The Tortoise with Brooke McAlary

In May 2016 Ben and Brooke completed a month-long daily meditation experiment, which proved to be one of the most positive changes Brooke made last year. She’s still an (almost) daily meditator and will talk to anyone and everyone about the massive benefits to be gained from making it a regular part of their day. But she finds there is a handful of common reasons why people don’t want to try meditation: they’re skeptical of its usefuness they dislike the religious or spiritual connotations of the practice they don’t have time to meditate daily they’re scientifically minded and want proof of its effectiveness After meeting Kevin Janks at an event recently and hearing his story, she knew he would be an amazing guest who could help dispel many of these obstacles - because in the past he's used them all himself. Kevin used to struggle with anxiety as a result of a fast-paced, hectic, successful life, and was introduced to meditation by his partner. Initially very (very) skeptical, Kevin eventually conducted his own meditation experiment and couldn’t deny the positive benefits after only a day or two. Since then he’s travelled to India to study many elements of meditation, and in 2015 opened Centred Meditation - Sydney’s first drop-in meditation centre, right in the CBD. He now spends his days helping stressed, overwhelmed professionals learn the process of meditation, and sees daily examples of the power of simply being present. This is such an open, honest conversation and Kevin and Brooke speak about their entry points to meditation, the benefits Kevin has experienced as well as the changes he sees in clients who practice at the studio. They talk about the difference between cynicism and skepticism when it comes to meditation, the value of mindfulness techniques in addition to (or instead of) a formal practise, and the way meditation has impacted both his relationships with others and himself. Head over to http://www.slowyourhome.com/135 for a full blog post, links to lots of meditation resources and show notes, and have a great week! ==== If you're enjoying the show and want to know how to best support it, leave a rating or a review in iTunes or head over to the Patreon page to help support the show financially. And thanks so much for listening! ====Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In today’s episode Ben and Brooke look at a very simple daily ritual that can help you break the habit of constant connection. Learning to unplug regularly not only breaks the social media/procrastination loop, but it also turns our attention elsewhere - to the people nearby, the conversations, the trees, the light, the breeze, the feelings, the sensations. It can also help us sleep more soundly, wake up more refreshed and minimise the lost moments in the morning where we accidentally check every news website and email account before jumping in the shower. They talk about the benefits of having a screen-free bedroom, as well as how you can actually harness technology to help you become more mindful. They also look at the one simple, daily action you can try this week to help you disconnect, unwind from the day and prepare yourself for a good night’s rest. Head over to http://www.slowyourhome.com/134 for a full blog post and show notes, and have a great week! ==== If you're enjoying the show and want to know how to best support it, leave a rating or a review in iTunes or head over to the Patreon page to help support the show financially. And thanks so much for listening! ====Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Since launching the podcast almost two years ago the hostful Q&As have grown to be one of the most popular each month. Not only does it give you the chance to ask us questions about slowing down, or getting us to dig deeper in to a topic we’ve covered before, but it also gives Brooke and Ben a chance to explore ideas or perspectives they’ve not considered before. Today is the first hostful Q&A of the year and, as always, there are incredibly insightful questions to answer: Do you find you are more sensitive to others people’s cluttered homes now you have simplified yourself? Any tips for dealing with clutter intolerance in other people's homes and even our own homes at times? As I search for my first job after college, I'm noticing most companies lack a work-life balance. Taking care of myself and living a slow life is important to me. Do you have any advice about maintaining a slow living value while searching for a job in a world that operates at a very high speed? Does slow living apply to how you eat? Do you eat simple meals? Any tips? I own my own business and your vacation sounded so relaxing. How do you just unplug or set those boundaries to spend time with family without thinking if someone needs something with your business? I love the sound of your holiday in Japan, and my husband and kids would have an absolute ball. I'd love a lot of it too, but I'd end up spending most of it alone as I have adrenal fatigue. How would you approach this challenge? My ideal holiday right now would involve long, lazy days and plenty of rest, but the kids (7,10 & 11) would be bored silly. How do you think we could find adventurous and fun ways to spend time together that suit all of us? Brooke and Ben had a lot of fun answering these, and it gave them the chance to talk through topics we’ve not really discussed on the poggie before. To everyone who submitted a question - thank you! Head over to http://www.slowyourhome.com/133 for a full post and links on how to submit your own question for an upcoming hostful episode. ==== If you're enjoying the show and want to know how to best support it, leave a rating or a review in iTunes or head over to the Patreon page to help support the show financially. And thanks so much for listening! ====Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to the first Monday show of the year! As Brooke and Ben mentioned last week, these Monday episodes are going to be a little different in 2017. Instead of running one slow living experiment each month, they will be introducing one simple, easy, accessible slow living idea every week. The hope is that it will either give you something to do or something to think about in the days after. In today’s show they talk about the idea of single-tasking, one of Brooke’s favourite ways to introduce productive mindfulness to people who are too busy to meditate or take time for quiet reflection. It can allow us to keep doing, albeit in a much more mindful way than the overwhelming approach that is multi-tasking, and it often means we do a better job at the same time. They also talk about why single-tasking is necessary, how to practice it, and what the takeaway action is for the week ahead. Head over to http://www.slowyourhome.com/132 for a full blog post and show notes, and have a great week! ==== If you're enjoying the show and want to know how to best support it, leave a rating or a review in iTunes or head over to the Patreon page to help support the show financially. And thanks so much for listening! ====Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re baaa-aaaack! After taking some much-needed time off to disconnect/reconnect after a busy 2016 though, Brooke and Ben are back in the pogpasting chair and ready for a cracking 2017. In the first new poggie of the year, they talk about their recent trip to Japan and the unexpected lessons they received in the art of slow living. In this chatty, light-hearted poggie Brooke and Ben talk about what some of those lessons looked like and how they’re already having an impact at home. They also talk about the beautiful ritual of onsen bathing, the benefits of sleeping on traditional Japanese futons and tatami mats and the incredible food they ate. Head over to http://www.slowyourhome.com/131 for all the links, resources and websites they used when planning and researching their trip, as well as the full blog post.  ==== If you're enjoying the show and want to know how to best support it, leave a rating or a review in iTunes or head over to the Patreon page to help support the show financially. And thanks so much for listening! ====Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

WELCOME TO THE SLOW HOME SUMMER SERIES! BROOKE AND BEN ARE TAKING A BREAK OVER JANUARY, SO WE'RE WE REVISITING SOME OF THE BEST EPISODES OF THE PAST TWO YEARS. James Wallman is an ex-adman and trend forecaster - which doesn’t necessarily sound like Brooke’s typical guest - but when you learn he is also the author of Stuffocation and the person who coined the phrase ‘experientialism’ it starts to make a lot of sense. Brooke and James talk about minimalism’s branding issue and why he thinks that experientialism is the way to make a life of less stuff more appealing to the mainstream. They also look at the overwhelming number of choices we all face each day and why experiences will almost always trump stuff. James also had some ridiculously straightforward advice for Brooke when she admits she sometimes feels so defeated by the rampant consumerism happening across the globe. Such a thought-provoking conversation, sure to raise as many questions as it answers. Enjoy! Head over to the blog for a full list of links and books mentioned in today's show.Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

WELCOME TO THE SLOW HOME SUMMER SERIES! BROOKE AND BEN ARE TAKING A BREAK OVER JANUARY, SO WE'RE WE REVISITING SOME OF THE BEST EPISODES OF THE PAST TWO YEARS. In this super enlightening episode, Brooke chats with Gretchen Rubin, the New York Times best-selling author of Better Than Before, The Happiness Project and Happier at Home. This show starts out as any other - a regular conversation - in this instance, about happiness and habits and the changes Gretchen is most proud of in her own life. But somewhere around the middle it shifts into something different… A personalised habits counselling session, as Gretchen digs into why Brooke is inclined to take on too many projects and burn out in a big way. They also discuss the Four Tendencies of Habits, and why that means Brooke is less likely to do a morning yoga class by herself, but more likely to turn up if Ben joins her. This is such a fun conversation with plenty of insight into why we do and do not find making changes easy. And for anyone looking to make a shift towards a slower, simpler life, there are plenty of tips and tricks from Gretchen to help you make those changes as seamlessly as possible.     Head over to the blog for links to everything discussed in today's episode.Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

WELCOME TO THE SLOW HOME SUMMER SERIES! BROOKE AND BEN ARE TAKING A BREAK OVER JANUARY, SO WE'RE WE REVISITING SOME OF THE BEST EPISODES OF 2016. Brooke is a long-time reader of Paul Jarvis’ Sunday Dispatches and long-time listener of his Invisible Office Hours podcast, so she was super delighted to sit and chat with him about simplicity, writing our wills, Netflix and priorities. They also spend quite a bit of time talking about the importance of being our true self online, and the BIG difference between that and sharing things we haven’t actually processed yet. Paul has written a lot about comparison and the myth that everyone else is living more interesting, photogenic lives that us, so we dive in to that too. Paul also talks about his lack of routine, why busy-ness is a crutch we lean on to avoid feeling our feelings, and what his most recent purchase was. For notes and links to everything mentioned in today's episode, head over to the blog. Enjoy!Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

WELCOME TO THE SLOW HOME SUMMER SERIES! BROOKE AND BEN ARE TAKING A BREAK OVER JANUARY, SO WE'RE WE REVISITING SOME OF THE BEST EPISODES OF 2016. In Episode 108 Brooke and Ben answered some excellent listener questions about birthday presents, advice for their 20-year-old selves, and how they manage to balance home duties while also working from home. But the question that got the most feedback was one about zombies. As big fans of The Walking Dead and other zombie/apocalyptic TV and movies, Brooke and Ben had a lot of fun briefly discussing their chances of survival in a post-apocalyptic zombie world, as well as establishing which weapons they’d be most likely to pick up if the undead came for them. But it also got them thinking about the different ways slow living could actually impact your ability to survive (and perhaps even thrive?) in the apocalypse, and in a discussion over on Facebook earlier this week, a lot of people weighed in on the question: “What is it about slow living that would prepare you for a zombie apocalypse?” So here it is - a possibly-slightly-ridiculous but-very-well-researched episode that addresses the incredibly serious issue of how slow living could save your life if ever you find yourself living through a zombie apocalypse. Enjoy! For links to movies and TV shows mentioned in today’s episode head over to the blog.Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

WELCOME TO THE SLOW HOME SUMMER SERIES! BROOKE AND BEN ARE TAKING A BREAK OVER JANUARY, SO WE'RE WE REVISITING SOME OF THE BEST EPISODES OF 2016. In today's episode, Brooke sits down with Jonathan Fields - founder and host of The Good Life Project, author, father, life-long learner and all-round wonderful human. Brooke and Jonathan talk about what it means to live a good life, why the power of choice is a game-changer in how we choose to spend our days, and the hugely traumatic event that led Jonathan to question his definition of 'a good life'. They also chat about the delicious irony of advocating a slower, simpler way of life when in the midst of a busy season (Jonathan is in the midst of launching his new book and all the work that entails) but also why it's not necessarily a bad thing to experience the busy-ness some times. Jonathan explains the difference between mindful living and practicing mindfulness, and has some incredibly practical tips on using technology to live more intentionally - flipping on its head the idea that technology is only good for distraction and faux-connection. Such a wide-ranging and beautiful conversation, that is certain to leave you feeling inspired and motivated to continue the quest for your own version of a 'good life'. Head over to the blog for links to Jonathan's manifesto, his new book and The Good Life Project, as well as links to A Simple Year registration.Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.