Slow Mindful Yoga: 6 Ways to Be More Present

Today's podcast episode is about how slow mindful yoga can help us be more present for our lives. By learning the art of slowing down in a variety of ways through mindful movement, we can develop tools that serve us far beyond the mat – where it really counts. While busy-ness and activity are praised by our culture, many of us actually harbor a deep longing to slow down. Life can feel so full, with all of the  things we want to do and the things we have to do. We do our best to balance all of our responsibilities and all of our roles, but it often seems to require a pretty demanding pace. Even when we squeeze in time for the things we enjoy, it can be hard to actually savor them. If we haven't shifted out of auto-pilot, distraction, and speed, how can we be present? Truly slowing down is a process, and it's extremely helpful to have tools that teach us how to do that. Otherwise, slowing down remains an unfulfilled wish – it doesn't happen because we don't know how to bridge that gap from our daily life momentum into a quieter way. In this episode, you'll hear my six suggestions for slow mindful yoga practice: 1) Do a mindful check-in at the beginning, middle, and end of your practice. 2) Slow down your breath. 3) Try styles of yoga that are generally slower. 4) Play with the pacing of your movements. 5) Have moments of improv (intuitive, responsive, unplanned movements). 6) Incorporate a Mindfulness Meditation technique like the Body Scan within your poses. Your mindful yoga or mindful movement practice can be the ideal place to get familiar with how to slow down, what slowing down actually feels like, and to understand which tools and techniques work best for you personally. And, many of these can also be used during the day as quick "movement snacks" or mini-mindfulness sessions. Listen in for details – the how and why – for these six ways to slow things down. -- For more links and resources mentioned in this episode, find the show notes at movedtomeditate.yoga/podcast. And, you can find lots of slow mindful yoga classes to explore in the Moved To Meditate Class Library! I'm also on Instagram at @addie_movedtomeditate (for mindfulness, movement, yoga, and pictures of PNW nature and my adorable kitty, Mustache).