Slowing down and being mindful

I’m learning how to slow down. It’s tough after 30 odd years living and working in London. But having spent a month in Guatemala at Yoga Teacher Training, I got fully in my head. I learnt how to listen to my body, how to notice the passing thoughts and acknowledge what was going on inside me.

I was lucky enough not to be swept back into the whirlwind of life when I returned home, and instead, my partner and I are on a different type of adventure for 6 weeks. It might be different but I’m making sure I continue to be introspective. We’ve hired a campervan, and with the pooch in tow are living on the road. We don’t want to rush, we want to enjoy the ride, taking in the scenery and stopping whenever we fancy, whether that’s by a river or a stunning lake. We’re taking the time to stop, listen to the birds, watch for fish in the rivers and amble around deserted villages.

We’ve stopped in many a sleepy French village, hoping for a cafe, bar or restaurant to be open, but

invariably they are “fermè". At first I was sanguine about it (channelling my learnings from Guatemala, and I’m on holiday after all, it doesn’t matter), but one day I got grumpy, “why isn’t anything open?”, I cried! “Don’t they want our custom?”. I

was reminded by my exceptionally chilled partner that there was nothing we could do about it so let’s just enjoy the view of the spectacular castle. He can be very annoying when he’s right! So I began to relax into the French way of life. No, they don’t want our custom at 1pm. They prefer to have a long lunch break; to have a proper balance between working and living.

Perhaps we can all learn something from this way of life. Really taking time to enjoy life and be in the present moment. And maybe it will

enable us to take better care of ourselves. After all, we can only look after others fully if we look after ourselves first. That might feel selfish to put ourselves first but as they say on aeroplanes before take-off, “put your own oxygen mask on first before helping others".

With this slower pace of life, I feel I can think clearly, structure my thoughts better, and I have the

opportunity to fit in what makes me happy and what my body, mind and spirit needs. I’m meditating

and I’m reading everyday. I can fit in asana practice too. And most importantly, we sit down

together every evening to eat a freshly cooked meal, listening to music. Bliss. I know I’m on holiday and all of this is easy now. I know this will be harder when we are back to the daily demands of life and work, but I want to bring some of this essence back with me, if I can.

Even as I was writing this, a bee landed on my arm and I resisted the urge to waft it away. It was

wonderful to take the time to watch him cleaning himself and then fly away in his own time.

Maybe you can try this too. When you have a break from work, take a step outside, take a deep breath into the spring air and notice what is around you. What can you smell? What can you see and hear? Take some time to marvel on how beautiful each moment can be.