The art of living life in the slow lane

As the summer energies rise, you can feel the energy in Ibiza bubbling up and down your spine. It is so exciting, inviting to dash around from one glorious party to another. Familiar faces, wonderful cocktails, bouncy sounds and good vibes. Yet balancing social and work time in Ibiza’s summer-whirlwind is vital if you are going to happily last the rest of the season!

How do you manage your time and energy when there is so much to explore, enjoy and experience? Do you know how to slow down, or have you ever experienced the difference of living life more in the present moment, when everything becomes more lucid, brighter and softer? For it is in this present moment, that creativity grows and flows. And it’s these same creative energies that can also feel so good that they bubble over.

To access this slower, softer zone, practice by taking time to stop. For seven days, try the following steps:

* Each morning take a 10-minute ‘being’ walk in nature
* Simply set the timer on your iPhone clock so that your mind can relax
* Look up and away from devices and stimulation
* Place your hands on your belly and breathe in and out deeply
* Walk slowly, without trying to go fast or get anywhere, walk from heel-to-toe, feeling the ground beneath your feet
* Open your eyes wide and then soften your gaze, look around you gently and notice beautiful details that jump out at you
* Now find something you can see, feel or hear to appreciate

Next, take this slowing down practice into your work and social life. Set the timer again for midday and again, before you go out or go home to the fullness of friends and family life. Practice this again and yes, it can take discipline, to rouse yourself from the desk, the emails, the Facebook, the networking. Connect back to your breathe and yourself and notice how your mind opens and your heart beats more strongly. This is the beginning of the ‘slower lane’ where you can stay connected to the deeper, softer and more sustainable energy of life’s creative impulses…