THE POWER OF REST

We probably all work on some form of to-do list on the daily. Where we wake up in the morning and think to ourselves ‘what do I need to do today…’

Well, before you take action and launch yourself into the first thing, I invite you to pause and ask yourself another question…

Who is the person asking…

Is she a tired woman?
An energised woman?
An exhausted woman?
A loved woman?
A certain woman?
A confused woman? 
A fed woman? 
A supported woman?


Who is the person asking what needs to get done?

Because the reality is, if you start exhausted, then you are taking from an empty cup. A car can run on the dregs of the tank, but the petrol quality is crap and it will harm your car eventually… 

We see rest as the opposite to productivity, but the fact is that rest is the ingredient we actually need in order to get anything done!

Alex Soojung-Kim Pang has a fabulous book called Rest (2016) and in it he explores this very notion that our productivity is inextricably linked to rest. His research showed that elite creators and leaders work in short, intense bursts and use hobbies, naps, and walks to let the brain keep solving problems. 

NAPS! I love a good nap (… actually I am bloody terrible at napping, its something I want to work on!).

What I appreciated about Pang's book though, was his discussion of active rest-

We think of rest as a negative space defined by absence of work but it’s really much more than that. The counterintuitive discovery is that many of the most restorative kinds of rest are actually active. Things like exercise or walks or serious, engaging hobbies do more for you than sitting on the couch binge-watching television. The more supine kinds of rest certainly have their place but active rest delivers the greatest benefits. It also provides occasion for creative reflection.

(from an interview in The Guardian).

We could see any yoga class as a form of active rest. Where we spend time connecting to ourselves, moving creatively, finding the breath. 

Yoga sutra 1.2

Yogah chitta vritti nirodhah

~ yoga helps us to still the fluctuations of the mind 

Notice that Patanjali doesn’t tell us to achieve more, strive harder or become busier. The practice begins by creating space. Sometimes the most productive thing we can do is become still enough to remember who we are beneath all the doing.

So, what do you need to get done this week… and who is the person asking?!