Deep rest: tuned in, long deep breaths, fresh air, quiet spaces, nourishing deep rest.

When we are tuned in and listening to our bodies, then we hear the request, ‘rest’. Some ignore it until it is past a request, becomes a demand, and sometimes people let it go so far that it comes down to a shut down.

I have been exhausted the last few weeks. And I have been fighting, ignoring and overriding my exhaustion.

Part of me is tired and part of me does not want to be tired.

Yesterday the part of me that was resisting being tired decided to give in and spend a day resting… as much as the part of me that was exhausted needed.

I took a three hour nap.

It was glrorious.

Part of me wants to know why I am so tired and if there is something wrong with me.

Part of me is itching and burning to create, do and enjoy.

But the truth is, nothing is enjoyable when I am exhausted.

Rest is so incredibly important. I know this, we all know this.

But here are some good reminders and solid reasons that we can use to convince our resistant selves to rest.

Life has many cycles, seasons and rythms. Rest, winter, death, vata, sleep, and hibernation are a vital and unescapable part of living.

Though we may resist and delay rest… we will eventually succumb to it.

In my better moments of life I include rest as a part of my rhythm. I am talking about my nightly does of sleep, I am referring to both scheduling in ‘down time’ as well as spontaneously clearing my schedule to make room for some ‘down time’.

The inward season of winter (in the short days and snowy sort of winters) there is a natural ‘down time’ and space for rest. Both the weather and the energy of the winter season encourage us to eat nourishing warm soups, spend time near a fire, head to bed earlier, and generally slow down a bit.

All of this rich inward and quiter time is a great opportunity to reevaluate, look inward and dream about life.

There is no coincidence that creative people seek solitude and space to touch in with their inner selves, their inner creators. We all have this option and creator inside.

Yesterday while I rested I chose not to put a movie on, I intentionally chose not to add stimuli. I chose to lay there in the afternoon sunlight, listen to the slight chime of our kochi and allow my awareness to wander into subtler spaces. Both my body and my mind got a rest.

I awoke out of my afternoon slumber with a smile and full of energy to play.

How much space to do you create in your life, for you, for rest, for nourishing what ever your different ‘I’s require?

When we are tired… sometimes what we need is to clean up our food intake, drink more water, address stress, simplify, or prioritize.