This week’s edition of Slow Digest was written by C21 Graduate Fellow Carson Pittman.
The concept of “slow embodiment” offers a unique perspective on our daily experiences, inviting us to examine how we inhabit our bodies and interact with the world around us. This approach encourages us to consider the pace at which our physical selves navigate and adapt to our environments, not just on a historical scale, but in our day-to-day lives.
At its core, slow embodiment is about embracing the natural rhythms and needs of our bodies. It’s a conscious decision to resist the relentless pace of modern life and instead tune into the subtle signals our bodies send us. This could include taking more frequent breaks, allowing ourselves time to stretch or move during the workday, or simply being more mindful of our physical sensations as we go about our routines. Slow embodiment invites us to reconsider our relationship with time and productivity. Rather than adhering to rigid schedules or pushing ourselves to meet external expectations, we’re encouraged to allow our bodies to set the pace. This might mean taking longer to complete tasks, but it often results in a deeper, more satisfying engagement with our activities and surroundings.
The practice of slow embodiment can lead to a heightened awareness of our physical experiences, both positive and negative. As we slow down and pay attention, we may notice the pleasure of a deep breath, the warmth of sunlight on our skin, or the subtle tension in our muscles that signals the need for rest. This increased bodily awareness can help us make more informed decisions about our health and well-being.
While the concept of slow embodiment is universal, it can be particularly illuminating when considered through the lens of disability. The theory of “crip time,” which originated from disability studies, provides valuable insights into flexible temporalities and the rejection of fixed notions of “normal” time management. It is important to note that the term “crip” emerged as a reclaimed, empowering term in the 1980s disability community to unite diverse disabled individuals and challenge negative historical connotations (learn more: CRIP as Disability Terminology). The ideas of crip time can benefit everyone, regardless of ability status, by promoting a more inclusive and compassionate approach to how we move through the world. Crip time serves multiple functions: it describes the extra time disabled individuals may need for tasks, critiques society’s view of this time as “wasted,” and acts as an analytical tool for understanding flexible temporalities. By rejecting the notion of a fixed “normal” temporality, crip time challenges ableist norms and advocates for a more inclusive approach to time management in our daily lives.
Meredith Farkas wrote a piece titled “Slowness, Disability, and the Art of Losing,” in which she reflects on her personal journey with slowing down. She notes, “After having slowed down by choice, it’s a very different feeling to be slowed down by disability.” This distinction is crucial, as it underscores the privilege of choosing to slow down versus being forced to do so by circumstances beyond one’s control. However, she also points out that “Crip time can be deeply limiting for sure, but it’s also deeply freeing (and would be liberatory for all if embraced by our institutions because we all sometime need to be ruled by the rhythms and limitations of our bodies or bodies we care for)” (Farkas).
Embracing slow embodiment doesn’t mean coming to a complete stop or disengaging from the world. Rather, it’s about finding a sustainable pace that allows us to fully inhabit our bodies and engage more deeply with our surroundings. This might involve taking mindful walks, practicing gentle forms of exercise, or simply allowing ourselves moments of stillness throughout the day. By incorporating the principles of slow embodiment into our daily lives, we can develop a more nuanced understanding of our physical existence and its impact on our personal journeys. This approach acknowledges the diversity of human bodies and experiences, recognizing that we all have different needs and capacities at different times.
Ultimately, slow embodiment is about cultivating a compassionate relationship with our own bodies and, by extension, with the bodies of others. It’s a recognition that we’re all “embodied beings,” navigating the world through our physical forms, and that by slowing down and paying attention, we can enrich our experiences and connections with both ourselves and the world around us.
Meredith Farkas, “Slowness, disability, and the art of losing”
Farkas, Meredith. “Slowness, Disability, and the Art of Losing.” Information Wants To Be Free, 8 Jan. 2024. https://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/2024/01/08/slowness-disability-and-the-art-of-losing/
Ellen Samuels, “Six Ways of Looking at Crip Time”
In this essay, Samuels shares her experience with “crip time,” examining it as a unique disabled perspective on time, aging, and social expectations, exploring how disability reshapes temporal experiences and challenges normative understandings of productivity and life progression.
Samuels, Ellen. “Six Ways of Looking at Crip Time.” Disability Studies Quarterly, vol. 37, no. 3, 2017, https://dsq-sds.org/index.php/dsq/article/view/5824/4684.