The Rest Experiment: Finding What Restores You

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You’ve almost made it through Maycember?  How are you?

We’ve looked at sleep and looked at how to receive it well.  We’ve revisited the children’s book, Goodnight Moon, as a way to remember what it felt like to be tended toward the end of the day instead of just falling into bed. Last week, we discovered that rest isn’t one thing, but seven and that most of us have been trying to meet all seven needs with a single tool of sleep.

Thanks for hanging in there.  Now, we’re going to do something with all that.

I want to invite you to a Rest Experiment for June.  I want June to be a time of getting curious and noticing this idea of rest and it’s seven types.  You can try something, see how it feels, and adjust or even abandon for something else.  Some days it might be five minutes.  Or maybe you're in a season where it’s an hour once a week.  The experiment is about finding out what actually restores you. 

The thought I want you to carry into June as you experiment is:

I am a woman who is learning what is restful for me.

You may have your own ideas and if so, use them.  Here’s a few you can choose from or to get you started thinking about what supports your own life.

Physical Rest

• Sit down in the middle of the day for no reason.
• Be still for the purpose of being still.
• Take a slow walk with no destination.
• Take a guilt free nap.

Mental Rest

• No input. Phone face down. Laptop closed. No podcast, audiobook.  Or music.
• Go for a walk without your phone or earbuds.
• Brain dump all the things you are thinking about. Don’t organize them or prioritize them.  Just get them out.

Emotional Rest

• Wait before you respond to a text.
• Give yourself ten seconds before you react to a tense moment.
• Say no to something without explaining why.
• Write what you actually feel without editing it.

Spiritual Rest

• Sit in a place that feels sacred to you.
• Say a breath prayer.
• Recite a prayer you know.
• Sit outside and receive sunshine

Social rest

• Say no to an invitation.
• Spend some time alone before a gathering.
• Plan quiet time after being with people.
• Take a day off from the group chat.
• Leave the party early.

Sensory rest

• Close all the tabs on your computer.
• Close all the tabs and apps on your phone.
• Leave the cluttered room.
• Turn off the music or audio book.
• Dim the lights.
• Close the curtains.

Creative rest

• Sit in nature without your phone.
• Stand in front of something beautiful.
• Notice the light coming through the window.
• Touch something beautiful.

If you haven’t taken the rest quiz yet, start there. Restquiz.com is free and it takes about five minutes, and it will point you toward the area that needs the most tending right now. That could be your first experiment.

If you want to go deeper,  Sacred Rest has inspired me to look at rest differently and to be intentional about bringing all the different kinds into my life.

Notice what restores you.  Notice what doesn’t.  Adjust accordingly. 

I am a woman who is learning what is restful and so are you,

If you want a place to reflect on what you're noticing or a little more support as you experiment with rest, this is the kind of work we can do together in coaching. 

Here are the other posts in this series...
Still Tired?

Goodnight Moon Was Right

Sacred Rest Was Right

You'll also find a workbook to be your companion as you practice next month in the Tools & Treasures Library.  Join here.