Slow Health Explained
[video transcript]
In this video I’m going to share how you can look after your health in a sustainable and simple way.
My name is Kat, welcome to episode 4 of the Slow Living Guide, where I give you the A to Z of Slow Living and hopefully provide a pocket of calm in your day.
In last week’s episode we discussed the topic of Slow Food, so if you haven’t seen that yet, do be sure to follow the link at the end of the video. Also, if you are on a journey of slowing down and want to find out how to use your time and resources more effectively to get the most out of life, I’d definitely recommend that you subscribe and hit the notification bell to stay updated on future videos.
Do you feel like you want to slow down to take stock of your health and look after your body in the unique way that it needs? Slow health practices may be just the thing for you. When I moved to the UK as a kid, one of the biggest shocks to the system was the food. I live in Glasgow, which is more renowned for the invention of the deep-fried mars bar than it is for healthy lifestyles. I wasn’t used to having so much access to sugary, processed food, and going from the outdoor freedom of home-schooling to sitting in a classroom all day meant that I put on a lot of weight. Maybe you’ve had a similar experience.
In spite of all the medical advancements in the West, there’s a real culture of overconsumption and overbusyness that makes it really difficult to break unhealthy cycles. That’s where slow health comes in.
Slow health originated in the early 2000s. It is otherwise known as slow medicine, and centres around a holistic approach to health, which determines to step back and examine all aspects of life, mind, body, and soul, to get to the root of the health concern, rather than jumping directly to the quick fix of a pill or an operation. Let’s take a personal example. I’ve struggled on and off with mental health issues for many years, so I went to the doctor during a particularly bad season of depression. Now, this doctor was awesome – she did offer antidepressants as a possible solution, but also took the time to talk with me, to consider the full picture. The thing is it wasn’t just as simple as having depression. There were many factors, such as not getting enough sunlight in the Wintertime, having recently gone through a big life transition, not eating healthily, and having really bad PMS. In the end, I was put on the pill, went back to therapy, started to go running on a regular basis, and my mental health improved significantly in just a few short months. Definitely there are cases where medication is absolutely the right, and sometimes the only solution to a medical problem; slow health is just about taking the time to slow down and cover all the bases. But how can you bring it into your own life?
Internal Slow Health Practices
Let’s start with the internal side of slow health. You are what you eat, so start by writing up a vision of what you want your food life to look like. Some ideas might include words like “nutritious”, “colourful”, “tasty” “plant based”, whatever is right for you. Next, use these key terms to search for healthy recipes online and choose a small selection to learn. Finally, set aside a time in your calendar for cooking. If you don’t have time to cook every day then you can do what I do - batch make your meals, freeze them, and you’ll always have some healthy homemade food on demand during the week.
It may also be an idea to think about the words that you’re putting into yourself. Do you continually criticize yourself or replay others’ criticism towards you in your mind? These words are junk food to the soul. Perhaps you’d like to consider choosing a loving phrase to repeat to yourself and meditate on whenever the negative thoughts come up – something as simple as “I am loved” can serve as the nutritious words that your soul really needs to hear.
External Slow Health Practices
Now for the external side of things. One big component of slow health is movement, both how you exercise and how you rest. If you don’t currently have a regular exercise practice, then start small. Even 5-10 minutes a day can make a big difference, or you can choose gentler exercises such as walking or yoga. Most importantly, it has to be something that you can find some enjoyment in. Personally, I love trail running and hiking, as it allows me to explore and get to see more of Scotland’s beautiful nature. This brings us onto the next point, which is to spend time in positive environments. Fresh air and sunlight do wonders for an aching body and a cloudy mind, so stepping outside on a daily basis is a really helpful and simple starting point for cultivating slow health practices in your day. If you don’t have a lot of nature near where you live, you can make your home a beautiful space by keeping it tidy, using aromatherapy, or maybe growing a garden.
In a nutshell, slow health is about taking the time to visualize steps that you can take to improve your health in a holistic way without relying solely on medication. That’s not to say that medication isn’t good and necessary in many cases, it’s just not always the only factor in taking care of our health.
No matter what your health is like, there are always some steps that we can take to improve it, both for the present and for the future. Let me know in the comments one step that you want to take for your health this year. For me, I’m trying to focus on setting a consistent sleep schedule and cutting down on the amount of sugar I eat. Until next time, it was lovely to have you here.
