Slow down. No, really, slow down.

Take a break from the race. Even when we’re not physically moving, our minds are moving towards something else. Anywhere but here, anything but this moment. Even when the moments are beautiful, wonderful, bliss-filled moments, our minds are already set to move beyond it. “C’mon, let’s go, time’s a wasting and we’ve got more moments to speed through. We’ve got life to hurry up and get to! We can’t linger in this moment!”

Besides, even if we wanted to, time would move us right along.

I wish I could slow down time completely. Sometimes I wish I could just make time stop. But if wishes were fishes, I’d have a lot of fish I guess and I would put them all right back in the ocean where they belong. But I can’t, so I’ve got other ideas on how to deal with time.

When I look at my planner at the beginning of the week and see the free time I have, I love it, yet when I look back at the end of the week I can’t imagine where that free time went. It didn’t feel like free time, because most likely it wasn’t.

I’m sure I filled it with something, anything. Passing time. Racing through time.

Rushing through my life.

Well, I can’t stop time. I can’t slow it down. I can’t do anything about time except to acknowledge its ever passing abilities and to slow myself down. So I’m working on slowing down the thoughts in my mind. I’m working on taking the time to process the thoughts in my head, my actions and my feelings.

I’m working on finding patience within myself to even begin this process.

The dedication of a consistent yoga practice comes with many benefits. I am finding right now that I am learning a lot through my yoga practice about slowing my mind down. When I begin with a 5 minute meditation, my body starts to relax and my mind begins to release all of the extras I don’t really need—extras that are just taking up space. As I move through the practice with long, slow deliberate breaths linked with controlled, deliberate movements I dedicate my focus to my inhales and exhales.

I breathe in, I breathe out. I move, I pause. I move again.

No, I have not managed to stop time with my yoga practice, but I have managed to slow down my mind and my personal processing of time. I’ve begun to clear the clutter and that slows me down a bit. It slows me down so I can begin to see more of what it is I really need to have on my mind and what I can begin to let go of.

Start the process of slowing down. Take deep, slow breaths. Allow your body to relax and in time your mind will follow suit. Be patient. It’s a process.

Let go of the rush, embrace the pause.

Here is a delicious soup recipe. Its warmth makes me feel grounded and its hearty, earthy flavors might inspire you to linger over your meal, eat slowly and reflect mindfully on the moments that are and always will be passing.

Recipe:

• 1lb potatoes
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 cups cooked white beans
• 1 lb swiss chard
• 4 cups water or vegetable stock

Parsley Pesto:

• 6 – 8 cloves garlic
• 1 bunch parsley
• 1 cup sunflower seeds
• ½ cup oil
• salt, pepper

How To:

1. Wash and chop your potatoes. Bring them to a boil and cook until they are fork tender.

2. In the meantime, blend or process all of the parsley pesto ingredients together. De-stem your swiss chard and chop into long slices.

3. Once the potatoes are soft, drain them.

4. Saute the chopped garlic in the soup pot for 1-2 minutes until just soft. Add the potatoes and vegetable stock. Blend until creamy with an immersion blender (you can use whatever tools you have—blender, food processor, masher) until they are creamy, a little soupier than mashed potatoes would be. Bring the soup to a boil.

5. Add the white beans, swiss chard and pesto, cook for 3 minutes until the swiss chard is wilted.

 

 

Sit and enjoy, slow and steady.

 

 

 

 

Relephant food, health & recipes: 

 

Skip the Cleanse: 3 Days of Mindful Winter Eating.

Deep Healing Chick Pea & Kale Soup. {Vegan Recipe}

Superfoods for your Body Type: Winter Edition.

 

 

 

Author: Greer Gilchrist

Editor: Renée Picard

Photo: Author’s Own