5 Ways to Slow Down in Los Angeles
In a world that increasingly asks us to be more productive and efficient, it might feel impossible to find room to slow down, rest, and breathe. However as you push past your limits to meet external and internal expectations, you might notice yourself more fatigued, irritable, and anxious. It might be more difficult for you to sleep due to constant worry. It’s possible that you can’t focus throughout the day because of new and unfamiliar sensations in your body; your heart beating as if it’s going to jump out of your chest, tension throughout your body that usually would go away overnight, and labored breathing as if you’re drowning and gasping for air.
These are all signs that your nervous system is overwhelmed and entering a state of shutdown, fight, and/or flight. These are somatic (body-based) cues that signal that you might need to pause and slow down so that you can engage in practices that help you regulate and bring you back to a sense of connection, safety, and presence. Here are some ways in which you can start slowing down on your own or in community throughout the greater Los Angeles area.
Find a place or practice that helps you slow down.
1. Ceramics
Ceramics is an experience in letting go. Since clay reacts to the weather and elements, working with it will require you to be curious and creative about what you can make. Check out a free community event or one-time class at Sooki Studio in Frogtown or Not Another Pottery Studio in Eagle Rock to explore what it means to slow down and have clay as a teacher.
2. Get in touch with your senses around the LA River or Silver Lake Resevoir
Being around a body of water and the floral and fauna that flock to it is an opportunity to take a breath and reconnect with your body. Wherever you find yourself, take notice of what you see, smell, hear, touch, and taste. This practice can help you feel grounded in the present moment.
3. Attend a Silent Book Club
There may be times you want to be in community without the pressure to socialize and perform. A silent book club is a great opportunity to engage in a restorative activity that can bring meaningful conversations. Check out the Silver Lake Reading Club or Be Nice, Have Fun’s Silent Book Club in Highland Park.
4. Find a Third Place
The things that overwhelm you may be tied to your responsibilities at home and work. Finding a place outside of those, a third place, can give you the opportunity to exist outside of who you normally have to be. A third place can be a coffee shop, library, park, organization, or even a community space such as Say When in West Adams or the here clubhouse in Koreatown.
5. Intentional Movement
In Peace is Every Step, Thich Nhat Hanh shares how being mindful and intentional with our everyday actions can be a transformational experience. See what it might feel like for you to move slower, to savor the flavors of your next bite, and to take notice of the world around you. You might come across something that brings you a sense of awe, joy, calm, and presence — things that you can come back to when you need to slow down.
How Queer, Trans, and BIPOC Affirming Somatic and IFS Therapy in Los Angeles Can Help You Slow Down
Finding ways to slow down and regulate your nervous system through Somatic and IFS Therapy with me means exploring your history with productivity and how you define success. It look like identifying your somatic cues for fight, flight, and shut down and engaging you in sustainable practices that help bring you back to a place of connection, safety, and regulation. Slowing down with me means taking the time to understand what your family and community taught you about what your relationship with work should look like, and identifying what parts of those beliefs you no longer want to hold on to.
As a Queer, Trans, and BIPOC Affirming Somatic and IFS Therapist, I also acknowledge the unique challenges and pressures that are placed on queer, trans, bipoc communities. Whether it is the expectation from friends and family to ease their discomfort, the labor that goes into educating others to make it a safer environment for you and those in your community, or the organizing you engage in to create systemic change you wish you see. I take all this into consideration to tailor therapy to your unique needs.
4 Steps to start slowing down with a Queer Asian American Therapist in Los Angeles today
Fill out the contact form or text to schedule a free consultation.
Chat about how Somatic Therapy and IFS Therapy can help you experience more regulation, slowness, and calm.
Schedule your first therapy appointment at Slow Down Therapy in-person in Los Angeles or virtually in California.
Work in therapy towards building a relationship with your nervous system, one that allows you to slow down and pause when you feel activated and overwhelmed.
Chris Datiles is a queer Filipino American Somatic and IFS therapist in Los Angeles. He supports clients to slow down and feel grounded as they work through trauma, loss, and transitions so that they can lead their lives with more confidence, clarity, and creativity. He also offers grief therapy and couples therapy in the Arts District, Los Angeles close to Highland Park, Silver Lake, West Adams, and online in California.