh**

I get it, I really really do.

But the truth is it’s imperative that you look at your calendar and your lists and figure out what you can let go of.

Yoga asks us to practice aparigraha (non-attachment) and it is this principle that we must lean on to help ourselves navigate this season with grace.

Is there anything on your schedule that feels like a ‘would be nice, but not necessary’ thing? Can you replace that thing with something that feels nourishing like curling up on the couch with a cup of tea and a good book for a few hours?

Perhaps for you it’s just replacing ‘Something’ with ‘Nothing’ in your schedule. Letting yourself have a few hours a week unfettered by obligations. Making that happen every week.

Perhaps for you it’s replacing a ‘should do’ with a ‘want to’. Ask yourself if you’ve loaded your schedule with things you feel obligated to do. Investigate the obligation. Would your life feel easier if you just dropped it? What are the repercussions of letting it go. Sometimes we have built things up in our minds and the reality is quite different.

Ayurveda often asks us to let go of what does not serve us so we can make way for better health - mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Don’t stress about it, just look for ONE thing. What is one thing you can let go of to create more space to be, to breathe, to slow down.

I’d love to hear what your one thing is, if you want to share. Leave a comment below, or drop me a note here.

Always Remember: Follow Your Gut!

In Love,

Veronica