Do We Have to Earn Our Rest?

(This was originally posted in the summer of 2023).

I hope you have been well! This month has flown by. I was in the Outer Banks the second week of the month, and we are heading to Colorado on Sunday for a week of sightseeing, hiking, and my cousin's wedding. It's all good stuff!

I drove solo to the Outer Banks, which took more energy out of me than I anticipated. Being alert for a 6.5-7 hour stretch was a lot (I stopped in DC both ways to see my cousin). I remembered how stiff I get if I don't get out and walk around every few hours on a road trip (more where that comes from later).

I started my Anatomy and Physiology intensive shortly before this trip, so I decided to do some morning classwork and then leave my phone at the house when we went to the beach in the afternoons.

This was a great idea.

Here's the thing: when we're constantly stimulating our brains and not allowing them just to be, they can get overloaded.

I used to associate doing nothing with being lazy or something I had to earn.

Now:

• I schedule purposeful rest time into my day, even if it's 10 minutes to meditate.

• I shut down apps on my phone at 9 pm (sometimes this works and sometimes not. I am human).

• I never bring my phone to yoga (not even in my car since it's 5 minutes away).

• I create boundaries around the times I will respond to people.

My husband quit his toxic job this month (he starts a new one in August), and it's been incredibly refreshing to see how he has been able to quiet his mind and rest.

I know we're taught to hustle and grind, to be productive members of society, and to do more.

But this isn't the most efficient way to be in the grand scheme of things.

We sometimes need to do nothing. Remove ourselves from electronics. Say no to something or someone and yes to yourself. Even 5-10 minutes if you're a parent or a caretaker (I know that is demanding work). This may mean asking a partner or someone to step in or up and give you some downtime.

When we do nothing, we're better equipped when we need to do something, whether planned or unplanned. We give ourselves space to think of new ideas and give our sympathetic nervous system a break.

We can't pour from an empty cup, right?

Also, regarding sedentary sitting, when we sit for 49 minutes or less, it can take 20-30 minutes of movement to restore our fascia (our most dense connective tissue) to its natural state. Sitting for over 50 minutes can take 3-4 hours (The Fascia Institute).

I practice the Pomodoro method of 25 minutes sitting and 5 minutes walking around when I can. Progress > Perfection always.