Each Wednesday I run a Mindfulness & Meditation online, which I have been running now for almost 1 year. I am joined by a lovely group of people some come every week, others drop in and out but it’s a lovely community and a safe calm space for anyone wanting some “time out” and a space with like minded people to relax and explore Mindfulness.
The last 2 sessions have been focused on rest and what it means to take rest along with what the impacts are/can be of rest on our mental and physical health.
One of the group shared how they view "rest” as lazy in fact, upon discussion with the group, there was even a sense of guilt around sitting still for too long - especially when there is housework or other "jobs" that need to be actioned.
My "Hump day" group are very open with each other and often share their inner thoughts and feelings with the rest of the group. When someone speaks out, many of the others discuss and quite often what is shared really resonates and provokes thought and encourages commonality among those that attend which really helps individuals feel less isolated and alone in their thoughts.
This week we focused on the many different types of rest rather than just the obvious one, sleep... which after the session the whole group said they had never considered rest in that way before, so here they are for you:
Physical Rest – Resting the physical body by sitting or lying still for even a short period of time allowing the bones and muscles to be still. Often when we rest the physical body we are doing other activities like eating watching TV or scrolling on our phone, maybe even reading. There is nothing wrong with this but it's good to be aware that it is ok just to be still, close the eyes and take a break.
Mental Rest - Resting the mind, pausing the overthinking for a few moments. Meditation can help you to create some space between thoughts, focusing on your breath can help you be in the present moment allowing the brain some rest. Try closing the eyes and sitting somewhere quiet for 5 minutes. Our brains constantly process our surroundings, our actions/non actions and we must rest our brains to feel refreshed and regain some clarity and focus.
Social Rest - Creating space for yourself, taking a break from any relationships that you find take more of your energy to maintain, whether thats at work or at home... We often have people around us that we find more difficult but cannot avoid, so its so important to take time out and spend time interacting with the relationships that revive us, lift our spirits and bring us joy without fear of disapproval, judgement or rejection.
Creative Rest - Spending time in nature taking in green spaces or a place that is special to you can help give you creative rest. Doing creative activities such as drawing, painting, colouring in and puzzles also allow the brain to rest from overthinking and your focus to be completely absorbed by the activity you are doing. Gardening is a great way to take creative rest - why not give it a go?
Emotional Rest - Giving yourself some time away from heightened or emotionally charged environments/people. Taking a moment to give yourself space and to be yourself. If you find it hard to be alone with your thoughts, find someone you trust to share how you are feeling without fear of judgment. One of the things we human beings do is "people pleasing" trying to be everything to everyone all the time is completely emotionally exhausting. Understanding when you do this and why can help you be aware and learn how to reduce this behaviour. You are amazing - being your authentic self in front of others will over time bring you peace, confidence and happiness.
Spiritual Rest - Whatever your faith, beliefs and values are, spiritual rest can restore and balance us. It brings us back to our authentic centre and helps us refocus on what’s most important, caring for our families, and fostering relationships with those important to us. Meditation in a group, prayer alone or in a group, even writing statements or mantras that are important to you and read/reflecting on them can support spiritual rest.
Sensory Rest - We are constantly stimulated, phones, watches, laptops/emails - notifications beeping or flashing up on our devices, TV, traffic noise, our daily routines and tasks that have to be completed each day can overwhelm us without us even realising. Have you ever found yourself tense for no apparent reason or perhaps something that seems small making you loose your temper? Even when we are enjoying what we are doing we can still be over stimulated which over time can have a negative impact. Giving yourself a break during your day even a short 3 minute breathing space meditation can give that all important sensory rest... Sitting in silence for 10 minutes a day can really help reset how we feel - we rarely find space away from all stimuli! Good quality sleep is so important so try leaving the devices off and away from the bedroom for a week, try to take 10 minutes in silence, you may find it makes a huge difference.
Ultimately any rest that takes your focus away from overthinking, worry and rumination will give you a chance to rest, recharge your personal energy, improve your focus, declutter your mind, improve the way you feel about yourself, reduce stress and anxiety, stop negative spirals and give you a reboot ready for whatever you face in your day. As for the initial question, is resting lazy? Well I will leave that up to you to answer!
Thanks for reading
Michelle
Comments