Is Your Pace Humane? 8 Ways to Slow Down

One day I found myself sitting in my car in a downtown Austin parking garage feeling exhausted. All day, I had been juggling traffic, conference calls, schedule changes and work requests from clients. Now, I couldn’t find a parking spot, I was late to a meeting and my phone was blowing up with text messages from my team. I could feel my blood pressure rise, my body was tense and I was short of breath.

I had let the outside world dictate my inner world and state of being; my pace was inhumane. I paused, took a deep breath, exhaled and said a short prayer of gratitude for this awareness. It was time to slow down.

The idea of how to create a more sustainable pace in a 24/7 world comes up every time I speak to men and women around the U.S. on finding balance. Most share they know they are addicted to feeling speeded up and have fallen prey to the seduction of productivity, not to mention the adrenaline highs. (If you missed my 9 ways to say no, check them out.)

Do you sometimes feel as if you’re a robot rather than a homosapien?  Here are eight ways to practice mindfulness, reclaim your humanity and live from the inside-out:

Slow down. We’ve normalized “busy-ness.” Our external world is speeding us up—if we let it. We’re not wired to go non-stop. Get in the practice of “pausing” throughout your day to take in your environment … and breathe. (If you’re wanting to enter summer more intentionally, join me for my June 21 Sun & Moon One-Day Self-Care Retreat on Lake Jocassee.)

Make friends and social connections a priority (lunches, walks, coffee dates). In our house, we say, “People first, things second.” Our quality of life is dramatically enhanced by our friendships/circles.

Put technology in its place. Be careful of what you “normalize.” Remember you’re the master (not the slave) here. Observe your habits. In our house mornings are unplugged time and in the evenings we often play quiet music that supports reading and relaxation. All phones get tucked in to “bed” at 9:30 p.m. (or earlier) for the night.

Do nothing; give your brain a rest. Do less, think less, keep things simple. The fewer choices/decisions we have, the happier we are. “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.” Heed the advice: “Don’t just do something, sit there.” Stillness nourishes our soul. Look out the window at the trees. Lie in a hammock. Sit on your front porch. Stare at the sky.

Seek out quiet, dark places. No, not your closet, I’m talking about natural areas in your state or the US where there is limited or no access to technology (like Big Bend National Park). Unplug. Our bodies need these experiences to re-calibrate.

Take off your shoes and walk outside. Get barefoot on the earth. Walk as much as you can (it’s so good for your body and brain!). Every day go outside and “commune with nature” for at least 10 minutes.

Drink lots of good clean water and eat more fruits/vegetables. How much energy-infused food do you eat daily? My mom used to advocate for eating food that is alive, as opposed to processed, “dead” food.

Give/receive eight hugs a day. Hugs, back rubs, regular snuggles, embraces with family/friends at the beginning/end of each day—all these things elicit a positive biochemical response in the body and ground our nervous systems. Read more.

These are all ways of being that are innate to the human experience. They’re hard-wired into who we are. On a cellular level, we know this stuff makes us feel good and helps us remember who we really are, but somehow we’ve lost our way.

We’re living in times that require us to reflect and question everything. Ultimately, I always ask, “How bad do you want to feel good?” Consider that even just adopting one or two of these ideas could make a big impact on how you feel right away. Let me know how it goes, it’s a hard time to be a human.

Warmly,

HOW CAN I SUPPORT YOU? HERE ARE FOUR OPPORTUNITIES: 

• June 21st, 1-6 p.m. ~ Sun & Moon Self-Care Retreat~ A Summer Solstice, Full Moon Experience on Lake Jocassee, Salem, SC (90 minutes from Asheville, NC). Join like-hearted women on the Summer Solstice (the first day of summer and a strawberry full moon) on the gorgeous aquamarine waters of Lake Jocassee for a nature-based, self-renewal retreat. Optional: full moon, sunset cruise to follow. Early bird rate: $225 (after June 1st: $250) Details here.
• *NEW OFFERING!* Secrets to Facilitating Life-Changing Women’s Groups/Retreats in Uncertain Times ~ the course. Are you passionate about empowering other women in your area? Would you love to lead women’s groups/retreats?  Connection = medicine. Created by Renee, this beautiful, self-paced video course–based on our wildly popular, now retired 18-year-old Facilitator Training Program–offers everything you need to start facilitating women’s circles/retreats. Download today; available 24/7. Only $195 for a limited time. Learn more.
• Wild Souls Nature Adventures (based in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western NC): authentic movement classes, community song circles, full moon hikes, meditation workshops, women’s circles & more. New offerings listed each week; have me design a custom experience for your team/friends. Join us Sunday, June 2nd for our next Wild Souls Authentic Movement Class near Asheville, NC.  Learn more.
• October 25 – 27th ~ Soul Tending: Cultivating Grace, Power and Intuition ~ A Women’s Self-Renewal Retreat at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health (Berkshire Mountains, Western MA).  From stillness comes discernment. Your soul is calling, are you listening? Join me for connection, replenishing rest, divine natural foods cuisine, song/movement, restorative yoga and more. Packages start at just $635 for this soul-nurturing weekend. Learn more and register.

Subscribe here to Live Inside Out, a weekly blog written by mindfulness coach/author/speaker and catalyst Renée Peterson Trudeau. Passionate about helping men and women find balance through the art/science of self-care, Renee has been facilitating high-impact, interactive workshops for Fortune 500 companies, national nonprofits/conferences and organizations/teams worldwide for 25 years. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Fast Company, Good Housekeeping, Yoga Journal, AARP Magazine, Spirituality & Health and more. She and her team have certified more than 450 facilitators in 10 countries around the globe to lead self-renewal groups/retreats based on her pioneering self-care curriculum. She’s the author of two books on life balance including the award-winning The Mother’s Guide to Self-Renewal: How to Reclaim, Rejuvenate and Re-Balance Your Life. She and her husband live in Western North Carolina and their son is a senior in college; her latest venture is Wild Souls Nature Adventures. More on Renee here.