Why you should Do Less, Worry Less, Want Less the slow life movement

Whether it’s eating, working, having sex, or chatting with your friends, it’s time to pull over, breathe in deeply and take it reeeaaal slow.

Portrait of Tammy Strobel
Whether it’s eating, working, having sex, or chatting with your friends, it’s time to pull over, breathe in deeply and take it reeeaaal slow.
Speed can make us desensitised… and we often lose touch with our feelings. Dr Pam Stavropoulos
Speed can make us desensitised… and we often lose touch with our feelings. Dr Pam Stavropoulos

“Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” might be an awesome song, but as a way of life, it’s just downright exhausting! Enter the Slow Movement. Contrary to popular belief, the Slow Movement has nothing to do with pensioners getting on public transport or finding the correct change at the shops. It’s a modern approach to life that adopts oldfashioned attitudes to help you take the time to connect to everything – from your emotions to the food on your plate. CLEO invites you to stop your mad multi-tasking and put your feet up… nice and slowly.

Slow Food

The Slow Movement started in Italy and grew out of the Slow Food movement in the ’80s. It was originally established in reaction to the opening of a McDonald’s restaurant near the Spanish Steps in Rome, and is all about taking satisfaction in good, clean, fair food. “‘Good’, because it has to taste good. One of the fundamentals of Slow Food is the pleasure of taste,” explains Leonie Furber, former chairman of Slow Food Australia. “‘Clean’, in that it’s grown in a way that is kind to the earth. And ‘fair’, in that the producers are remunerated fairly.”

With members in 150 countries around the world, Slow Food has rapidly expanded since its start (irony, duly noted). Slow Food is about enjoying good food that’s grown locally, so take a bite by hitting up local farmers like the Quan Fa Organic Farm (quanfaorganic. com.sg). The movement also encourages you to connect with your grub by growing your own food, even if it’s a few herbs on your windowsill. And, of course, Slow Food is about savouring and sharing the joy of eating with your mates, family or neighbours. And, as Furber puts it, “Breaking bread with somebody is a very nice thing to do.” Bon appetit!

Slow Careers

There are pros and cons to consider as the pace of life is constantly accelerating. One of the greatest attributes of Gen Y (according to us, at least) is the ease with which we race up the corporate ladder. We don’t need to be in a job for a certain amount of time before asking (OK, demanding) a promotion – when we’re ready, the only way is up. It’s wonderful that we don’t need the approval of others to fast-track our careers, but our 100m-dash approach to work does have its drawbacks. We can get burnt out or get promoted and take on too much responsibility before we’ve had enough experience.

Another disadvantage in racing from polytechnic or junior college, through university and straight into a 9-to-5 is waking up one morning and realising, “Hey, I actually don’t enjoy this.” “You might be so focused on getting ahead that you’re not receiving any satisfaction in what you’re doing,” says career coach Kate Southam. “By the time you realise it, you’ve already invested so much working time that you want to stay in your job all the more, but not for a sense of personal satisfaction.” Instead, it pays to take time to think about what really makes you happy and what you – not your parents or peers – want to do.

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Slow Relationships

The danger of living at the speed of light (or the Internet, at least) is also that because we’re filling our lives so much, we end up not spending time trying to connect with our emotions. “Speed can sometimes make us desensitised,” explains psychotherapist Dr Pam Stavropoulos. “Often, we’re on autopilot, and we can lose touch with our feelings. But once we recognise that we’re desensitised, we can start to look at ways of pulling back and slowing down.”

Dr Stavropoulos describes the importance of putting aside time every day to relax and reflect on our thoughts and emotions. Some people like meditation, or a simple ritual, like lighting a candle. And slowing the tempo to connect with ourselves is really the best way to have meaningful relationships with everyone else, too. “People pick up on our energy,” says Dr Stavropoulos. “If we’re less stressed, the next time we have an encounter with anyone we have a significant relationship with, they’re going to notice that. The significant changes are the ones we make internally.”

Slow Sex

While some aspects of our lives can benefit from embracing “old-fashioned” ideas, when it comes to sex, we’re better off approaching it with an up-to-date and empowered mindset. But while Samantha Jones entertained us in Sex And The City, she also created some pretty unrealistic expectations. “Many people are trying things [in the bedroom] out of obligation, rather than curiosity or comfort,” comments sex therapist Tanya Koean. “It can put a lot of strain on relationships. It’s better to have sex that you enjoy twice a month than having ‘let’s get it over with’ sex all the time,” she says.

Slowing it down in the bedroom is a great way to start having regular, enjoyable sessions. Koean often tells new clients to ban sex, and encourages them to spend 20 minutes, three times a week, touching each other. “Nothing erotic, just touching and talking about what feels good,” she says. “We start building from there. I’m all for paring things back.” She explains that an encounter with your guy doesn’t have to be about busting mattresses, or experiencing five orgasms in a row – that sort of pressure isn’t conducive to great sex. So take it from the all-knowing Kylie Minogue and take it, you know, slow.

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