| I struggle to slow down. I’ve been primed I’m pretty sure since high school to workout fast, get projects done fast and knock out my to-do list, yes you know it – fast. I interpreted wanting to achieve big things with speed and volume. Turns out faster = more chaos NOT productivity. I’m a victim to modern society just as much as the next person. Dr. Bri Grogran and I hung out two weeks ago and she had me do an exercise that lit my brain up like a Christmas Tree at a Hallmark Movie town lighting ceremony. The challenge: 15 minutes of intentional slow movement however I felt like I wanted to move to music. I couldn’t do it! My brain told me where it wanted to move slowly but I interpreted it as stretching with some motion. Bri called me out and tried to prompt me to dig deeper and move slower. Still I couldn’t do it. We laughed about it later but I was convinced this was a challenge to conquer because I knew deep down this really slow movement that was so slow it was out of my comfort zone was what I needed. So each day after the initial challenge I made it a point to move very very intentionally slowly daily. Here’s what I learned…. I can feel micro-areas of pain and tension better when I slow my roll. Because I often feel tight in my glutes, hip flexors and pelvic floor I made it a point to feel out all the ligaments I could with gentle movements. Letting my body guide me to directions my hip joints and even spine needed. I’m pretty sure the movements are quite interesting to an onlooker. But hey, each time I do it I learn what’s locked and what to hone in on further. I always end up feeling better and with insights into where to focus my targeted bodywork sessions afterwards. So this weekend I invite you to take 5-10 minutes and slow down to grease your joints, ligaments and tendons a bit. Put on some slow lo fi or spa inspired music or try it in silence. Move slower than you think is slow to tap into your body and find where you’ve stored some stuff and got your qi flow stuck. Know the first time will feel super slow but if you do it for a week straight you’ll find there’s something to it. Click the orange button below to see a video of what it looks like for me. (I’m pretty sure Dr. Bri will say I’m still moving too fast! – hey I’m a work in progress too!) Episode 596 of my podcast, The Health Fix, came out today and it’s all about aging through the lens of Chinese Medicine! Check it out HERE or anywhere you get your podcasts. Tomorrow I’ll be talking about something you can add to this for the ultimate wind down routine. Cheers to getting your microcirculation going,Dr. J PS: If you’re seeing this before 10a PST/1p EST – my pal Brenda StLouis is offering a free Masterclass Today on Breaking The Money Patterns You Were Born Into – click HERE to sign up and learn more. |
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