Slow Beauty: Rituals and Recipes to Nourish the Body and Feed the Soul

by Shel Pink

Overview

SpaRitual founder Shel Pink's Slow Beauty is all about carving a few moments out of each day to practice the kind of mindful self-care and wellness that makes us glow.

Slow Beauty works because it's a lifestyle, not a quick fix. It provides inspiration, support, and tools for working from within toward looking and feeling healthier and more joyful than ever. In this book you'll find:

• Ideas on beauty with substance from around the world;
• Rituals such as finding and designing your own sanctuary, breathing exercises, meditation, and deepening relationships (and inner strength) through women's gatherings;
• Recipes for teas, soups, juices, smoothies, scrubs, body oils, and even how to create your own mantra;
• How to incorporate these practices into daily life in the best way for you.

Filled with inspirational images and a message that's sustainable for a lifetime, Slow Beauty will harness the power within every woman to physically, mentally, and spiritually nourish their bodies from the inside out.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780762462568
Publisher:	Running Press Book Publishers
Publication date:	11/14/2017
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	8.12(w) x 9.12(h) x 0.88(d)

About the Author

Shel Pink, who built the SpaRitual brand of self-care products around the Slow Beauty® philosophy and led the industry-wide movement toward green cosmetics, is a leader and educator in the professional beauty care sector. She has written for Organic Spa, LA Yoga, Mindbodygreen.com, and other publications both in print and online. Shel lives in Los Angeles, CA.

Table of Contents

About Slow Beauty 7

The Four Pillars of Slow Beauty 8

You Write the Slow Beauty User's Manual: Practice Makes Process 13

Part 1 Philosophy 15

My Satori Moment 16

The Seeds of Slow Beauty 17

Flipping the Switch On 18

Beauty with Substance-It's an Inside Job 20

Slow = Sustainable 21

The Fountain of Youth Exists Within 23

Montagu's Twenty-Seven Basic Human Needs 25

You Are the Love Story 31

Self-Love and Narcissism Are Not the Same 35

The Sign of Compromise 37

Healthy, Healthier, Healthiest 38

Change Is the Only Stable State in Our Life (Or: When Chaos Is a Good Thing) 39

Joy, oh, Joy! 41

Part 2 Rituals 43

Punctuate Your Day with Rituals 44

The Rites of Slow Beauty: I Am Ready to Receive 45

Know Thyself 48

The Real Deal: Seeing Authentic Beauty 49

As Above, So Below: The Spiritualization of Beauty 51

What's My Story? 53

Finding Sanctuary and Designing Your Inner Life 55

The Big Share: We're Stronger Together 59

Daily Rituals 60

First Light 61

Morning Meditation 62

Morning/Movement 62

Morning Exfoliation 62

Morning Self-Massage 63

Solar Light 64

Afternoon Meditation 64

Afternoon Movement 65

Afternoon Mist 65

Third Light 66

Evening Meditation 66

Evening Movement 66

Evening Self-Massage 66

Evening Foot Wash and Massage 67

Evening Moil Care 68

Drink Your Water 68

Take Some Tea Time 69

Weekly, Monthly, or Yearly Rituals 71

Nature Bathing 71

Doctrine of Signatures 74

Women's Gathering: Play to Learn 75

Classes and Services 77

Poetics: Speak to Your Soul 78

Self-Symposium: Be a Great Mind 80

Bibliotherapy 82

Social Good 85

Emotion Blending 86

Broken Teacup Ritual 87

Your Personal Crest 89

Pole Playing 89

Growing Young 91

Part 3 Recipes 93

The Slow Beauty of Consciousness 95

Consciousness and the Central Nervous System 98

Seasons Come and Seasons Go 99

Taste: Intentional, Intuitive Eating 104

Seasonal Teas 106

Proper Digestion Winter Tea 108

Pure Poetry Spring Tea 109

Vibrant Mint Summer Tea 111

Classic Turmeric Fall Tea 112

All-Season Classic Matcha Tea Latte 115

Seasonal Soups 116

Back to My Roots Winter Soup 116

Go Green Spring Soup 117

The Birth of Cool Melon Summer Soup 119

Optimistic Squash Fall Soup 120

Stress-Busting All-Season Vegetable Broth 122

Seasonal Juices 123

Slow-Aging Bitters Winter Juice 123

Radiant Immunity Sour Spring Juice 125

Goodness in a Glass Summer Juice 126

Tastes like Apple Pie Fall Compote 126

All-Season Glorious Greens 129

Seasonal Smoothies and Bowls 130

Almond Butter Pomelo Winter Smoothie 130

Good Fortune Spring Smoothie 133

Pure Sunshine Summer Smoothie 134

From-A-to-Z Fall Smoothie 137

All-Season Endurance Smoothie 138

Muddled Waters 139

Garlic-Lemon Drop Winter Water 141

Rose Energy Spring Water 141

Aloe I Love You Summer Water 142

Turmeric Orange Fall Water 145

Hot Lemon All-Season Water 145

Feel: Remember Your Beautiful Body 146

Scrubs 149

Grapefruit, Ginger, and Grapeseed Oil Paste Winter Scrub 149

Lavender, Matcha, and Avocado Oil Spring Exfoliating Powder 150

Basil, Maca, and Sunflower Summer Exfoliating Powder 153

Pomegranate and Melissa Oil Dense Fall Scrub 154

Seasonal Body Oils 156

Grapefruit Avocado Winter Oil 157

Lemon Primrose Spring Oil 157

Sunflower Shea Summer Oil 158

Orange Sesame Fall Oil 158

Seasonal Mists 161

Grapefruit Chamomile Winter Mist 161

Jasmine Lemon Spring Mist 162

Basil Cucumber Summer Mist 162

Orange Ginger Fall Mist 163

Seasonal Soaks 164

Think and Meditate: Savor the Silence 166

Mantras 167

Create Your Own Mantra 167

Breathe: Connect Deeply with Life 170

Heat-Generating Winter Breath 171

Bhramari Spring Breath 171

Cooling Summer Breath 172

Tonglen Fall Breath 173

Move: Use Energy to Stir Your Soul 173

Winter Movements: Invigorate and Calm 174

Spring Movements: Expand 177

Summer Movements: Moderate 178

Fall Movements: Let Go 181

All-Seasonal Movements: Unwind 183

Part 4 Mapping 187

Unpack Your Tool Kit 189

Find Your Guides 189

Your Consort Ganesh: A Coloring Meditation 191

Animal Medicine 191

Abracadabra: I Create What I Speak 196

Create Your Own Soundtrack 200

Shapeshifting 202

Remember a Slower Time 203

You Are Here 204

Becoming a Cartographer 205

Getting Started 205

Resources 216

Index 217

Acknowledgments 224

Editorial Reviews

"Wellness and self-care are at the core of Shel's Slow Beauty reminding and teaching us to put into practice the familiar expression beauty comes from within. Her joyful and inspiring tone make the four pillars of her practice so easy to grasp and work into our daily lives. This is the type of beauty you can't put a label on and one that fits every single body out there. It's the kind of beauty that matters and Shel is here to help guide us along the path of realizing it."

—Kathryn Budig, international yoga teacher, author, and podcast host

"Shel Pink's Slow Beauty takes us on a fantastic journey. I love the emphasis on self-care, rituals, and connecting back to our authentic and unique beauty through the ultimate beauty practice: meditation."—Kimberly Snyder, Nutritionist and New York Times bestselling author of Radical Beauty

"I love this book. I love the title of this book - it made me take a deep breath before turning the first page. Life has become a rush: a quest for short-cuts and quick fixes. How refreshing, and inspiring, to learn more about nourishing from the inside out. Not just in the sense of your skin, but also your mind, your organs, your body as a whole. We all know one or two women who seem to glow from the inside, and take life at their own pace. I've always wanted to be one of those women! Slow Beauty is a detailed, practical, enlightening guide to that place - no matter who you are."—Louise Roe, TV host, author of Front Roe

"Shel Pink is a true beauty pioneer: In a time of quick-fix solutions, she approaches beauty from the inside out in a manner that is not mere lip service. Her truly unique approach to beauty encompasses the mental and spiritual changes we can all make so that we feel better, which is ultimately reflected in the way we look. In Slow Beauty, Shel offers journaling exercises, recipes, and stories meant to enlighten, inspire, and promote personal growth. It is not vanity for vanity's sake, it's wellness for beauty's sake. Read it and reap."—-Didi Gluck, editor, Shape magazine

"With great wisdom, warmth and insight, Shel Pink shows us how to slow the pace and quicken our joie de vivre with this thoughtful road map to beauty and well-being."—-Rona Berg, LA Times bestselling author, Beauty: The New Basics, and editor-in-chief, Organic Spa Media

"An enchanting storyteller and a powerful proponent of the Slow Beauty movement, Shel Pink has created an engaging, inspiring, and thought-provoking guide designed to help us all slow down, relax, contemplate what is important, and integrate meaningful change into our lives. I've long been inspired by her vision and personal outlook, and it's wonderful to have discovered them both so beautifully communicated in this lovely new book. I encourage you to rush out to get it and then slow down to enjoy it to its fullest."—-Julie Keller Callaghan, editor-in-chief and Publisher, American Spa

"This is honestly the most beautiful book I have ever seen! Slow Beauty is the art of turning self care into a self love meditation. This book is filled with the most beautiful recipes to nourish your mind, body and soul and you will want to try every one. Shel redefines what it means to slow down and shows you how to savor and beautify everyday moments. You will want to read it over and over again. "—-Suze Yalof Schwartz, CEO/Founder Unplug Meditation

From the Publisher