“No rushing,” my yoga teacher admonishes sternly.  She’s helping me with backbends.  I’m moving too fast. I take a breath and pause. I slow down. “Good,” she nods, “no rushing.”

Ah, yes, as in yoga, as in life.

Rushing used to make me feel important. “I’m so busy!” I sighed dramatically, secretly thrilled by the sense that I was moving, shaking, and making something happen.

But rushing means autopilot.

Sure, it may look like I’m getting a lot done, but when I rush, I’m not present. So there’s no time to change the way I’m doing something, because the focus is simply get this sucker done. We’re one step ahead the whole way. So we have to run on our brain’s happy habitual grooves, doing everything exactly as we’ve done it before.

Ironically, this isn’t efficient.

When we rush, we forget our keys (our dry cleaning, our kids). We forget to feel (to breathe, to pause, to think, to experience). There’s no time to innovate (change, adjust, improve). We can only survive the rush.

Here’s the funny thing: despite what our brain may be telling us, rushing isn’t about time. Rushing is how we feel on the inside; it’s an internal state. And despite the feeling, it doesn’t get us anywhere more quickly. In fact, rushing often takes up more time, because we miss seeing the possible short cuts along the way.  I don’t have to rush to be efficient when I practice. And how I feel while on the journey is radically different.

This month, Say No to Rushing!

Instead, slow down. Be in the moment. And feel how time and possibility expands.

Rachel supports yoga teachers and studios around the world to create transformational education experiences that help them thrive in their business, share their passion, and inspire more people to practice yoga. Her extensive knowledge and experience include: earning two masters degrees, authoring three books, leading 4,000+ hours of TT, building a teacher training college for a national yoga company, and working behind the scenes in yoga studio & teacher management for more than fifteen years. As a writer and speaker, she continually wrestles with the juicy bits of life: relationships, authenticity, and discovering meaning in this crazy, wildish world. E-RYT 500, YACEP, BA, MFA, MSci. Learn more about Rachel.

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5 Comments

  1. This is a really insightful blog. Isn’t it funny that we get a sense of importance when we are rushing around – as if the lack of time in the day means we are somehow busy, important people. But when we look inside to ourselves, we realise that rushing around doesn’t make us proactive, being stressed doesn’t mean we get more done. When we take some time out to breath and think and rest, the rest of our time is used in a far better and more practical way. Thank you for sharing your experiences.

  2. Georgia, I know what you mean! I wonder who started this “busy=important” myth. I used to catch myself in a “busy” competition with someone, as if the person who was more stressed out would win something! Thank you for sharing your thoughts <3

  3. Love the reminder not to rush! My husband and I decided to have an ‘internet Sabbath’ this weekend and wow did that really slow those 24 hours down. We didn’t do anything else differently, just the internet off. But ‘just’ the internet off was HUGE. A great way to slow down and recharge.

  4. I love that idea!! An electronic fast sounds like a great idea – I’m inspired 🙂

  5. I really enjoyed this post. Rushing and busy seem to be one of the epidemics of our time. Thank you for your insight.

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