As we head into spring, you may feel that powerful spring energy making you want to burst out of your buds and open toward all the things… which is great! 🌸

Although the “burst of energy” we tend to feel around this time of year feels good… now is a great time to remember the importance of rest… so we don’t end up wilted, and headed towards burnout 😜 

This is especially important in a time when, amidst spring energy, we may also be experiencing challenging emotions that can exhaust and overwhelm us – and our coping strategies are far less effective when we don’t rest.

This week, we’ll learn about how rest is key to helping us invent solutions to the complex problems facing us, and the world.

We’ll learn more about how to truly rest, which is challenging in a culture that pushes us hard.

We’ll also talk about how to notice what’s happening inside of us when we propel ourselves into activities, so we can be more attuned to our own needs. 

What Is Rest?

Let's dive into what rest is… and what rest isn’t. 

Tricia Hersey, an artist and activist who founded the “Nap Ministry,” defines rest as anything that connects our brains with our bodies.

Because the brain tends to move faster than the body, these activities are quite still, or at least slow. 

Why is aligning the brain and body important? For one, pushing ourselves past our body’s limits may help us in a short sprint (think emergencies), but when we repeatedly push past our limits over time, we build a habit of living in a way that’s disconnected from our bodies.

And we also move towards burnout, a state of depletion that can take years to heal.

Sometimes we think of something like “scrolling social media” as a restful activity. But while it can be enjoyable…. this type of activity can actually disconnect our brain and bodies.

We often engage in scrolling when we’re feeling anxious, as a way to distract ourselves from that feeling. But the feeling is often still there when we finish scrolling, so we often end up feeling worse afterward. 

Below are some ideas to try for when you have the impulse to scroll or engage in other distractions that disconnect you from your body.

Calming practices include:

🛏️ Lay/sit under a weighted blanket

🎵 Hum to yourself

💆🏽‍♀️ Progressive muscle relaxation

🌬️ Take three deep breaths

🌿 Put on a soothing essential oil

Restful activities include:

😴 Set a timer for 5-10 minutes and close your eyes

🧘🏽‍♀️ Yin yoga (that’s the restful one)

🙆🏼‍♀️ Stretch

🌱 Touch grass or a plant

📝 Journal

🐈 Snuggle with a loved one or pet

🚶🏽‍♀️ Walking or sitting meditation

🐙 Move/dance slowly without structure

Scheduling Rest

Tricia Hersey of the "Nap Ministry" describes how every day, her grandmother would sit for 10 minutes with her eyes closed on her couch, between nursing shifts, in her uniform.

Even with family swirling around her, she rested like this. Nothing came between herself and her rest, and her family knew it. It was nonnegotiable.

In addition to closing our eyes for 10 minutes, come what may, every day, here are some other ways to build rest into your day. 

How to Schedule Rest

📅 Add 10 minutes of rest this week (or every day) to your calendar

⏰ Schedule more time than you think you need for your tasks

⌛️ Schedule time between tasks for transition 

✍🏽 Put up a restful /reminder, such as “slow is smooth, and smooth is fast” (attributed to the highly effective group, Navy SEALS!)

Create Physical Spaces for Rest

Whether by nature’s design or your own, spaces that facilitate rest can be transformative. 

All of us have slightly different needs and preferences around restful spaces, so our first tip is to ask: what feels restful to you? 

Maybe it’s nature-toned colors, warm and dim lighting, or bird sounds and spa-like music.

Or perhaps it’s just closing your eyes on your couch, a spot outdoors that you can easily visit, like a garden, or a nearby park. 

Wherever it is, we invite you to design (or choose) a place in your life where you find it easy to rest. If you create this space, we suggest that you include objects and materials that help you receive rest.

For example, Focused Space member and professional space designer Kristy Iris has an “Island of Ebb,” as in a place to “rest and reset from the flow of life.”

It includes a radio receiver from her grandparents that reminds her, if she doesn’t like what she’s receiving, she can turn to another station.

Together with rainbow lights, and a rainbow blanket that she crocheted when many of us had to slow down early pandemic, Kristy told us how creating and using this dedicated space has wired her brain to relax when she simply looks at it. Amazing! 

Resting in Community

We’ve talked about the importance of rest, how difficult it is to rest in our culture — so be easy on yourself if you’re resisting rest, many of us experience that! — and how to build rest into your schedule and your spaces. 

Lastly, we’ll be talking about building rest practices in communities that you’re a part of.

Since there are so many cultural headwinds working against rest, finding others to share it with is a powerful way to strengthen rest’s power, and enjoy community while doing it 😊

The power of group rest is why some Jewish folks gather at Temple (or Shul) for the Shabbot, and why Christians historically gathered for the Sabbath, both days of rest. Other faiths and cultures offer resting, slowing down, and fasting traditions too. 

If you feel aligned with traditions that practice community rest, gathering with others who practice them can be a great way to create more rest in your life.

You don’t even have to be Jewish to join many Shabbot gatherings.

And if you prefer not to gather with cultural and religious groups, you can still invite others to rest with you in a secular way.

Community Rest Ideas:

📵 Make a pact with a friend to turn off your phones and devices for a half or full day, and spend time together (or apart). Check in after and see how it went!

🌲 Invite a friend to meditate, or silently walk for awhile in nature

🧘🏽‍♀️ Join restful experiences in the world: sound baths, yin yoga, meditation, groups. Or create one!

🌳 Sit with a tree. Trees are good at rest.

✧˖°. ⋆｡˚:✧｡

Thanks so much for taking some time to think about rest with us. We hope this week's theme was helpful!

P.S. If you could use help accomplishing your goals this season while still remembering to rest, please join us at one of our live guided work sessions, or morning planning sessions!

Take care,

— Anna, focused space host