AsiaLIFE

In an age with an emphasis on high-speed technology and lifestyles, we often forget the value of going slow. Mai Lynn Miller Nguyen and M. Khan examine the benefits of decelerating and smelling the roses. Photos by James Grant.

Technology makes it easier and faster for us to devote less time to our activities— emails over handwritten notes, cell phones for instantaneous connections and the internet for knowledge at the click of a button. Yet the more we can fit into our day, the more “things to do” seem to pile up.

We’re moving so fast that everything around us is a blur.

As rational thinking beings, we know we need to slow down in this fast paced life‚ not just an occasional lie-in on a Sunday or a weekend at the beach. We’re talking about incorporating a slower paced lifestyle so that we can actually enjoy our experiences.

In Slow Motion

Southeast Asia is seen as offering an easier life for expats, relatively stress-free given the comforts of a cheaper cost of living and household help.

Yet how often do we take advantage of the possibilities for going slow? How often do we favour an ambling cyclo over a racing motorcycle? How often do we practice Buddhist traditions of meditation? How often do we take a long walk along the riverside?

For foreigners and Cambodians alike, Phnom Penh is no haven from the increasingly global “need for speed”.

A slow lifestyle may seem an attractive alternative, but it can also be a necessity. Driving too fast can lead to accidents. Living too fast can also have a negative impact on your health.

Dr. Laura Watson, deputy chief medical officer at International SOS, knows well the dangers of pushing one’s body too far. She sees the effects of going at a rapid pace in several of her patients in Phnom Penh.

“Cambodia seems to attract a preponderance of ‘type a’ personalities, high achievers who push themselves to the limit and don’t always have the healthiest coping mechanisms,” says Watson. “It is common to see expats working very long hours, not taking adequate rest and then going out late at night drinking and socialising.”

Furthermore, the environment of Phnom Penh can compound stress. Heat and hectic traffic can make everyday woes all the more challenging. Adapting to a foreign culture can prove an additional trial for expats.

These stresses, when unreleased, can cause serious health problems. Watson points out that small amounts of stress, releasing cortisol and adrenaline, can have positive effects, though everyone eventually has their limits.

“Sustained or extreme stress causes overload of these hormones that in turn suppress and disrupt other important hormonal pathways in the body,” explains Watson. Headaches, ulcers, depression, viral infections, skin infections, and panic attacks are among the possible results.

“More seriously, these high levels of stress hormones can impair the body’s ability to repair cells, ultimately increasing your risks of serious illnesses, heart disease and cancers,” she adds. “Long-term significant stress can lead to burn out syndrome or emotional and psychological collapse.”

In a city where any prescription drug is de facto over the counter, it can be tempting to solve tension-induced problems with a pill. Watson advises against relying on relaxants, anti-anxieties and other pharmaceuticals.

“I think it is a mistake to self-medicate with these powerful and often addictive medicines,” she says. “They are a band-aid over the problem and not a solution. And like any band-aid, they just cover up the problem for a short while.” Instead, Watson suggests seeking qualified help for tension, from sources such as medical professionals, counsellors, psychologists and yoga teachers.

Keeping In Balance

Alison Hawkins changed her life through yoga. She began classes for fitness reasons, admiring the muscle tone that a yoga workout can create. As she became more conscious of her body, she started following a healthy diet and eliminating cigarettes, junk food and alcohol. She gave up a lifestyle, that when she started yoga, “just didn’t make sense.”

Yoga is known for its combined emphasis on body and mind balance. For Hawkins, now an instructor at Nataraj Yoga Studio, the physical aspect of yoga works to achieve a mental impact. “I’m not a person who can sit down and meditate, my mind bounces around all over the place,” she says. “If I do a physical practice, I find I can get nearer to a meditative state.”

She advises beginning with a yoga teacher, rather than through DVDs at home, in order to ensure proper positioning and prevent damage to muscles. Nataraj teachers can then create tailored practices that clients can work on individually.

Tapping into a yoga mindset can be as simple as becoming conscious of respiration, a tool for dealing with stress and heightened emotions. “For me, slowing down is about thinking about the breath,” says Yan Vannac, a Cambodian instructor at Nataraj. “Slow the breath down, just remind yourself to breathe in and breathe out for a few times, and then your body and your mind will start to calm.”

Oskar Nery, another instructor at Nataraj, finds that the basic postures of yoga can have a profound effect. “We talk about foundation, how to plant yourself on the ground. That in itself makes people have to really think about where they are,” says Nery. “The term grounded means many things, it doesn’t just mean where you put your feet or how you get your stability, it also means how you know where you are and your place in society, in the world.”

In Phnom Penh, yoga may be increasingly relevant. Nery finds that expats and Cambodians are often engaged in very stressful jobs with long hours. Yoga is a means of finding a moment to slow down and recover from the daily grind.

“When people come onto their yoga mats, then they have that time to themselves,” says Nery. “They are really nurturing themselves and looking after themselves. When they step off their mats, they feel good and then they take that positive feeling back into the city.”

Hawkins agrees. “If you have a job where you have to think a lot, yoga helps you calm down and be more stable in your body and mind,” she says. As the city continues to develop at a breakneck speed—becoming more and more a bustling metropolis, citizens might start turning more and more to slow activities such as yoga.

Press Pause

“Over the years I have seen Phnom Penh go from a quiet town with very few cars, no tuk-tuks and barely anywhere to eat to the other extreme of endless restaurants and traffic,” says Cassie Harper, the owner of Spa Bliss and long-time resident of Phnom Penh. Situated within the Bliss clothing shop on Street 240, the spa opened in 2004. The tranquil space, including candle-lit, quiet treatment rooms and an exquisite courtyard with a plunge pool, is a true refuge. “I felt Phnom Penh lacked a place for relaxation, a place were you could escape the hustle and bustle and dust of the city,” explains Harper on her motivations for creating one of the city’s first spas focused on foreign clientele.

“Spa Bliss was created to give expats a retreat to calm the mind and body so they could feel centred.” Bliss uses holistic and natural products, including pure essential oils, to ensure a healthy and satisfying experience. Harper recommends massage with warm oil for the
maximum soothing benefits, as well as hot stone massage to calm and relax the body on a deep level. “It is amazing to see customers walk in
holding all the stress of their week on their shoulders and in their faces, then walk out an hour later without a care in the world,” says Harper.

In Phnom Penh, where spa prices are lower than in many other countries, indulgence can be within reach for the average expat; a luxury that can become a habit. “Personally, I do not believe spa treatments are a treat,” says Harper. “We should consider them to be a part of our weekly or fortnightly regime of taking care of ourselves.”

Besides spa treatments, Harper also counts spending time with her family, listening to others rather than talking, and taking time to cook for those she loves as ways she slows down.

Slow Food, Slow Pleasure

The importance of eating well‚ and slowly‚ cannot be stressed enough. Cambodia may not be a fast food nation or reliant on processed convenience food, but slow food isn’t just about a meal that is prepared slowly.

The slow food movement began in 1989 by Falco Portinari as a reaction to fast food and the damages it would cause to the body and eating culture. He propagates the ideology that taste must be developed, not denigrated as is wont to happen with an over reliance on fast food.

”We are enslaved by speed and have all succumbed to the same insidious virus: Fast Life, which disrupts our habits, pervades the privacy of our homes and forces us to eat fast foods,” Portinari writes on his website.

In Phnom Penh, the Boddhi Tree Hotels and Small Enterprise have signed on for the slow food movement, with restaurants that proclaim their slow status on the menus.

“Slow is about breathing with the world and the seasons,” says Manuel Garcia, operations manager. “To return to that which connects us with the natural world and the happiness of being alive.”

Fortunately, being slow doesn’t refer to the service. Rather, it’s about a deeper connection with the local food industry.

“We are the first ones in Cambodia to meet our producers and buy directly from them, to recover lost Cambodian recipes [and] to be innovative by introducing ingredients in mainstream hospitality that are used only in villages and far from tourist spots,” adds Garcia.

Favouring local produce over standardised, over-processed items sold in bulk and encouraging partners to grow without chemical fertilisers are two more of Boddhi Tree’s principles.

“It brings awareness to the world around us about how food is produced, respect and appreciation for our farmers, bee keepers, fishermen and the endless amount of people who through their creativity and work make our lives richer,” Garcia says. Eating fresh healthy, local food is paramount but so is eating it in a leisurely manner, on the table—not in front of the TV—amongst companions.

“Slow food is being part of a network of people who find pleasure in eating, drinking, and sitting with friends, family and neighbours,” says Garcia.

Furthermore, eating slowly and chewing longer encourages better digestion. It also gives moment to pause, reflect and enjoy instead of the frenzy that comes with eating in a rushed manner while thinking of the tasks ahead.

Slow and Steady

William Shakespeare summed it up well when he wrote: “Wisely, and slow. They stumble that run fast.” Take a moment to reflect on how you can incorporate slowness into your life. You may not check items off your to-do list as fast, but you may find more worth in what you accomplish.

2011 is the year of the rabbit, but the tortoise is still a contender. Like the hare of folklore, we often act as if speed is the key to success. In the end, the tortoise survives to win the race, enjoying the scenery all the while. Instead of rushing to work on a moto, take a slow cyclo, you never know, feeling relaxed you might even be more productive.