21/02/2022
The True Pace of Life: A Breath-led Movement Practice helping to reveal the world around us.
How many times have we heard the adage “modern life is too fast paced”? I know when I slow down, I feel more. Which can be terrifying in certain situations! The following nature-based experience led me to consider the question; what is the true pace of life?
During a lunch-break at work, I sat outside with my mind racing. I successfully inhaled my lunch without tasting much (despite the potency of the sauerkraut & tamari combo) and felt some frustration at this brief and unsatisfying encounter. I wanted something more delicious and restorative for lunch and thought a gentle walk in nature might help. As walking commenced, I reflected upon an observation: my transit often mirrored my state of mind:
When my mind moved quickly then walking happened quickly.
When my mind moved slowly then walking tended to happen more slowly.
I took these equations a step further. With each right-foot step I would inhale, with each left-foot step I would exhale. Simple in theory, yet walking this slowly takes great determination (and balance) with the willingness to look completely ridiculous in the face of passers by.
I persevered, shifting my weight to the right foot to match my inhalation, shifting weight to the left to dovetail exhalation. I allowed my breath to lead and my feet to follow in a bizarre and beautiful dance. Within 3 breaths my awareness felt embodied, which is remarkable in its efficacy in comparison to other methods of embodiment practice I had experienced. I found myself expressing hidden sounds and bodily movements, discharging the accumulated stress patterns held within my body with every measured exhalation.
I let out a small sob. At this extraordinary pace of life, perhaps 10 times slower than I normally moved, I felt and saw many things I had barely noticed before. A wave of joy spread upwards and a slow smile found my face.
I kept my focus and made my way in slow-motion to a colleague by a tree, whom I usually ignored due to a story predicting a meaningless and potentially awkward conversation. I felt so open-hearted and present that I transcended the story.
She asked what I was doing, and after a brief explanation, a silence fell between us that flowed into a conversation revealing her observations of nature, including the ornithological patterns she observed every day. In that conversation I found the nourishment I had missed when inhaling my lunch, and as we wished each other well for the forthcoming weekend I felt light, calm and peaceful.
If this walking practice feels like something you would like to try, I would love to hear about your experience. It takes forever to get anywhere though (almost an hour for a journey typically taking just over 5 minutes!) yet I am convinced of its health benefits, providing the life-affirming lenses and depth of experience that is so important.
