Slow life is an art of living that consists of slowing down the pace on a daily basis to better appreciate things and be happier. This movement takes place in several spheres of life: slow food, slow parenting, slow business, slow sex… How to put it into practice every day? What are its benefits ? Cindy Chapelle, sophrologist and author of the blog La Slow Life tells us more about the slow movement.

“It is not because we live at 100 per hour that we live 100%, quite the contrary”, quips Cindy Chapelle. It is on the basis of this observation that we realize that it is today essential to slow down our lifestyles in order to flourish. This is called the slow movement. It was born in 1986, when the food journalist Carlo Pétrini created slow food in Italy to counter fast food. Since then, the slow movement has spread to other areas (parenthood, sex, business, cosmetics, tourism, etc.) to become slow life more generally. But what is behind this fashionable Anglicism? “Slow life is about settling down, taking a step back from what you do and what you experience and asking yourself what is important to you. The idea is to prioritize quality over quantity in your life. For this, it is essential to slow down our rhythms so as not to feel overwhelmed and not to forget ”. Be careful, slow life has nothing to do with laziness. The goal is not to be stationary but to decelerate.

Getting into slow life doesn’t necessarily mean making radical life changes. These are small acts, small gestures and habits, which, taken together, gradually change the way we live. “You don’t completely turn your life upside down with big changes, it would be too difficult to put in place and to follow over time”, comments the sophrologist. Are you tempted by slow life but don’t know where to start? Here are some simple examples of “slow life” habits to adopt:

• Treat yourself to a decompression walk when you leave work. “Having a decompression airlock when you leave work and before reuniting with your family allows you to integrate everything that happened during the day. It’s a time to disconnect from work and make yourself available for family life ”, explains Cindy Chapelle.
• Take the time to breathe out during the lunch break instead of staying locked up or staring at your computer, a sandwich in your hand. “To breathe is not just going outside, it is to settle down and appreciate the noises, the smells and the landscapes of nature. We listen to the birds, the branches of the trees swaying in the wind, we breathe the freshly cut grass… ”, advises the specialist.
• Meditate. “Devoting 5 to 10 minutes a day to meditation is a first step towards slow life. In the morning, we sit down and close our eyes to meditate, take our internal weather forecast. We start the day in a more serene way ”.
• Anticipate things. “Having a schedule the day before for the next day allows you to organize your day well and not to feel overwhelmed. Knowing what to expect avoids unnecessary stress on D-Day ”.
• Limit our use of social networks and take a step back from the content circulating there. “I don’t try to have or do the same thing as the others, I ask myself what I need to feel good”, insists Cindy Chapelle.

Slow life being an art of living, it can be applied to all areas.

La slow food

Unlike fast food, slow food consists of eating healthy and taking the time to cook. “It doesn’t mean cooking a gourmet dish! You just take the time to choose your products well and cook them in a simple way. Doing it with the family at least once a week is even better ”, suggests Cindy Chapelle.

Le slow parenting et la slow school

When you have children and you work, the pace is often frantic. The risk for parents is to do things automatically without really taking the time to fully experience their parenthood. “Slow parenting consists of spending more time playing with your children, listening to them, while seeking to give them more autonomy on a daily basis. It’s letting go as opposed to hyperparentality ”, develops the sophrologist. The slow school trend is also developing, in particular with progressive schools which offer other ways of learning than those used in “traditional” schools: review the grading, debate in class on a theme, avoid “by heart”. ”…

Le slow business

Slow business means setting up habits that facilitate the work-life balance. Concretely, the employee allows himself several small breaks in his working day to get some fresh air, to breathe, to drink a tea. Also, not multitasking is an aspect of slow business, as is not looking too much in your mailbox (if possible). The goal is to get rid, as much as possible, of anything that can trigger unnecessary stress at work. In slow business, there is also slow management, which invites managers to lead in a freer and more flexible way so as not to stress their employees and indirectly increase their productivity. In recent years, several ways have been put in place in this direction: teleworking, free hours, the setting up of leisure and sports activities in the workplace, etc.

Le slow sex

Performance and competitiveness have interfered in our sexuality, creating stress, complexes, and even sexual disorders. Practicing slow sex means making love in full awareness, favoring slowness over speed, to fully feel all the sensations, to contain your sexual energy and thus achieve more intense enjoyment. This is called tantrism. “Making love slowly allows you to discover the body of your partner as for the first time, to give your impressions on a particular area touched”.

Slow life brings many physical and psychological benefits. “Slowing down greatly contributes to our personal development and our happiness. It affects our health because by strengthening our well-being day after day, we reduce our stress, improve our sleep and eat better ”, let the specialist know. For those who might ask the question, slow life is completely compatible with city life, provided that you discipline yourself. To put slow life into practice, you have to want to because it requires you to review your priorities to return to the fundamentals (nature, healthy food, relaxation, etc.). But once you get started, it’s so good that it’s impossible to go back!