Softly, Slowly

I have never been very good at slowing down.  At allowing life to guide me.  I have always pushed, always forged a path.  Whether that path was as easy as it could have been, that didn't matter.  I very much care about hard work, fulfilling my duties, and being the best at whatever I am currently chipping away at.  Being gentle with myself and my schedule, allowing myself to pause... it is something that I actively have to work at on a daily basis.

My period swept in this morning like a tornado through the Midwest; strong and wreaking havoc every place it touches.  If you could have seen me this morning before having any pain meds, you would have understood implicitly.

Source: iwastesomuchtime.com via Jordan on Pinterest

Needless to say, I had a hard time enjoying one minute of my productive work day.  I did get a lot done, and I managed to not kill a single person.  But I came hone the raging tiger who could barely move.  I needed to get in my physical activity for the day.  While we had been up, down, and all around the property at work, I feel like a cheater when I count that as my 20 minutes of movement.  I considered a bike ride, but didn't want to mess with the clothes, the shoes, the helmet, the bike... it's a lot to coordinate.  Then I considered a run, but I was afraid my uterus would fall out.

Source: google.com via Autumn on Pinterest

Out of nothing more than sheer desperation, I remembered that I had downloaded a 60 minute yin yoga workout from yogadownload.com several months ago, and then never even tried.  Yin yoga = moving for lazy kids.  It's all about slow, easy, long, super deep stretches and a very meditative mindset.  Athletically challenging?  Nope.  But it is physical activity, and deeply restorative. It felt so, so, so good.  I forgot how good it feels when I am kind to myself, when I allow the slowness to overtake me.  It's funny, because in that slowness, an hour passes with incredible speed, and I find myself wishing that it would never end.