I have a nasty habit of liking things in fast forward. I like speed. I like my computer to operate quickly. I like to drive fast. I walk fast. Hell, I even talk fast (although I attribute that one to being raised in NY and an Italian family). Even my workouts used to have a bit of a “rush and get through it” feel to them.The big problem with that terrible little habit was the rush mentality, which seemed to creep into every aspect of my life. I had to do everything yesterday. Needless to say, I was one impatient chick.

[Blogger’s Note: In the spirit of full-disclosure — I can still be impatient. No, yoga has not righted all my wrongs just yet. Notice the title of that post used the word “recovering.”]

You know what happened to me after all of that rushing? Burn-out. Back when I worked in the corporate world I would rush around Monday through Friday and next turn into a veritable vegetable on the weekend. How’s that for one extreme to the other? It was imbalanced and quite unpleasant. And worst of all — all of that rushing around left very little instance for enjoying the scenery.

I didn’t realize how much I rushed until I started practicing yoga. My soul was craving the slow-down. I suppose that’s why I gave up those “hurry up and finish” workouts in favor of my yoga practice. Of course my rush mentality couldn’t quite be restricted, no matter how many times I savasana-ed. I craved fast-paced practices, which is no surprise as they mirrored my life off the mat. It took me a few years to realize that slowing down my practice would be a good

Now I mix things up — some days my practice is slower than others and some days my practice is a mix of yin and yang yoga. Now I actually notice the scenery when I drive. Now I veg out at times all through the week rather than save it all up for the weekend. Of course I don’t need to veg out as much considering I’m not moving at the speed of light anymore.

Now that I have a bunch of new projects on my plate, I’m trying to schedule in some slow down date. Expanding my pranayama practice keeps maintains my recovery status. Whenever I find myself rushing, I slow down and do a little breathing. Just last night I was in the middle of working on a new project when I realized that it was closing in on the wee hours of the wee hours. I stopped and did a 10-minute pranayam. Without it, I doubt I would have gotten any sleep at all last night.

Rushing encouraged unconsciousness. Now that I watch myself I’m a lot more mindful and a lot more relaxed in my day-to-day activities. I suppose I’ve come a distant way considering a few months back I had to get my car serviced, which found me sitting in the waiting room at the dealership for 5 hours. Rather than get all impatient, thinking about the things I needed to be doing, I took that date to catch up on some reading, read emails (ah, how I love technology), even have some nice conversations with other folks in the same boat as me. Life in the slow lane is pretty darned nice.

Namaste!