We swallow a sandwich and a glass of coffee with our name on it while running, read books diagonally, and even spend our vacations “galloping across Europe.” It seems that only illness, a nervous breakdown or emotional burnout can force us to slow down. Some people simply cannot stop until they push themselves to the breaking point. While most of the planet continues to flee, the antipode movement Slow Life is gaining popularity in the world.
Striving for Slow Life does not mean wanting to move at a snail's pace. The main goal of Slow Life participants is to do everything at the right speed and find peace in everyday life.
What is "slow motion"
“Slow movement”, or slow life, originated in 1986, when journalist Carlo Petrini opposed the opening of a McDonald's restaurant in Piazza di Spagna in Rome. As a sign of protest, he organized a banquet in the same square with eating traditional Italian pasta.
Despite the fact that McDonald's was finally opened, the Italian's efforts were not in vain: the letter M, the traditional golden arch, was made several times smaller. In addition, thanks to Petrini, a movement called “slow food” or “slow food” was formed. Its supporters oppose tasteless fast food and call for relaxation at least at the dinner table.
Now the “slow movement” has more than a dozen directions. In addition to “slow eating”, there is the same education, aging, science, medicine, fashion, reading, the city, money, television, travel and so on. Many organizations were opened within the movement. Among the most influential are the American Foundation “Extend the Moment”, the European Society for Time Dilation, the Japanese Club of Slowness, and the World Institute of Slowness.
The number of adherents of this culture is growing.
Slow Food: responsible nutrition
The Slow Food movement, which later became a non-profit public organization, began in 1989 and gave birth to the modern slowlife movement. Today, Slow Food has offices in different countries, a foundation for the protection of agricultural biodiversity and gastronomic traditions, a publishing house, the University of Gastronomic Sciences and a community of food producers, sellers, chefs and scientists called Terra Madre, which meets annually.
The Slow Food philosophy is not only gastronomic hedonism. The organization promotes responsible nutrition, organic food choices and support for local production, especially farmers.
The basic rules of being a Slow Food supporter are: 1) Buy food. Prepare them. Eat. 2) Avoid processed foods and foods with complex ingredients. Eat real food. 3) Grow something yourself. Even if it grows on your windowsill. 4) If possible, try to find out where and under what conditions the food you buy is produced. 5) Buy local and seasonal products.
To strengthen its role in civil society and strengthen cooperation with EU authorities in the field of agricultural and industrial policy, Slow Food opened an office in Brussels in 2013. In the European Union, the organization constantly holds events and encourages environmentally friendly fishing and farming. True, in the Baltic countries, whose agriculture and food industry have suffered greatly due to EU actions in recent years, for some reason Slow Food does not hold events at all.
What do they stand for?
Supporters of slow life do not approve of the accelerated pace of life and consider it meaningless and imposed. In their opinion, the loser is not the one who works little, but the one who fills his schedule to capacity and is always in a hurry.
“Whoever is in a hurry is forced to slide along the surface. We have no time to look into the deeper meanings, to build relationships with the world and people,” wrote the ideologist of the “slow movement” Carl Honore in the book “No fuss. How to stop rushing and start living."
Honoré believes that people work hard to create the illusion of vigorous activity, to emphasize their importance or to forget about everyday problems. At the same time, he does not call for abandoning civilization and going to live in the forest. Slowlifers are ordinary people who want to live well in the fast-paced modern world. The philosophy of movement comes down to finding balance.
When you need to hurry, hurry. But when you don't have to rush, slow down.
Quick Ways to Slow Down
If you haven't decided on the big things listed above yet, try these quick ways to slow down. They are very simple, you can make them here and now.
- Do nothing for five minutes.
- Turn off notifications in your email and phone. To begin with - for half a day.
- Walk home slowly. It’s like walking along the embankment in Sochi.
- Hug your loved one, child, parent or pet.
- Look out the window.
- Pause before engaging in dialogue. Very soon you will notice that it is not necessary to carry on all conversations.
- Prepare a beautiful dinner and eat it slowly, thoughtfully, enjoying the taste.
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Why it's worth a try
The race to get ahead is inevitably accompanied by stress, insomnia, and digestive disorders. According to Stress facts from the American Psychological Association, 75% of American adults experience moderate to high levels of stress every month.
Chronic stress increases blood pressure and blood sugar levels, reduces concentration, disrupts the digestive system, and causes insomnia.
Lack of sleep destroys the nervous and immune systems, causes diabetes and heart disease, and provokes irritability and depression. Once you get carried away with fast food, headaches, acne, excess weight will appear, blood pressure and the level of “bad” cholesterol will increase.
The love of haste also ends in death.
According to the World Health Organization's Speed Regulation, 3,000 people are killed and 100,000 seriously injured on the roads every day due to speeding. In Japan, 2,000 people die every year due to work stress.
Science and statistics are on the side of the “slow”. They enjoy life more and get sick less because they avoid stress and try to live every moment.
Taking care of your health
A balanced diet means having plenty of fresh vegetables and fruits in your diet. It is best to use those that correspond to the current season and grow specifically in your area. You can buy them at the local market or even from specific manufacturers, directly in the village - just spend a little time and search.
Unlike a supermarket, in this case you will not only have a guarantee that the products are fresh, but also have not been treated with various fungicides and other toxic substances, which is necessarily done during long-term transportation and storage by most foreign manufacturers. As a result, the body will certainly thank you with good health.
How to join
There is no universal rule for “slowing down”. The tips below will help you understand in which direction you can work.
How to eat
- Avoid fast food and processed foods like frozen lasagna and pizza. As a last resort, snack on fruits, vegetable salads, and nuts.
- Don't eat on the go.
- Love cooking. It's akin to meditation.
- Prepare complete meals using fresh ingredients.
- Make it a habit to have dinner with your family at a common table, rather than alone in front of the computer.
How to work
- Work so that you have time for yourself and your family.
- Learn to say no.
- Quit if you've wanted to for a long time.
- Set aside 10 minutes a day for meditation or 20 minutes for an afternoon nap. This improves productivity and concentration. This is what John Kennedy, Thomas Edison, Napoleon Bonaparte, and John Rockefeller did.
- Insights come in a relaxed state. In the shower, on a walk, during meditation, while jogging, before bed. The brain goes into slow mode, releasing long alpha and theta waves.
- Take weekends without feeling guilty.
- Don't work on weekends or vacations.
How to relax
- Walk. Walking improves your health, calms your mind, allows you to notice many details along the way and builds a relationship with the world.
- Allow yourself to be idle. Remember that Charles Darwin worked 4 hours a day, and Albert Einstein lay in his office for hours and did nothing.
- Don’t try to cram all the entertainment into one evening: a movie, a concert, and a book.
- Take a walk in nature. A walk in the forest is the best antidepressant. Phytoncides contained in trees and plants increase the body's defense response, improve well-being, and lower blood pressure.
- Do some crafts, gardening, or another relaxing hobby.
How to exercise
- Don't squeeze yourself to the limit during training. Sport should fill you with energy, and not turn you into a disabled person.
- Remember that fat is burned at a heart rate of 70-75% of maximum. This occurs when walking or jogging quickly. If the pulse is higher, then the body begins to consume carbohydrates.
- Before you start mastering a difficult exercise, make sure your body is ready for it.
- Try slow sports: yoga, qigong, Pilates. They are available to everyone.
How to have sex
- Fast is not always good, but often bad. On average, sex lasts from 3 to 7 minutes, and a woman needs 10–20 minutes to warm up.
- Try tantric sex. You don't have to become a religious adherent to do this.
- If you are categorically against esoteric practices, then just don’t bother and enjoy the process.
How to drive a car
- Use the machine only when absolutely necessary. Most places can be reached on foot or by public transport.
- Do not hurry. At a speed of 80 km/h you will travel 4 km in 3 minutes. At a speed of 130 km/h - a minute less. What will you do with this minute?
- If you get cut off, get over it. There is no need to catch up with the driver, yell at him through the open window and cut him off in response.
There is no general formula for slowing down for all occasions. You have to decide where to slow down. The only thing that can stop you is greed, habits and fear of falling behind. It takes courage to give up speed. However, now you know that procrastination is normal and even beneficial.
Fleur McGerr: vintage leisurely
British writer, event manager, model and blogger Fleur McGerr promotes a slow lifestyle in vintage style. She wears dresses below her knees, regularly goes to the salon to get her hair done, cooks lunches and dinners, spends time with friends over tea and manicures, and adheres to the traditions of the past in her daily interactions and lifestyle. “I love the way our grandmothers treated the body,” says one of Fleur’s friends, Lisa, who is also into vintage slow living. “The cult of thinness was unknown to them; they knew how to appreciate their forms. And the clothes that modern women wear are tailored to a non-existent standard.”
However, Fleur manages to successfully integrate quite modern things into her daily routine: running, yoga, cycling and dancing. McGerr’s ideology is not classic Slow Life in its purest form, but rather a story about what kind of “wrapper” slow life can be wrapped in. On the writer’s blog you can find a lot of useful recommendations on buying vintage shoes, choosing places for a photo shoot, a walk or stylized events. Additionally, Fleur is a great example of how to make money rather than lose money by being slow in a world where everyone is in a hurry.
Peace of mind
A modern person, trying to build a career as quickly as possible and earn more money for various new products, simply forgets how to live. He becomes like a hamster running inside his wheel in a cage. Adherents of the Slow concept stop such “running in place.” They begin to enjoy the simple pleasures of life and those pleasant moments that happen every day. People who are always in a hurry simply don’t notice them. By slowing down your rhythm of life sufficiently, you can easily find peace of mind and discover a lot of pleasant things in the world around you.
