“Here’s to strong women. May we know them, may we be them, may we raise them”

It’s easy to forget our strength. At yoga last night we talked about what we are visualizing that will help us get through labour and birth. I found it interesting that so many woman talked about surrender and the ability to just l e t  g o. There is something to say for this idea that I talk about all the time, slow living. When I first fell in love with the idea (knowingly) about a year ago, this is what I wrote: 

Slow living is going to be your new way of being. A back to basics. Enjoying the smaller, tinier pleasures in life. We want to breathe life back into you. We’re going to wake up and find the excitement in knowing we’re taking a few small steps in the direction of healing our own bodies. 

When we help ourselves slow down we can think a little clearer. We can problem solve a little better. We can move aside all of our emotions (sometimes) and try to really understand what it is that we need to do. 

I first brought up the idea of slow living when I was doing the first 21 day holistic eating and living journey last June but it’s definitely something I think about on a daily basis and is something that I find most readers connect to. If there’s one thing most people bring up when they email me it’s that they need to slow down. What that means to you can be very different to someone else. I think the one thing I’ve learned is that it bends depending on what your life is like. Some people never take any time to just be alone. Some people get so busy they forget to breathe. Others constantly say yes when they really want to say no and end up getting run down and sick. 

There’s a reason why so many people have suggested it when looking at fertility and pregnancy. Our bodies respond to how we treat them. If we only give our bodies the chance to ‘slow down’ and ‘relax’ when we take vacation, we don’t really have the proper tools to cope in every day stressful situations. There is a reason why so many people get pregnant when they stop ‘trying’ or when they take a break from their day to day life. There is a mind body connection that sends a signal saying it’s safe and calm to do what you’re naturally supposed to do. I think that’s what I find so fascinating about the whole process. 

Instead of trying to take a breather from your everyday life, try to incorporate a little slow living into it. Try to change your mentality so that slow living becomes your way of living in whatever form that ends up taking.