far as the East is from the West

This past week I have not worked out. Typically everyday I like to move my body first thing in the morning, whether that is going on a walk or doing a workout video in my living. But this past week I haven’t done either of those, not because I didn’t want to but because my body needed to slow down.

This experience hasn’t been easy. I have wanted to work out but I knew I shouldn’t, I needed to rest. I had this feeling of guilt each morning thinking that if I don’t work out all of the progress I have made will be lost or that I am super lazy or that I can never get anything done.

None of these are true.

It is okay to rest! I believe that as a society we have deemed that resting should only be for one day or a couple of hours, never a whole week. That would just be absurd! That is just considered lazy!

Your body was never meant to work nonstop; it was never meant to only rest when you are sleeping. You are meant to enjoy life and not live its entirety in the express lane. This has been something I struggle with, I actually like moving fast. I like having a long checklist and the feeling of checking off all of my boxes in a day.

But what if I don’t get all of the boxes checked off in a day? What happens then? I feel heavy, I feel like a failure, I feel like I’m not good enough.

Here is what I have learned after many unsuccessful attempts, if I take time to truly rest – I am much more productive after that.

Okay but what does rest actually mean?

Rest to me looks like going on a walk, spending time outside, taking a nap in the middle of the day, journaling, or painting in my journal.

Rest doesn’t look like binging Netflix, spending hours on social media, constantly listening to a podcast or even music – I like to take time away from my phone so I can think clearly and independently.

Let’s take time this week to give ourselves a rest (as someone who is very Type A this is SUPER hard), to turn off our devices, spend quality time with people we love and enjoy fresh air.

Hannah