Rest
by Najee Robbins, Citizen Yoga Instructor and Teacher Educator
Just as your body is inherently equipped with the ability to do, move forward, and act, so too is it inherently equipped to slow down, digest, and tend. Rest is incredibly important, but there can be a lot that gets in the way. It’s not easy to prioritize something our society does not. It can be tough to rewrite the stories we have inherited about rest. Which is why it can feel rebellious or even wrong to rest in the moments you know you need it most. The good news is though you were not the exclusive author of your story with rest, you have the ability to edit and rewrite it.
I like to think of rest as a physiological state that arises in response to the right conditions. There is a reason why it doesn’t work very well to just tell yourself to relax. Our bodies are show, not tell. We need the right sensory experience to show the body it is safe enough to shift towards or deeper into a state of relaxation. These conditions don’t need to be perfect in order to be impactful. They also won’t be exactly the same depending on the type of rest you need.
One of the most helpful things I’ve learned about rest is it extends beyond a good night of sleep. The work of Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith reminds us there are seven different types of rest: physical, mental, emotional, sensory, social, creative, and spiritual. Developing a relationship with each type of rest doesn’t have to include grand gestures to be impactful. Often the seemingly small consistent things make the biggest impressions over time. Tending to your relationship with rest and the conditions you need to access it is a practice, just like everything else.
The teacher Octavia Raheem says, “Rest is acknowledging the organic and natural pause that exists in life, and honoring the moments that we need to extend that pause”. This can be one of those moments. Take a few intentional breaths, then check in with the following questions. If you feel comfortable perhaps you share some of the answers below.
Do you feel rested?
What type(s) of rest are you feeling most drawn to? Physical, mental, emotional, sensory, social, creative, and/or spiritual.
What does tending to the type or types of rest you need look like in your waking hours today? What could it look like in your yoga practice?
Congrats! You completed the Brighten the Blues winter yoga challenge. Share your reflections to the questions above or on the challenge experience in general. Great work!
