29 Ways to Find REST

Are you good at resting? 

I know that may seem like a silly question, but many of us are not very good at it (for the record, I’m the worst!).

According to Cambridge Dictionary, we can understand rest as: to (cause someone or something to) stop doing a particular activity or stop being active for a period of time in order to relax and get back your strength.

For most of us, however, that’s not as easy as it sounds. In my case, my productivity-loving parents, the media, my competitive nature, and my anxiety have driven me into a constant state of doing. 

That’s great when you need to get something done, but we exist for something more dynamic and more subtle than merely accomplishing things or leaving a legacy.

We are human beings — not human doings. 

Not only does constantly striving to achieve things potentially up our cortisol levels and mess up our microbiome, it creates neuropathways that are not conducive to a mindful existence. In other words, the more we focus on doing things, the more our mind rewires around that, which makes us harder to be mindful — which, in case you’ve not been following along, ain’t so great.

So how do we mindfully go the other direction? By getting more rest. 

And, if you need to, go ahead and schedule it — put “rest” on your calendar or do whatever it takes to make rest a bigger part of your existence and see what subtle difference you may notice. To get you started, here’s 29 ways to get your rest on:

1. Take a silent, mindful walk 
2. Spend time (or even sitting) in nature 
3. Play an instrument
4. Snuggle with your puppy
5. Snuggle with your partner (snuggling with your puppy and your partner only counts as one, but it’s twice the love!)
6. Mindfully drink a glass of water
7. Mindfully drink a glass of wine (more yummy, but more calories!) 
8. Eye gazing
9. Have sex
10. Paint your toe nails
11. Close your eyes for ten minutes
12. Close your eyes and listen to your breath
13. Meditate for 20 minutes
14. Stare out your window and daydream 
15. Silently sip a cup of tea
16. Listen to slow and juicy music while moving your body
17. Take a 20-minute nap
18. Pray
19. Sing
20. Take a long, warm bath
21. Take a long, cool bath
22. Turn off your phone
23. Turn off social media
24. Don’t answer the phone
25. Listening to your favorite overture or album, while doing NOTHING else (put away your device)
26. Sew, knit, or do crafts
27. Bake 
28. Write a letter 
29. Read a good book