Are you rested?

I mean entirely and fully rested?

When we talk about rest, we generally only think about one of two things: simply going to bed or doing nothing. While a Saturday on the couch with the remote in your hand or going to bed early is needed at times, it truly is a one-sided approach to rest. What makes matters worse is many have stopped prioritizing rest in favor of accelerating toward their goals. Goals are excellent. Showing up is a must. Pushing yourself to burnout and dissatisfaction, on top of potential medical issues, is an absolute no. This approach to life can have long-term consequences that do not equal success.

Our lives require balance. Balance starts with rest, and rest has been underrated for far too long.  

Think about it. How many times have you gone to bed and have still woken up exhausted? Or, how many times have you pushed yourself mentally and physically, and it took a complete slow down or even a shutdown to regain your energy?

There are six types of game-changing rest. When we allow ourselves to adapt our lifestyle to honor our full scale of needs, we perform at a higher level and activate a part of our growth.

So, what are these game-changing types of rest?

•        Physical Rest

•        Mental Rest

•        Social Rest

•       Creative Rest

•       Emotional Rest

•      Sensory Rest

Physical Rest

Admittedly, when I’m focused on a goal or deep in a creative swing, my physical rest is the first thing to go. While I’ve gotten better, it’s still a challenge, and I know I’m not alone. Everyone understands our bodies need sleep and relaxation, but that does not mean we give ourselves full permission to shut down. Without physical rest, our body and mind cannot repair itself. A lack of repair does long-term damage in a relatively short time.

Think about a day you have exerted yourself to exhaustion…you’re completely drained, and all you want to do is close your eyes. Our bodies talk, and it’s our job to listen. While sleep is the most common type of physical rest that allows us to refill our energy reserves, there are other ways to guide ourselves to a reset and resting point while we are awake.

It’s all about our breath and movement.

Our breath, while an automatic function, is the most underutilized function in our body. When we fully engage and become aware of our breath, our bodies begin to slow down, restore, and, you guessed it, rest during our waking hours.

Come on; give it a try. Sit up straight. Close your mouth and relax your jaw. Good. Now, bring in a full breath through your nose. Feel your lungs expand. Hold the air inside for the count of four, and then release it slowly through your nose. Give it another go. After a few rounds, you should begin to feel your stress lower, your shoulders relax, and your mind reset.

Purposeful movement has the same effect. When you are physically exhausted and sleep is hard to come by, try restorative or yin yoga. Another great activity is a resetting technique called “legs up the wall”…there are many ways to effectively slow the physical body down and bring it into a state of rest. I encourage you to find what works best for you.

Mental Rest

Because of our modern world, most of us use higher degrees of mental capacity than physical. This often leads to mental fatigue, forgetfulness, accidents, physical issues such as headaches, emotional stress, and pure mental exhaustion. If you are having a hard time forming a balanced thought, it’s time for mental rest. After all, there is a difference between lying down physically and mentally laying it all down.

As a certified meditation teacher, naturally, I’m an advocate for the masses to use meditation as a way to mentally rest and reset. Forget all the rules; there is no wrong way to meditate. See this post, Meditation, Broken Down, to learn more. Before you begin to argue for your inability to clear your mind, not having the time, or the knowledge, understand that meditation is as simple as you make it. Sure, it can get far more involved, but beginners must start somewhere, and this is it. Remember, when you focus on your breath, your body slows down—the same goes for your mind.

If being guided is more of your thing, my favorite meditation apps all have free functions. These are my favs: InsightTimer, the Calm App, and BreathWrks. Headspace is another great app, but it does have a yearly fee of $95.00.

If meditation for mental rest isn’t your thing, that’s okay! But, you still need to clear your head, because we all do! Instead, try a brain dump. See The Art of a Brain Dump to learn how. This is an excellent way to rest. Journaling a specific issue is fantastic, too. Even something as simple as disconnecting from the screen and social media also allow for an excellent mental break.

Social Rest

With COVID-19, we’ve all been participating in social rest at some level. In fact, after ten months, most are becoming anxious to get back into the swing of socializing and gathering. There is something important to point out, however. Many found their obligations too heavy and overbearing before the shutdown. Hopefully, when we return to a new normal, we will do so with this balance in mind. When we overschedule or place hefty demands on ourselves, we experience increased stress, anxiety, and more significant discord.

Social rest allows us to take a break from our responsibilities when necessary. It enables us to prioritize solitude when we need to recharge, and it allows us to say “yes” to only that which fills us up and “no” to what drains us.

Within our current stay-at-home orders and modified lifestyle, social rest is vital inside the home, too. Excess togetherness can also lead to feeling drained. Find a small space and make it yours. Create a system that lets your family know not to enter when you need alone time. I’ve personally used a Post-It system on the door. If the Post-It is green, it’s clear to enter. If it’s yellow, knock and wait for me to reply. A red Post-It means do not disturb unless bleeding or dying. It works!

Creative Rest

I bet you are far more creative than you believe yourself to be. Before you reject this idea, hear me out. Have you ever brainstormed, worked on a massive project, or organized just about anything? Right; I thought so. Those tasks tap into your creative flow and power.

We use our creative resources day-in and day-out, and that requires us to engage in creative rest. Creative rest is often found in simple tasks like grounding yourself in nature, reading a book that requires little thought, completing thoughtless tasks…it’s anything that takes the pressure off your mind.

Emotional Rest

When was the last time you gave yourself emotional rest? Perhaps a better question to ask is the last time you became emotional, what happened? Did you give yourself space? Did you give yourself time to rest? Probably not.

We often stay with our feelings until we are exhausted. We can feel alone, overwhelmed by the changes in our life, and we can even feel disconnected. The same happens when we feel “stuck.” Give yourself a break. 

Allowing emotional rest is highly important. Why? Because not every situation can be solved in a single day.

When emotional rest is needed, try to boil out the emotions and get down to the facts. Give only the how, why, where, and who without the words “I feel” attached. Journal. As I mentioned, writing is an excellent way to clear the mind. Feel. When our emotions are high, many turn off their feelings. It’s necessary to deal with what comes up in real-time. Whatever you need to do, as long as it is constructive and healthy, do it so you can find peace within your emotional body and give yourself rest.

Sensory Rest

Every single person in our modern society needs sensory rest—in other words, a digital detox. When we are always on computers, iPads, phones, watching TV, or gaming, we create sensory overload. On top of this, we experience eyestrain, neck strain, hand fatigue, headaches, and tension.

In fact, it’s gotten so bad, most people now have two bedtimes. The time they go to bed and the time they actually put their phone down. Set guidelines for yourself and stick to them. Set timers and let it be your guide.

IN CONCLUSION, these forms of rest are all equally important. Are you missing out on one or more forms? Are there habits you can shift? When you prioritize rest, you prioritize yourself. That movement goes a long way to creating life greater satisfaction and how you show up in the world. So, where will you start?

Danielle A. Vann is a 19-time international award-winning author, a certified Life Coach with a specialty certification in Mindfulness, a Cognitive Behavioral Therapist, a certified Neuro-Linguistic Programming Practitioner, and a certified meditation coach. She is also the creator behind Get Your Life Together, Girl. To learn more, visit the bio page, and follow @Getyourlifetogethergirl on Instagram.

Copyright of Author Danielle A. Vann 2020