“Anything worth doing is worth doing slowly.” ~ Mae West

The days are getting shorter. Leaves falling. Air cooling.

I’m proposing a subtle yet significant shift to our practice of yoga asana this season.

The slow flow: Moving through our vinyasas in super slow motion.

Bringing more mindfulness to every movement, every breath.

For most of us, it isn’t easy. We like to move fast, to jump about, to twist and turn, to not stay still. It’s easier to move away from fear, boredom, anger and resistance than it is to face those things, to get to the root of them. Owning our shadow side frees up energy to focus on new creations, fresh ideas and openness to the present moment.

Let’s work on holding our poses longer and longer, too. Both yang and yin.

Everything is a slow flow, isn’t it, ultimately?

Through slowing down our typically speedy lifestyle, we can bring yoga into our daily lives more and more.

Yoga, as in union, as in you experiencing your life, now, as it’s happening rather than ruminating on the past or creating expectations for the future.

The wiser we get with age and experience, the more we see that life moves, paradoxically, both super (sometime excruciatingly) slow and incredibly rapidly.

Time marches on, it’s our perspective and attitude toward time that changes. It’s our pace that changes.

Autumn and winter are times for slowing down the pace, sipping the cinnamon and nutmeg moment, and cultivating gratitude for the many blessings, good people and useful things in our lives.

5 Essential Questions for the Season

How can I stop struggling and float?

How can I be more like the leaf that falls so gracefully from its branch?

How can I be more like the sweet black cat, stretched out, relaxed, purring and present?

How can I balance structured time and responsibilities with freedom, choice and flexibility?

What can I let go of?

5 Superb Quotes on Slowness

“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” ~ Confucius

“The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age.” ~ Lucille Ball

“Now Autumn’s fire burns slowly along the woods and day by day the dead leaves fall and melt.” ~ William Allingham

“Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures.” ~ John F. Kennedy

“The great awareness comes slowly, piece by piece. The path of spiritual growth is a path of lifelong learning. The experience of spiritual power is basically a joyful one.” ~ M. Scott Peck

 

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Editor: Renée Picard

Photo: Patrick Savalle at Flickr