the tortoise & the hare

Latest Episodes:

Meditation for beginners with Emily Cordes Feb 10, 2016

Show notes

If you’ve ever tried meditating, only to be constantly frustrated by the thoughts incessantly drifting into your mind, today’s episode is for you.

Meditation practitioner Emily Cordes joins Brooke in today’s episode, where they dive into what it actually means to meditate, how to get started, and how living mindfully has helped Emily work through periods of anxiety and depression.

They also talk about the realisation that we don’t actually have to believe the thoughts our anxious minds present - a revelation that both Brooke and Emily have come to as a result of therapy, simplicity and mindfulness.

This might sound like a heavy episode, but it’s a really uplifting and inspiring conversation with loads of resources and links from Emily, to help everyone try their hand at meditation.

To get the show notes and links from today’s episode, head over to http://www.slowyourhome.com/46

Enjoy!

====

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.

No Sugar #2 Feb 07, 2016

Show notes

Brooke and Ben continue to sacrifice their bodies and minds for science* in Week 2 of The Slow Home Experiment.

In this episode they talk about their first full week of the No Sugar experiment. Turns out they’re feeling much better than a week ago, and seem to be over the worst of the sugar hangover.

In this super relaxed episode they chat about a recent bout of illness and whether they think it was related to giving up sugar, their thoughts after watching That Sugar Film and The Great Vodka Debate of 2016.

After a week of fairly solid cravings, they both feel like they’re over the worst of it now and are pretty pleased that things have started to feel easier. They talk a little about the mindful side of eating this way and the impact it’s having on other areas of their lives (somewhat unexpectedly!)

Don’t forget, you can play along with us by tagging your social media posts with #slowhomeexperiment and share your experiences. Hit us up on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and let’s get experimenting!

*Not really science. Just Brooke and Ben.

====

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.

Happiness and habits with Gretchen Rubin Feb 03, 2016

Show notes

In this ridiculously 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.

Also, in light of the #slowhomeexperiment, Gretchen has some killer insight into why some changes stick while others fall by the way, so if you’re giving up sugar along with Brooke and Ben this February, you’ll definitely want to tune in.

For show notes from today's episode, head to http://www.slowyourhome.com/44

====

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.

No Sugar #1 Jan 31, 2016

Show notes

Today marks the beginning of the Great Slow Living Experiments Experiment!

In case you missed it, Ben and Brooke have given their bodies and brains to science* in the name of testing a variety of slow living approaches.

Every month they choose one experiment to focus their attention on, and each Monday release a podcast where they talk about their experience to date. And today is the very first one!

February sees them giving up processed sugar in an attempt to become more mindful of what they’re eating, as both have been guilty of slipping in to boredom/emotional/habitual eating.

It made sense to cut out sugar first, as that’s one of the biggest drivers for mindless eating and one that’s currently very popular.

So a few days ago they began. And it wasn’t pretty…

*Not really science. Just Brooke and Ben.

For today's show notes, links and resources, visit http://www.slowyourhome.com/43

====

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.

Pretty minimalism with Stacey Roberts Jan 27, 2016

Show notes

The first non-McAlary podcast guest of 2016 is the delightful Stacey Roberts of Veggie Mama, and honestly, I couldn’t think of a better way to spend an hour on a rainy Friday morning.

We talk about negative relationships and why they drove her to learn about mindfulness, what she’s learnt from a decades-long meditation practice, and the negative thought patterns both of us have had to break free of and how living a simpler, more intentional life has helped with that. We also talk about the importance of saying no, having fun and what ‘pretty minimalism’ looks like.

Don’t forget that next week we start publishing two shows a week (I know! Exciting!) and next Monday we kick off our first month-long experiment by giving up sugar. If you want to play along with us, head over to Facebook or Twitter and tag your posts with #slowhomeexperiment.

For today's show notes and links to Stacey's blog and social media, visit http://www.slowyourhome.com/42

====

If you're enjoying the show and want to know how to best support us, leave us a rating or a review in iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/slow-home-podcast-brooke-mcalary/id985005895?mt=2) or head over to our Patreon page (http://www.patreon.com/slow) to help support the show financially.

And thanks so much for listening! xx

====

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How to get your rhythm back in 2016 Jan 20, 2016

Show notes

Welcome to the first episode of 2016! In today’s show Ben and Brooke talk about rhythms and why this time of year is the perfect opportunity to hit the reset button, rethink your priorities and recalibrate your time.

Resetting and rethinking are super relevant for Brooke and Ben this year, as over the holidays they made some huge life decisions that are going to see pretty much everything change. They talk some more about what those decisions are and how they’re both feeling in the face of such massive shifts.

They also acknowledge the fact that all these changes might not seem very ‘slow’, how they make it work within the framework of living a slower, more intentional life and why this isn’t really a paradox.

EXCITING NEWS: From February 1, The Slow Home Podcast will be published twice every week, with a new style show on Monday and the regular show on Thursdays.

Mondays will see Brooke and Ben diving into monthly experiments in different areas of slow living (things like quitting processed sugar, daily mediation and screen lockouts) and they talk a little more about how you can get involved too.

Enjoy today’s episode and head over here for your show notes: http://www.slowyourhome.com/41

====

If you're enjoying the show and want to know how to best support us, leave us a rating or a review in iTunes or head over to our Patreon page to help support the show financially.

And thanks so much for listening! xx

====

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A very hostful holiday Dec 16, 2015

Show notes

We’re rounding out the year with a final hostful, where Ben and Brooke chat about the year that’s been, some highlights, some very exciting future plans, and answer three most excellent listener questions. (They were also interrupted approximately eleventy billion times while recording, so if they seem a little crazy - that’s part of the reason. The other part is that they're like that all the time.)

The questions tackled in this episode are related to:

- finding a balance between community service and living a slower life
- how to avoid the ‘all or nothing’ tendency once we start to explore slow living
- how to balance extra-curricular activities with a slower family life

As always, there are rarely straightforward answers to any of these questions, which is what makes it so juicy and interesting to talk about.

It’s hard to believe this is the final episode for 2015.

It’s been such a cracking year, and we’re so incredibly grateful for everyone who’s listened, shared, rated or reviewed the show since we launched in April. Massive thanks to you, from us!

Enjoy and head over here to find this episode's show notes >> http://www.slowyourhome.com/40

====

If you're enjoying the show and want to know how to best support us, leave us a rating or a review in iTunes or head over to our Patreon page to help support the show financially.

Thanks so much for listening!

====

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mindful eating with Ali Wright Dec 09, 2015

Show notes

http://www.slowyourhome.com/39

Have you ever found yourself eating your way through a block of chocolate, despite the fact you stopped enjoying it a while ago? Or ordered the big plate of hot chips even though you know you’lll feel bloated and heavy and low on energy in thirty minutes time?

So why do we do it? Why do we repeatedly eat food that we know will leave us feeling depleted?

That’s what I unpack today with my guest, Ali Wright, a nutritionist who turned her own health around after reaching a crisis point just a few years ago.

What I love most about this chat is that it’s not about dieting or following a certain food trend, and it’s certainly not about deprivation. Instead, Ali and I talk about the idea of ‘crowding out’ foods that don’t benefit us, with more of the foods that do.

The focus is also not on weight loss or fitting some arbitrary vision of health and wellness, but rather on eating well to be well. Refreshing, right?

Enjoy x

====

If you're enjoying the show and want to know how to best support us, leave us a rating or a review in iTunes or head over to our Patreon page to help support the show financially.

And thanks so much for listening! xx

====

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Zero waste living with Bea Johnson Dec 02, 2015

Show notes

Bea Johnson is a guru of zero waste living. Her family of four produce barely enough rubbish to fit into a small glass jar - every year - and she now spends time teaching others how to reduce waste and live simpler, more sustainable lives. She also has a kick-ass accent.

Coming in to this conversation Brooke was expecting to walk away feeling overwhelmed and a little inadequate. Not because of Bea herself - she’s delightful - but because the subject of zero waste living has always seemed so all-consuming. So all or nothing.

But it takes her only a few minutes to realise she needn’t have worried. As Bea and Brooke got chatting, she realised that creating a zero waste life is really similar to creating a slow, simple life - it’s something created over months and years. Change by change, day by day, one improvement at a time.

Bea has a way of talking about these changes that seem completely do-able (and actually preferable) and Brooke walked away from this conversation feeling even more keen to ramp up her efforts to live a simpler, more sustainable life. Hopefully you will too.

Enjoy!

====

If you're enjoying the show and want to know how to best support us, leave us a rating or a review in iTunes or head over to our Patreon page to help support the show financially.

And thanks so much for listening! xx

====

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Playing it safe with Mark Shapiro Nov 25, 2015

Show notes

http://www.slowyourhome.com/37

Mark Shapiro is a big fan of authenticity. In fact, he quit his job in television earlier this year to spend time teaching people how to live an authentic life.

And what he’s discovered is that we humans play it safe. We stick very closely to whatever it is we “should” be doing, even if it means ignoring the truth of who we are and what would make us happy.

Mark and I chat really honestly about the obstacles and changes in our lives, the stories we tell ourselves and what happened when we realised the “all” we had worked so hard to have wasn’t actually going to make us happy.

I walked away from this conversation with a completely new outlook on what it is to live authentically and after he edited it, Ben told me that this is one of his favourite shows of the year!

Enjoy x

====

If you're enjoying the show and want to know how to best support us, leave us a rating or a review in iTunes or head over to our Patreon page to become a patron of the show and help support it financially.

And thanks so much for listening! xx

====

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected