When it comes to the idea of taking a nap, snuggling up to read a book, or picking yin yoga over power yoga, I have no struggle. This acceptance of the idea of personal rest comes from years of studying the human body and sports. Rest was simply the required companion to the work athletes put into their sport. Rest was considered not only okay but important, when it was in relation to top training for athletes.

The popularity of this concept rising in athletics is the reason why athletes are competing longer and longer. We have football and basketball players performing at top levels into their 40s and Olympic level gymnasts into their late 20s — early 30s all because coaches and athletes are recognizing the value of balancing fatigue and reducing undesirable stressors. (1)

Athletes buy-in to rest so that they can be in their best physical, mental, and emotional states for the big game, but why don’t we all buy–in to rest for a chance at our best selves?

Let’s start with what counts as rest… Most think of sitting still or sleeping, but there are many ways to invite rest into your season of winter and into your everyday life. (2)

Physical Rest – Passive and Active

Passive physical rest is any act in which the body is still, such as meditation, napping, reading, acupuncture, soaking and sleeping. Sleep is a vital physiological process that allows the body and the brain to rest, recover and perform essential functions. (3) Getting adequate sleep is essential for:

Our ability to learn and concentrate
Processing memories
Restoring the bodies energy levels to prevent grogginess
Repairing muscle tissue
Triggering the release of hormones that affect growth and appetite
Relieving stress and improving moods
Relieving pain
Improving the immune system

Active physical rest is restorative such as yoga, massage, swimming, tai chi, stretching, and walking. These activities invite in gentle and relaxing movements and modalities to allow the body to maintain range of motion, reduce pain and create space for healing. Active rest is a good place to start if sitting passively is a challenge.

Social Rest – Finding Solitude

Solitude is any act that allows you to create space to be alone… not lonely. Finding moments to be quiet and with ones own thoughts. Spending time tending to your own needs. Without this intentional space, we often get lost in the world around us. This also invites in opportunities to say no to social engagements that leave you feeling drained.

Solitude can be challenging at first, especially if you are a social butterfly, but recognize if this impulse to be always with others is coming from a fear based or co-dependent place. Start with going to places where other people will be, but choose to have your own personal experience — like a park, the beach, or even a movie. The solitude becomes enjoyable and inviting once you recognize its value in keeping you connected to your inner self and to allow your nervous system to find its own equilibrium again.

Emotional Rest – Feel the Feels

Emotional rest is any act in which you allow yourself to connect to your current emotional state. This is a big task because it requires tools for processing emotions that the majority have not been taught. This is an even bigger task for people pleasers who never take time for themselves, those who never stop long enough to feel their feels, as well as those who distract themselves with “controlling” or “fixing” things other than themselves.

Exercise, journaling, sharing openly with a group/therapist/mentor/friend, practicing somatic movements and breath work for release are all ways to lean into learning about our emotions. — Check out this guided yoga practice designed to build emotional IQ.

When we allow our emotions to flow and learn how to process them, there is less energy expenditure and we move through them instead of work to resist them.

Creative Rest – Intentionally Get Lost

Get lost in a hobby. Get lost in nature. Get lost in dance. Get lost in the kitchen.

Creativity becomes rest when we get out of our problem solving mind and tap into the creative parts. These moments can be really relaxing, playfully adds joy to our everyday life and can help prevent burnout. We can even use creative rest to express our emotions.

Cognitive Rest – Positive Constructive Daydreaming

Allowing our minds to wander to creative, inspiring and healing places is another form of rest. This can happened unintentionally when we are engaged in tasks that require a lot of attention and we fatigue.

For cognitive rest we can intentionally allow space for our minds to wander into a guided fantasy, a space where meditation meets daydream. Letting your mind wander while you walk, craft, do a puzzle or sit quietly. Wander to a place where you can entertain and elaborate on a wishful visualization. (5) — Check out this guided meditation that includes this visualization/daydreaming.

Spiritual Rest – Engage with something bigger than you!

This type of rest occurs when we engage with something bigger than ourselves, connecting beyond physical and mental to a deeper sense of belonging, love and connection. This can be accessed by deep meditation, deep connection to nature, prayer/affirmations, and community engagement. These acts become rest because we surrender a bit of control; they demonstrate the trust we are not alone; we remember we are supported; and therefore we can breathe easier in these moments. (2)

Sensory Rest – Digital Detox

While this list is not exclusive, this last type of rest plays a very important role in our current relationship with technology. Bright lights and constant notifications coupled with an overflow of information is a recipe for mental and emotional overwhelm; headaches; restlessness; and exhaustion.

Keep this in mind the next time you are “resting” while you’re scrolling and distracted by your screens. Taking short digital detoxes of hours or days is a lovely way to reboot your mind and body.

Make it a micro-break!

Studies have proven that micro-breaks are an effective way to use moments to minutes to find rest. (6) This means that you can cultivate rest in three big breaths before a meeting or in a quiet solo lunch outside. Take down your hair and massage your head while at a stop light. Daydream about your perfect day as you drift off to sleep.

If you want to add micro-breaks to your daily routine a simple way, attach it to an anchor habit. Anchor habits are small, core routines that are ingrained within us like getting up each day, brushing your teeth, eating breakfast, exercise, etc. . Once you have an anchor habit, it’s pretty simple to link other wellness behaviors to it. For example, daydream or meditate while you brush your teeth.

Rest is not just a pause, it’s also a chance to refuel and prepare for the next part of the journey. It is the rest that allows us to keep showing up for the work.

Sources:

https://www.theverge.com/2018/6/15/17468432/jeff-bercovici-play-on-sport-health-age-fitness-science
https://ideas.ted.com/the-7-types-of-rest-that-every-person-needs/
https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/sleep-deprivation
https://mhanational.org/rest-relaxation-and-exercise
https://askthescientists.com/cognitive-rest/
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0272460#sec025