Summer tends to be a busy time for many families. Between vacations and enjoying the nicer weather, it can be non-stop. Now kids are starting to go back to school and soon we will be running from one event to the next. It seems never ending! On top of it all, we still have our daily jobs or businesses to run. When is it time to rest? To really rest, not just sit on the couch and watch Netflix while scrolling through social media.
Rest is a word that can sometimes cause tension or be controversial in businesses, homes, and relationships. If I asked you "when was the last time you took some time for yourself to rest", how would you answer? I recently heard these two responses from clients:
- ”I can't take time away from work, I need to be available all the time."
- "My kids know when the office door closes, it's time for us to enjoy family time together for the night."
Can you relate to either of these very different remarks?
Now before you tell me that you LOVE your job and don't need rest, hear me out. It's wonderful that you love your job although burnout is reality in today's world, and no one is immune to it. When we can create space to disconnect from work and give our mind and bodies the ability to rest, we allow more clarity, opportunity, or awakening to our lives. This may mean we fall more in love with our job, we may see blind spots with friends, family, or team members that we missed before, or we may find a new passion or hobby.
If you are still struggling to follow with me because rest in your mind is lazy and passive, let's reframe this word to recovery. Recovery is an active word that has a purpose which helps remind us that this downtime is both meaningful and necessary. We all know how important rest is for our physical bodies to help muscle recovery after hard workouts, and our mental and emotional health works the same. Think of your brain like a muscle. It's not designed to go full speed all the time therefore it needs rest to grow stronger as well.
I challenge you to consider adding some time to rest/recover to fill up your cup. It may be as simple as 30-minute lunch time run to clear your head, no social media for the first 2 hours of your day, a weekend without work alerts on your phone, a massage or sauna session, or just communicating with your family or work team that you are setting boundaries for “you” time. As you make this shift, remind yourself that you are rewiring old thinking patterns as feelings of guilt may arise. It will take practice and patience. But once you have filled your own cup, you can begin pouring into others without feeling drained yourself...and your mind and body will thank you too!!
I recently went for my first infrared sauna session in a long time! If you haven't tried infrared sauna, I highly recommend. Infrared sauna use infrared lamps to warm your body directly instead of heating the air around you like traditional saunas. The benefits of adding infrared sauna to your wellness routines are: better sleep, relaxation, detoxification, relief from sore muscles or joint pain (i.e. arthritis), improved circulation, cell repair, minimizes headaches, and improves heart health. Interested or want to chat more about my experience, reach out! Take care of your mind and body. Be Well!
