Walking slowly

Finding Sabbath in every step

by

Perspectives Beyond the Plot

“Ugh, SLOW DOWN!” As I chastised myself for the tenth time that hour, I couldn’t help but note the irony. As the shortest person in my family, I’m often racing to keep up with everyone. However, while attending a silent retreat this past fall in Memphis, TN, I found myself rushing ahead of others on a nature walk. Regardless of how much effort I spent trying to pace myself and walk with the group, my body would not cooperate.

Admittedly, walking slowly felt awkward. At first, I realized I was holding extra tension in my shoulders, causing me to hunch over. Then, once I relaxed my shoulders, I caught myself clenching my fists. Shaking my arms out to release the tension, I noticed my back was stiff. Finally, after a few minutes of walking with my body loose, I realized my pace quickened again.

This frustrating cycle continued until I accepted that I would need to focus on one thing and one thing only if I wanted to stay with my group. Walking slowly.

The Science of Walking Slowly

Science has something to say about the pace we walk. Gerry Leisman, Moustafa, and Shafir found that the cadence of our walk can influence the inner rhythm of our thoughts and emotions. We tend to walk faster when we’re excited or angry. When our minds race, so do our feet. However, rest gives us a chance to pause and refresh so we can think clearly, preventing mental and physical burnout.

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it, you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates.” Exodus 20:8-10 ESV

Many of us still find it challenging to honor the Sabbath or include rest in our weekly rhythm. Physical and mental health are also connected. God created us and knows our bodies intimately.

Steps We Can Take to Intentionally Slow Down

Slow Our Minds:

1. Plan ahead. Most people don’t wake up and decide to slow down. We can set ourselves up for success by starting small. Begin the day with a short window of time where you can focus without interruption and consider the day ahead

2. Release our worries. One way to practice this is to pull out our journals and write down everything on our minds. This may mean creating a grocery list or a menu. When we give ourselves a few minutes to get pressing thoughts out of the way, we will slow down more quickly.

3. Find a spot. We can make a fire and cozy up with hot chocolate or curl up in bed. Our space should be distraction-free. This means avoiding places like coffee shops where we might encounter people we know.

4. Read the Bible. We can start with Psalm 16 or 62. There are no rules; our goal is to spend time reading God’s word.

Slow Our Bodies:

1. Spend time stretching. We’ll pause to notice where we hold tension and work on relaxing our bodies.

2. Notice our breathing. We’ll complete this step by pausing to focus on taking deep, intentional breaths. We can learn many breathing techniques that are clinically proven to reduce stress.

3. Bundle up and head outside. Now, we’ll focus on intentionally connecting our head and body. Remember, our only agenda is to walk slowly. We’ll dress warmly so the temperature doesn’t distract or encourage us to hurry.

4. Pay attention to our pace. As we walk, let’s look around. Listen to the sounds around us. Do you see or hear birds? Are there squirrels running through the trees?

5. Pray. We don’t have to follow a scripted prayer or follow an agenda. This is our time to talk to our creator. We may want to start by asking God to help identify roadblocks preventing us from establishing a habit of rest.

6. Pause and notice. Did our pace increase? Noticing allows us to re-center ourselves mentally and physically. When we’re ready to start walking slowly again, we can start walking again.

Any time of year is a great time to establish a new habit, so why not start today?

Beth’s writing encourages Christ followers to be salt and light in dull and dark places. Married to a football coach and raising two sons, she has waded through the challenges of balancing home life with the work she loves as a content manager and author. She has moved 10 times in 23 years, leaning on coffee and dark chocolate every time.