What does slow living, staying balanced, and the habits of centenarians have in common?



Everything! If you read Dan Buettner's books about The Blue Zones you'll start to see many parallels to the slow living movement.



In this podcast episode, I wanted to draw your attention to habits that help you stay balanced. In addition, I'll share ways to look at "slow living" that go beyond achieving a certain aesthetic. (Because if you search for slow living hashtags on Instagram you might think the only way to participate is to bake bread and wear cottage core.)



Below you'll find the transcripts of this episode, then the table of contents for the following post. Originally a post I wrote in 2019 about the importance of staying balanced. I've combined these because to practice slow living is to seek balance and enjoy life.



In fact, they have so much in common, I noticed that what most people consider "slow living" habits are the practices of the longest lived people on earth. Those who live in the blue zones.



Lastly, you'll find a list of resources to help you in your pursuit of balance, via the slow living movement.





[00:00:00 ] Announcer: Welcome to a healthy bite. You're one nibble closer to a more satisfying way of life, a healthier you and bite size bits of healthy motivation. Now let's dig in on the dish with Rebecca Huff. 



[00:00:18 ] Rebecca: In today's episode, I'm going to get a bit more personal than I usually do, and share a bit about what I've been doing lately for the last year or two to heal from the constant feeling of being busy and being overwhelmed. And also how I gave myself permission to stop being super mom or at least to stop trying to be super mom and how I've learned to live a bit more in the green zone instead of always being busy, busy, busy, and also I'm going to cover a bit about the trending topic of slow living and what it means and whether or not it's just another self-improvement trend, bandwagon that you may or may not want to hop on.



[00:01:05 ] Years ago I wrote a blog post encouraging myself and others to try to stay more balanced. This is something that professionals have been recommending for years. My doctor has recommended that I try to stay more in the green zone. In the past, my chiropractor and others had given me heart rate variability tests that show whether you're in the flight or fight mode, or whether you are more balanced and kind of in the green zone.



[00:01:35 ] Even when you look at the chart there's red, yellow, and green and doctors had recommended for years that I try to stay more out of that red and yellow zone and get myself into the green zone more often. Does any of this resonate with you? 



[00:01:51 ] If you're a mom and you have one or more children, I am certain that there are probably things that I'm gonna talk about that you can relate to. But this post that I wrote was as much to myself as to anyone. And it was meant to encourage and remind me to stay balanced. This is especially important for other all or nothing types like myself. 



[00:02:14 ] Back during the pandemic when people were. Basically forced to stay home, an old concept became a new trend and that is slow living.



[00:02:25 ] I, I say old concept because anyone who's into organic food or buying local knows that this slow living movement started a long time ago, back in the eighties, when a group of activists defended a slower pace of life to include regional traditions, food made from local ingredients by real people with their own two hands; as opposed to Franken foods made by machines and automated processes.



[00:02:57 ] The slow food and slow living movement recognizes those connections between people, cultures, the foods we grow and eat, as well as the planet and politics. 



[00:03:09 ] because people were stuck at home, many began to bake their own breads or snacks and pick up other hobbies, like cooking, sewing, and DIY type projects.



[00:03:21 ] And it made sense. People had more time on their hands, even those who are working from home had more time because they no longer had to commute or do all of the things required when you leave home to work. I was working at home before the pandemic and continued to do so throughout and after it was pretty much over.



[00:03:45 ] I was also continuing to keep up with my website and my children who were still living at home. and of course, I also felt the need to cook every meal from scratch and do all of the housework myself. So I was basically burning the candle at both ends doing everything myself, because that's what supermoms do.



[00:04:07 ] Right. 



[00:04:08 ] In this state of trying to do everything and get it all done. I was one day pretty much flying down the interstate in my fast car. When my daughter said to me that she wished we weren't always rushing and that we weren't always so busy all the time. Now I'm not repeating what she said verbatim, but this was basically what she was communicating to me is that it felt like we were always rushing and it felt like we were always in a hurry and that she seemed a bit nostalgic about those people who were able to live a slower paced life. And this really was an eye opening conversation that I had with my daughter. And I realized at the time I was speeding down the highway to something that there was no need for me to be in a hurry about.



[00:04:56 ] And this was the pace of my life. Pretty much 24 7. I was always in a hurry. I was always busy doing things and had long checklists, long todo lists, not everything on there was something that I necessarily had to do, but it all felt urgent.



[00:05:13 ] That conversation stuck with me for a while. And even though my boss was pretty laid back and very family oriented, I felt like. I was dividing my time between too many things. So I turned in my notice



[00:05:27 ] and went back to focusing on my family full time. Just giving up my full-time job, wasn't really all it took for me to slow down because I have always tried to do it all and prove my worth by being as much of a superwoman as I possibly could.



[00:05:45 ] We do tend to carry over these childhood stories or the messages that we were basically programmed with as a child, into our adulthood. And sometimes the messages that do not serve us well, take a bit of time to unravel or erase. So slowing down and doing nothing at times, didn't exactly fit into my model of being a successful person.



[00:06:10 ] I was typically burning the candle at both ends and doing as much as I possibly could, rarely taking a break and sitting still, was something I felt ashamed of. 



[00:06:21 ] But after my daughter had brought up that she wished we weren't always so busy. I spent some time thinking about what I was doing with my life and what I spent my time doing every day.



[00:06:33 ] And it probably doesn't help matters that my husband is also a type, a personality, very driven, very successful and legit, the most positive person I know the words give up are not in his vocabulary. He wins at everything and he accomplishes it all. 



[00:06:50 ] Anyhow, I realized that I was not only burnout, but I was potentially raising children who felt the need to stay burnout. Staying balanced is what professionals had been recommending to me for years.



[00:07:03 ] And while at times I had picked up habits that were practicing the art of staying balance, none of it had ever really stuck.



[00:07:13 ] So I started looking for other ways to slow down ways that would be lasting and sustainable. This idea of staying balanced and practicing slow living also seemed to parallel a book I had been studying for several years, and that is Blue Zones by Dan Buettner. And in it, he lists out the power of nine lifestyle habits that the world's healthiest and longest lived people tend to practice in those regions.



[00:07:45 ] And I found it interesting that these habits were very similar to recommendations for slow living, and also for staying balanced. So while slow living is a trending topic, you'll know that for sure if you search for the hashtag on Instagram. The slow living movement doesn't have to be an aesthetic.



[00:08:07 ] It doesn't have to be perfectly baked sourdough bread. It has to become a way of life to actually stick, and my idea was to practice things that I felt were sustainable for me. 



[00:08:23 ] So looking at the parallel between slow living, staying balanced. And these healthy habits. I didn't want to add things to my plate that would make me feel like I was moving down a checklist. 



[00:08:37 ] I didn't want slow living to become one more self-improvement project. I wanted to incorporate habits that would be long lasting. One of the power of nine habits that I feel like meshes well with a slow living movement is to move naturally. The world's longest living people don't, you know, go to the gym daily or pump iron or even run marathons.



[00:09:07 ] What they actually do is that they live in a way that constantly requires movement without them thinking about it. Growing gardens or working in flower beds and doing things at home that requires movement. 



[00:09:22 ] And you don't have to grow a garden to practice this type of movement.



[00:09:27 ] You can simply go for a walk. Even in most cities, you can find green ways where you can take a hour long walk outdoors to reduce activity in your brain that may be linked to repetitive negative thoughts you may be having or just any kind of thoughts about how you're super busy and feeling overwhelmed and have too much to do.



[00:09:50 ] Taking a walk in nature is a great way to get in some physical activity and also to slow down. You don't have to do a power walk to reap the benefits of walking. You can walk at a slow pace, and being outside in nature is also a great way to stay balanced. And if you have a pet that requires walking,