I'm part of a book club right now where instead of racing through books, we simply complete one chapter a month. 8 chapters. 8 months. While it sounds like a snail's pace, I've been amazing by how this space has changed my relationship with the book we are reading. It has allowed me to really sink into the depth of each chapter and made each discussion super rich and fulfilling.
In all of it, I am reminded that slowing down has its rewards.
For many of us, the pandemic offered an invitation to slow down. Calendar lives lightened and space was created for us to dance to the beat of our own rhythm. Now, as life begins to pick back up again, I find myself wondering how we can hold onto some of this room we've been able to create that has allowed us to expand into our fullest sense of being... The type of expansion that can only happen when we have the space to restore and feed ourselves with soul nurturing acts that must take place outside the limits of time and structure.
The unstructured time that made its way into our lives over the past year invited us to operate more in sync with the pace of nature.
The universe gave us a tap on the shoulder to help us remember who we are... to pause and return to our original rhythm. Now that we have remembered, we can more consciously weave it in to our lives.
We can remember to actively keep space in our schedule, even when it means saying no.
We can remember that unstructured time to create is vital to our spirit.
We can remember that the true pace of nature is but a breath away.
Our original pace, the true rhythm of our spirit can be found at any moment with a deep, slow, conscious breath. A whole life can be found in that single breath.
A rich growth into life from nothingness. (Inhale)
An expansion into abundance. (Holding at the top)
A release into death. (Exhale)
An emptiness that inspires life to begin yet again (Holding at the bottom)
We can also find this connection and remember our original rhythm by immersing ourselves in the flow of nature's rhythm. Spending time in nature slows down our pace and brings many positive effects to our health. Here are just a few things you can expect from a few days in nature:
- As little as 15 minutes in the woods has been shown to reduce test subjects’ levels of cortisol, the stress hormone.
- Increase nature exposure to 45 minutes, and most individuals experience improvements in cognitive performance.
- The sound of water and birdsong have been proven to improve mood and alertness.
- Many of nature’s patterns — raindrops hitting a pool of water or the arrangement of leaves — are organized as fractals, and the human retina moves in a fractal pattern while taking in a view. Such congruence creates alpha waves in the brains — the neural resonance of relaxation.
- Nature boosts our immune system (and may help fight cancer).
- Aerosols present in evergreen forests act as mild sedatives while also stimulating respiration
Join us to take a pause this summer and immerse yourself in the power of this rhythm by coming to the TRUE NATURE RETREAT. Our outdoor retreat will include nature immersion experiences, yoga, meditation, sound baths, delicious (and conscious) food, along with any number of activities that will delight your senses (swimming, hiking, sitting in nature, gathering around the fire, etc). Check it out here and make sure to claim your spot soon.