Have you started the new year feeling… tired?
Going through the motions, missing the energy and aliveness that makes it a pleasure to go through your day? This is the perfect time of year to explore deep rest. Looking at nature – we see animals get still and slow down in order to survive. Plants, too: you don’t fertilize during winter months. Nature shows us we’re not meant to be in high growth and activity throughout the whole year.
It’s hard to hear this call: the depleted version of you will grab carbs, sugar and quick distractions instead of making the effort to reset back to brain-calm and more sustainable energy.
Let’s look at ideas for deep rest:
Ask yourself: What system needs rest, the most? Physical, mental, emotional, social, other?
- Digestive system: consider fasting, slowing meals, cutting out sugar or lowering carbs
- Overbooked: do less
- Consuming: set aside the impulse to buy and shop for a time
- Exercise: work the systems that relax you (yin yoga, breathwork)
- Mental rest: here’s where my focus is going to be as we start the new year, and no/ very little extra time is needed.
Part of my busy, fast-paced life (that I love) is a lot of varied mental engagement. A full day includes constantly switching gears, between podcasts on my way to work, answering emails and texts, blogging, working with people in the office (favorite part!!), and my at-home and personal to do’s.
With my attention constantly switching between so many things, my brain starts to think that’s a normal pace. Then it’s hard to stop, which ends up depleting energy rather than restoring it. If you can relate, here’s what to do about it: practice finding moments when you can feel your attention wanting to move on to something else, but don’t. This is important brain-hygiene in our coming-at-you world.
Ideas for how to do this:
- Resting from consuming other people’s ideas (podcasts, news, anything)
- Allow yourself the luxury of doing one thing at a time
- Set specific times to check your emails, texts and social media, and turn off notifications
- Do things that need your full focus (for me – pottery)
- Be aware of when your attention is skimming the surface: (example: one evening I found myself jumping back and forth between two books and two Netflix shows!).
Like anything, it’s best to make your form(s) of deep rest into a habit, so you can get the compound interest over time. You can make it a heavy focus for one day a week, or certain times of every day. If you’d like to read about this, I’m in the middle of a good book that covers the benefits of ditching distractions and concentrating well, called Deep Work (by Cal Newport, who also wrote Digital Minimalism, another excellent read).
I was given an experience of this deep mental rest at the end of last year. As many of you know, I got the flu. For 3 days I didn’t do anything. My laptop was closed and my phone was set aside, with no desire to engage with any conversations or ideas. I wouldn’t have had the willpower to stop all mental input like that on my own; looking back I see it as a good experience and valuable silver lining to being
sick.
How will you know you’re really rested? You’ll have more energy, body and mind, that won’t feel like living on credit. Deep rest brings an aliveness to your day that feels great. Let me know what type of rest you’ll be getting more of – and here’s to starting 2023 with more aliveness and energy.
Best,
Dr. Laura