Let’s take some time today to talk about the power of rest. We all know how important rest is and that we need to incorporate more of it into our lives. And yet, so many of us fail to do so.
Photo by Clarke Sanders on Unsplash
Why do we need to rest?
We need rest to recuperate!
Our bodies use it as a form of rejuvenation. When we don’t take the time to rest our mind, body, and soul, we get less out of life. It’s the law of diminishing returns.
We are not as productive and happy as we could be when we don’t make time to rest.
Rest is usually the thing we all put off when life gets busy because we think periods of rest have to be some big grand thing…but that’s because we’ve been denying ourselves the chance to rest for so long.
Periods of Rest Don’t Have to Be Big
Rest does not have to be a big grand thing. Periods of rest can be small, tiny, and frequent. When we try to take big periods of rest, we tend to keep pushing it off and when we do that, we become less effective, and are unable to access our full power.
What happens when we don’t rest?
We don’t give our bodies the chance to rejuvenate which in turn will make it easier to be overwhelmed emotionally.
We don’t have the full capacity to be able to handle things as they come or brush things off. Or if we do handle it, it’s not done as effectively as it would be if we were well-rested.
That’s why it is important not to push off resting. Don’t let yourself get into a trap of thinking you’ll push it off till the weekend or when you go on a vacation because that is not what you need.
Give yourself the breaks you need now. Every time you deny yourself a break, you’ll have that much less capacity to deal with important things.
Different Forms of Rest
Rest comes in many different forms and is needed throughout the day, every day. Big breaks are nice when you can fit them in but small daily breaks are a necessity. We must start learning how to incorporate little breaks into our daily lives.
When you incorporate 5 minutes of guided meditation or guided relaxation you have no idea what an impact it can have on your well-being both mentally and physically.
I offer guided meditation through some of the groups that I lead, and my clients have told me:
“Oh my gosh, just these 5 minutes helped me get through my day, helped totally shift how I’m feeling right now.”
That’s huge, isn't it? Five to ten minutes a few times a day (ideally every other hour) is what we should be doing. Take an hour and then take 5 minutes for yourself.
Different Forms of Rest:
Taking time to stop and just breathe
Taking time to stop and sit somewhere comfortably
Taking time to stop and have a cup of tea
Taking time to stop and go for a quick walk
Those are some quick and easy things you can do to incorporate small periods of rest in your day. I don’t care how busy you are, we all have 5 minutes that we can snag for ourselves. Remember, you so deserve this! You so deserve the rest!
Longer Periods of Rest
When you have longer chunks of time to devote to rest, there are different types of rest that you can do. You need to not only resuscitate and relax your body, but also rest and rejuvenate all aspects of yourself.
Examples of Longer Periods of Rest:
Sitting and doing nothing so that you can truly blank out (and...nothing means NOTHING - no screens, no social media, no nothing!)
Taking a nap and letting your body really resuscitate and rejuvenate.
A book, a bath and a "do not disturb" sign on a quiet afternoon.
Taking a weekend 'staycation'
Sometimes, rest means our mind needs to be engaged creatively! Rest could be doing something artistic that you enjoy (like writing, or arts and crafts), or an enjoyable, human connection, like doing something fun with a family member, a partner, or within the community.
Those are all different examples of rest. Having a variety of ways you give yourself rest is important. Ask yourself, “Am I just breaking or resuscitating in the same way?” It’s important not to do that because you need different things at different times.
Remember:
Give yourself rest every single day.
Give yourself some breaks. It’s so powerful for you.
Give yourself the variety that you need.
Sending you big, comfy rest and relaxation!