Pomalo!
- hearondickson9
- Oct 29
- 3 min read
I recently returned from 2+ weeks in Croatia and Montenegro. WOW, what a trip! These are stunningly beautiful countries on the Adriatic Sea and the people are wonderful and welcoming. We basked in the sun, saw interesting sites, ate great food, and just had a fantastic time together. I wrote in my last newsletter about community and connection and I am convinced there is no better way to build community than to travel with a group. But I digress. Ironically, one of the things that resonated most for me on this recent trip occurred on the very first day. Our community of travelers had a guided tour of the gorgeous city of Split, Croatia, and learned from our tour guide that Croatians use the term, "Pomalo," to casually greet one another. "Pomalo" doesn't literally translate as, "hello," or "hey," or "howsitgoin?" or "what's up?" It means, "slow down." Mind blown! Granted, one of the reasons I have gravitated towards yoga, meditation, and mindfulness is because I tend to overthink just about everything, but I cannot get this concept out of my mind. What does it say about a country and its culture and people that their casual greeting to one another is an encouragement to slow down and take it easy? I'm sure I am not alone in feeling like our current lifestyles tend to be "go go go," with multiple tasks to accomplish, seemingly simultaneously, and a constant barrage of text, email, and social media notifications. What impact would it have upon us if, several times per day, we casually got the reminder to "slow down?" This feels to me like a recipe for a healthier lifestyle. |
Slowing down is attainable! Probably needless to say, two of my favorite ways to do so are through yoga and meditation. These are also acts of self-care. Studies show that even one minute of pausing, sitting in stillness, and focusing on our breath can be beneficial. And, over time, doing so on a regular basis can reduce our blood pressure, improve our sleep, and make us less reactive when situations bother us. I saw a quote not too long ago that really drove this home, "the happiest people I know are not speeding up, they are slowing down." (Justin Welsh). Intrigued about meditation but unsure of a starting point? Check out the 5 day introduction to meditation linked below. It's about 5 minutes per session and will give you some tools to help get you started.
Hearon in the news!
Ok, maybe that's an exaggeration, but I was recently a guest on two podcasts and "featured" in a Substack article. In the "Housecalls" podcast I talked with my friends Ti and Matt about my journey with yoga and meditation, and on the "Sober Fit Chick" podcast I talked with the super talented Maureen about how yoga and meditation have been instrumental to my 10 years of continuous sobriety. I am grateful to these podcasters for the work they do in sharing stories like mine and, of course, for hosting me. Click the photos to visit the episodes.
"Non-Performative Yoga"
Candidly I was blown away when my friend, the author, coach, and public speaker, Sara, wrote a Substack article about attending one of my yoga classes. My primary passion with regard to teaching yoga and meditation is to make it accessible for everyone and to introduce these practices to those who may not otherwise experience them. Here's an excerpt from the article: "That whole day I was talking about the class, how much I enjoyed that hour, a gift to myself and the me’s. Later that evening friends who had also been on the dock that morning stopped by and over drinks we continued to bask in the goodness of the class. My friend described the class to my husband as 'non-performative yoga.' " Click the image below to go to the article and, from there, you can see all of Sara's other excellent content. And if "non-performative yoga" sounds appealing to you, click on the button below the photo for the StayTunedYoga schedule of online (do it from your own home!) yoga classes.
And, finally, I LOVE talking about this stuff! I truly welcome you to set a time for us to talk about any of this about which you may have some curiosity. Other than your time there is no cost for this. Let's talk! Thanks for reading!
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