Rest and Digest

Autumn is officially with us! As a season of transition, we aren't simply greeted with colder air and crunchier leaves, we are greeted with an invitation. An invitation to slow down, draw our energy inwards and let go in preparation for the hibernation of Winter. I know, I know, fellow Summer lovers, don't fret! Know that this is a really beautiful time to reflect, re-align and shed the old skin of Summer so we can birth anew. However, to do so, we need one key ingredient…

Rest.

Rest, for many of us, looks like cozying up on the sofa with Netflix, scrolling on our phone during a work break or reading a book before bed, however rest, true rest, is when we stop doing and sink into being. So what does that look like?

Roll out your yoga mat, or lie on your back, close your eyes and just be there. 

Sit by the window and watch the clouds go by. 

Turn all distractions off, phone away, TV off and make yourself a warming drink, sip it consciously with full presence. 

Close your eyes and gently focus on your breath.

If you have a pet, snuggle up and stroke them for a while.

Daydream.

Indulge in a nap (my favourite!). 

Practice Yoga Nidra

As you allow your mind to settle and relax away from doing and thinking and planning, problem solving and worrying and working, you can bring your energy into restoring and nourishing your body. 

The key secret to rest is that you don’t actually need to do anything. It’s when we take away the doing and settle into being that the realm of rest can really unfold its magic. Your body has the intelligence to know how to heal and restore itself. All you need to do is get out of the way, to create the space, to release all effort and surrender into ease. 

Remember, your mind may struggle, if fact, it most likely will! Kicking and screaming its way into rest but surrender, allow it to be. Just as the tree surrenders to the falling of its leaves, trusting it will birth anew after winter. In time, your mind will understand that rest is a safe place, a healing place, an essential place to restore, reflect and digest life's experiences and return to life feeling refreshed and new.