Rejuvenation Lounge

10 Ways To Slow Down The Speed Of Your Day:

Posted by Healthy Living on Wednesday, October 8th, 2008

By Carole Fogarty

Editor of Rejuvenation Lounge and facilitator of Women’s Rejuvenation Retreats:

Monthly Dare: I Dare You To Stop Rushing:

Is it time for you to start looking after you more often by turning down your “go fast - never stop” dial? I’m guessing this months dare has come just at the right time for you. This month I’m daring you and myself (of course) to consciously monitor and adjust the speed at which we both travel through our day.

Photo by Tony V

More About Our Monthly Dares:

All monthly dares at the Rejuvenation Lounge are not about turning your world upside down. They are simply ideas for you to look after you more often.

Our monthly dares offer you an opportunity to try something different for 30 days, and trust you will feel more relaxed, more plugged in to you and enjoy the flow of your day much more. To help support you with this months dare don’t forget the “priority you time” formula:

When You Rush, You Push Hard. This Is Not How Nature Intended Us To Live:

I must admit, I have been watching the speed of my days closely for the past few years. The worst rushing symptom ( for me ) is that I lose synchronicity in my life. The magic stops happening, and I find myself “pushing life” instead of honouring the rhythm and flow of it. I lose connection with my gut feelings and my stress levels rise and energy levels drop. I often wonder why I ever let my mind take over and run the show in the first place.

Luckily these days I am able to sense the feeling of “speeding up” quite early on. One of the most supportive “slow down” habits for me is to deliberately start my days gently and meaningfully. When I start gently, my day flows gently. Becoming more aware of my breath throughout the day has been great for “checking in” with the speed of me. The breath never lies, as its the first function to react in the body.

The Top Eight Side Effects Of Rushing:

Causes accidents
You are prone to making silly mistakes, wrong choices and forget stuff
You neglect your body and forget to drink and eat properly. You don’t have time to sit quietly and eat.
Your nervous system becomes overstimulated which increases the stress levels in your body
Your breathing becomes shallow, quick and short which stimulates your nervous system even more
Basically you are living life in “fight or flight” mode, as the caveman did
You are exhausted, drained and depleted by the end of your day
You use caffeine and sugar to keep you going

10 Ways To Adjust The Speed Of Your Day:

1: Admit you are rushing in the first place: How can you adjust the speed of your day if you aren’t even aware that you are rushing. Be still, then be honest. Are you showing any of the sides effects of rushing as listed above. Or, ask yourself this question “Can I live more gently?” - drive more gently, cook more gently, speak more gently, think more gently, work more gently, be with my children more gently. I’m sure you’ve got the picture.

2: Start your day slow: Dare yourself to lie in bed for 5 minutes before zooming head first into your day. Say hello to your body, connect with how its feeling and ask it what it needs. How you start your day effects greatly the flow or speed of your day. Enjoy your breakfast and enjoy your early morning routine without rushing. The first hour of all my mornings are deliberately relaxed and calm. I love the private “me” time before the kids get up.

3: Breathe into your belly to slow yourself down: If you are rushing your breathing will reflect this with quick, short shallow breathes. Consciously direct the flow of your breath into your belly which will relax your nervous system and slow your thoughts down.

4: Eat sitting down in a soul satisfying environment: Rushers find this hard to do. Its very easy to skip meals, eat in the car, walking down the street or whilst on the computer multi tasking. Eating and drinking in a pleasant environment will nourish your nervous system and encourage you to slow down.

5: Is your “to-do” list running your life? There is a much bigger picture to life than just your “to-do” list. If your “to-do” list is pushing and pushing you, then take control of it right now. Simplify the speed of your day by reducing the number of things on your “to-do” list. Most importantly, make sure you are on your “to-do” list. Don’t forget yourself.

6: Add 5 minute moments of unwinding into your day:

Hand yoga to release tension and toxic emotions:

Pack rejuvenation into your hand bag:

9 easy ways to soften yourself up for a great nights sleep

A daily5 minute self massage to nourish your nervous system

10 tips to grab on the run to be kinder to yourself:

7: Adjust the speed of your day at traffic lights: Being caught in traffic or waiting for the lights to change are both wonderful opportunities to slow down the speed of your day and invite more pockets of calm and relaxation. A must read if you are anxious and stressed out in traffic. Invite good karma at traffic lights.

8: Stillness has powers: Stop. Do nothing for 5 minutes. Withdraw your energy, attention and senses away from the outside world. Being still allows you to regroup your scattered energies back into you. Being still triggers a whole bunch of different responses in your body. Stillness is a healing and rejuvenative medicine.

You can be still anywhere. Sit in your car for 5 minutes before getting out. Arrive early to an appointment so you can sit and be still. Lock yourself in the toilet (if you have too). By the way, stillness is not slouching on the couch watching TV. Its simply you spending time with just you.

9: Step back into your body by getting grounded: When you are ungrounded your energies are scattered. You are split in two. There is no connection and flow between your mind and body. Whilst you physically might be here reading this article, your mind is already sorting out stuff in future and is not fully aware of everything happening around it right now. Becoming aware of your breath helps grounds you. Walking outside in nature definately grounds you. Getting hydrated reduces stress on your body and grounds you. Eating and drinking regularly is vital to being grounded. For more great suggestions read: Get grounded or get pushed around by life.

10: Reduce excess stimulation: External stimulation can speed you up. Excess sound, tv, computers, busy places, phones, mobiles, emails can all demand your attention, then stress and over stimulate you. Be mindful of which external forces encourage you to speed up. For me its loud noise, traffic and shopping centres. There’s nothing wrong with turning off your mobile to slow yourself down.

The benefits of rushing: Mmmmmm can’t think of any.

Thanks for reading my article, Carole. You are welcome to come back and visit my blog Rejuvenation Lounge anytime or join me in Bali, Italy or Australia for my Womens Rejuvenation Retreats or Evenings: