A Bad Day (And the Practice of Slower)

Yesterday started out beautifully.

I had meaningful coaching calls. Conversations that reminded me why I do this work. I felt steady, connected, clear.

And then the day turned.

A phone call to the bank about a technical issue left me feeling small and completely incompetent.

Then personal stress layered on top of that. And to round it out, my sweet neurodivergent son came home with a truly terrible haircut.

It wasn’t catastrophic.

I kept thinking about S.L.O.W.E.R.

I teach this. I believe this. I practice this.

And yet yesterday, I struggled.

I could feel my nervous system humming — tight jaw, shallow breath, that low-grade irritability that seeps into everything. I tried to stay aware. Tried to pause. Tried to soften.

Some moments I did.Some moments I didn’t.

Dinner finally got on the table. We ate. And when the house quieted, I did the only thing that felt true.

I got down on the floor.

Back and forth I went through my somatic exercises. Slow rocking. Gentle movement. No agenda. Just rhythm.

Gradually, I felt it — the shift.

My body softened first. My breath deepened. The story of the day loosened its grip. Everything felt just a little more spacious.

Slower isn’t about having perfect days.

It’s about remembering to return to your body when the day gets away from you.

Yesterday was hard.

I didn’t embody S.L.O.W.E.R. perfectly. I reacted. I spiraled. I felt the weight of things that were objectively small but emotionally big.

But I was aware.

And when I finally gave my body what it needed — rest, rhythm, regulation — it responded.

It thanked me.

That feels like the real practice.

Not perfection.