slow down + savor
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
Mark Twain
My recent pre-flight consultation with Ayurvedic practitioner Dr. Teitelbaum was scheduled in order to prepare me for what herbs I should take to France, what I should potentially add or avoid, how I should best take care of myself as I continue to cultivate balanced hormones and digestion.
The surprising and most important piece of advice she offered – which she stressed vehemently – was to stop rushing. She said, “Even if you’re busy, don’t rush… Until you learn how to slow down, the herbs can only do so much.” Great. Simple… right?
Admittedly, even to Dr. T, this is probably easier said than done since many of us – especially in America – are so used to running around from point A to point B. It is our culture to go faster and race to a perpetual finish line. The act of rushing instigates stress and, a result, discomforts arise in the body as manifestations of that stress.
Dr. T explained that our reproductive glands – like the adrenals – make hormones out of cholesterol [check out my article on the Ayurvedic take on milk in the diet in relation to balanced hormones]. Rushing around kicks our sympathetic nervous system [“fight-or-flight”] into high gear which compromises not only our glands but also our digestion, blood and oxygen flow. Because our glands are often in overdrive, they are not able to effectively produce important hormones.
The stress caused from rushing and the inability to shut off our sympathetic nervous system shows up as imbalances – from the gut to the glands to the organs and so on. This is not at all optimal for whole-body health, whether we take herbs or eat greens or not.
When we learn to be in the present moment as often as possible instead of rushing and obsessing about plans or expectations, the physical and mental blockades we create open up. The flood gates lower and the Universe flows. Studies show that connecting with the present moment via practices like meditation benefits everything from concentration to lowering heart rate to improving digestion – all of which are a result of slowing down.
As I found myself in a situation this past winter that left me no choice but to quit over-planning, slow down, and check in with myself after years of wracking my brain and work schedule, some incredible if not simple pleasures aligned:
The Provence Experience appeared during a time of uncertainty and instability – providing something exciting to look forward to and a temporary albeit beautiful home away from my ever-changing home-base in NYC. The French culture and its people have already reminded me that there is no point in rushing.
I didn’t know how I was going to manage to fit in cooking my meals the week before I left for France – especially since I came down with a pesky virus and knew I would be running around – and Sakara wound up working out last minute [use my code REF_SASHALOVE15 for 15% off if you want to try it out], leaving me time to take my time.
I canceled a mani pedi appointment because of my busy schedule, and there wound up being a nail artist on set during a recent photo shoot with Aditi for Lefties. Small acts of self-care that involve being still [without the use of our opposable thumbs to abuse our smart phones] are significant reminders to stop racing from one thing to the next. Even the photo shoot itself came at a time when Aditi and I were hoping to do more of this type of work together.
I came down with a nasty bug the week before I left, but was thankfully functional enough to get through the days as best I could, and got a last-minute appointment with my Kinesiologist who helped me get back on track. I also had no choice but to move slower when I felt icky.
I was thinking of teaching elsewhere in Europe or planning a trip to the coast after The Provence Experience ended, come to find out I may now be hosting pop-up yoga in Paris and have been invited to spend time near Saint Tropez.
Every time I needed to switch locations the past couple of months and found myself stressing or rushing to figure out my next literal move, a friend stepped up and was there for me in a big way. Things that felt weird, messy and uncomfortable were accompanied by an exceptional safety net and cushion of supportive, unconditional love.
Situations like this – and practices like yoga [because you certainly can’t rush anywhere whilst in a headstand] – have reminded me to have faith in the trajectory of life. Although I have a fairly open-ended agenda for the end of the year alongside friends’ weddings and the upcoming Bali retreat, I trust that life will align without having to race to the next step. I have enough time.
The more we rush through life, the more we miss these beautiful synchronicities. The more we settle and soften, the more we open the channels for life’s miracles to flow.
Many of my friends wished me something similar to the Mark Twain quote above – that I might simply catch the wind and sail with it – that I do my best to release any rigidity around my somewhat specific daily rituals and diet [although you know Ayurveda and I are for life], to have fun, and to flow.
How can you take small steps to move more easily instead of rushing to wherever you are off to next?
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Photo with yoga sisters Aditi Shah and Caroline Smith, by Grant Henry Media.
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