Pacing: Bringing Back the Slow-ga

a.k.a. the power of slow (yo)ga

my kids teaching Vrksasana (Tree Pose) to Meddy Teddy:)

“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.”

-Anne Lamott

Adjusting to seasonal change

Ah, Autumn. It’s my favorite season and yet it can feel so chaotic. Both of my kids are now in full-day school, so I have more time to practice yoga, right? Yes and no. A thousand other things somehow keep rushing in to fill up the schedule…

Really, it’s up to me. I’m the one letting those things occupy the day. I’m saying this so you know, it’s part of the struggle of momlife. We’re so busy! I started writing a post about slowing down and taking a pause, about depression and feeling blue and how the Fall sometimes brings these feelings on and how it’s a call to slow down…and the post just wasn’t coming out right.

It wasn’t clear where I wanted that post to lead. I just started writing it because I felt deeply inspired by the topic, but I just couldn’t hit my stride with how I want my writing to be with this new Fall schedule. Yes, I finally have found a little more time for yoga, and even some classes at the yoga studio, but I like to share my thoughts in rhythm with the seasons and for some reason, the rhythm has been evading me.

So it occurred to me that the idea of pacing could be my next post. Here I am grappling with timing and a sense of connecting with the seasonal changes. How about you? Do you feel in sync with the changes Autumn is bringing, or is it throwing you for a loop?

Sometimes Fall is frenetic for families - getting back to school, gearing up for the holiday season, feeling the urgency of the cooler, darker days. In my mind, this calls for shifting gears to a slower pace. I know, slowing down doesn’t always sound appealing. Trust me, though; it can be just what you need, especially if you’re having a hard time taking a pause.

Let’s bring back the slow-ga

Much of the work of raising littles begs us to slow down. We are called to move painfully slowly sometimes and to wade through some of the most basic life skills: talking, walking, eating, using the bathroom, and oh, that baby talk that so many moms get inundated with if they don’t get out there to find other adults to socialize with. I’m convinced this all does something to our brains, not necessarily a bad thing, but I can say none of us will ever be the same after becoming parents.

That includes our approach to yoga practice. I know, if you’ve been with me on Substack for awhile, I’m going to sound like a broken record, but it’s only because this is one of the biggest truths I’ve learned since having children: my yoga practice will have to change to suit my lifestyle. It will change, not just once, but as a matter of course. 

Sometimes, just a brief pause and a mini yoga session can bring us back to balance.

It’s these little pauses that help us incorporate the mental and emotional aspects of yoga. When I began writing on Substack in 2018, I used to incorporate a section called ‘Slow-ga’ at the end of each post. Here, here, and here are two examples of posts with slow-ga practices at the end. These are not traditional yoga practices and many of them are barely even physical. I really just wanted to emphasize that yoga isn’t just a physical practice. But, as I bring back this idea of slow-ga, I want to offer very physical ideas, ones that help us tap into the mental, emotional, and spiritual layers of us. Check out this post I wrote about the koshas, those layers of ourselves that go beyond just the physical.

Anyways, after all these years of parroting the idea that ‘yoga is more than just poses,’ I’m going to side step a bit and say, ‘but actually, the poses are very important, too.’ It’s not that we should abandon them as the more superficial practice of yoga; instead, let’s find ways to infuse our physical practice with more attention and intention, so that they are more holistic and integrated on the bodymind level.

A sequence for changing pace

“Let it flow, let yourself go, slow and low, that is the tempo.”

-Beastie Boys

When I used to play capoeira, my teacher would sometimes have us do everything extra slow. It was a way of increasing awareness of our movements, but it also had a way of requiring much more strength. Try it!

For instance, if I give you a simple, 2-pose sequence to practice a simple transition you can start with a brisk pace and then gradually slow it down to see what that changes in your experience: do your muscles feel like they are working more? Are you building more heat in the body? Do you prefer the fast or slow version?

 If you want to add some practicality to it, we can do a sort of functional movement sequence to get from the ground up to Tadasana. Try it quickly, then as you repeat it several times, slow down the pace.

Here are the two sequences demonstrated in the video below:

Sequence 1

Seated / Tabletop / Adho Mukha Svanasana / 3-legged dog / High Lunge/ Virabhadrasana 1 / Tadasana

and then to get back down: Tadasana / Virabhadrasana 1 / High Lunge / 3-legged dog / Adho Mukha Svanasana / Tabletop / Seated

Sequence 2

Seated / Tabletop / Adho Mukha Svanasana / Ardha Uttanasana / Uttanasana / flat back up to Urdhva Hastasana / Tadasana

and then to get back down: Tadasana / Urdhva Hastasana / Uttanasana / Ardha Uttanasana / Adho Mukha Svanasana / Cat-Cow / Seated

 

What’s next

You may have noticed that my posts have been a bit random these days. I usually follow a structured schedule where you might get a post on yoga philosophy one week, another post on a yoga sequence or yoga pose another week, and maybe another post on the ups and downs of motherhood and how we can overcome challenges in finding time to practice. I also write a lot about synching our yoga practice to the phases of the moon and seasonal changes. These are the things that inspire me

What I’d really like to know is what inspires you?

Do you want to know more about yoga philosophy as it relates to modern yoga mamas? Are you looking for help in crafting a yoga practice that fits in with your schedule and needs? Would you like to nerd out on some anatomy as it relates to your yoga practice? Maybe more guidance on breathing and meditation? I have many ideas as to what I’d like to write, but please, comment here if you have a vote for a particular topic you’d like to see me address more in this newsletter.

Thanks for reading! I hope you found some gems and inspiration here. I always appreciate it when you share the love, too, so pass this post along to anyone you think would enjoy it!

my tiny yoga teachers helping Meddy Teddy to do Navasana (Boat Pose)