A few years ago, I was introduced to the slow movement. It’s about slowing down and taking time to appreciate life. So often when we walk or drive around, we are completely oblivious to the beauty of life that surrounds us. The slow movement is also about slowing down when we eat, actually tasting our food, and appreciating where the food came from and its significance to the culture. Lifehacker.com featured a post by Leo Widrich who talks about how he slowed things down a bit. In particular, he talks about the speed exercise:
Image by NLTeddy
“It is very simple. You pick a route to walk and you walk at half the speed that you normally do. You do this for 20 minutes.”
Slowing things down has many benefits physically and emotionally. Any one out there a part of the slow movement? Any one want to try? What are your thoughts?
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I had to do the speed exercise described above in my Eastern Psychology class during undergrad. There was a garden next to the building where our class took place and my professor made all of the students take our shoes off while we walked slowly around the garden. The professor also had us complete other mindfulness exercises including meditation. At the time I did not notice any difference in myself, but in retrospect I realize my stress level was much lower during the semester I had that class.
I find that my stress reduces as well when I slow things down. Sometimes it’s hard to do when my brain feels like it is a swarm of bees. I’ve been trying to walk slower since writing this and so far I’ve been a bit more relaxed. Thanks for sharing!