I Needed to Take My Own Advice: A Reflection on Rest

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about rest.

Life with a baby is amazing. And it’s also intense. Interrupted sleep, breastfeeding, and being “on” around the clock naturally take a lot of energy. Feeling tired is a natural part of it. 

I’ve been asking myself what I can do to take good care of myself in this season. Not to change the reality of waking up several times every night, but to support myself in the middle of it.

I’ve also noticed a pattern.

When the baby is napping, I often slip into doing mode. Tidying up. Folding laundry. Catching up on little jobs around the home. 

And when I finally sit down to relax, I often find myself scrolling on my phone or watching TV. There’s nothing wrong with any of those things. But recently I’ve realized they aren't actually giving me the kind of rest I need.

A few days ago, I decided to do something different.

After I'd put the baby to bed, my partner stayed home with him while I took my yoga mat outside. I went to the garden outside our building and rolled out my mat beside some raspberry bushes. I gave myself twenty ish minutes of moving gently, simply following what my body felt like doing.

Then I laid down on my mat.

I watched the leaves moving in the wind. I noticed the insects flying between the raspberry bushes. I felt the breeze on my skin.

I wasn’t meditating or trying to be mindful. I was simply relaxing.

When I came back inside, instead of immediately doing dishes or putting on the TV like we usually do, my partner and I dusted off one of our favorite board games. We hadn’t played it since before the baby arrived. 

These simple activites were very restorative. And I felt energized by the end of the evening. Not because I’d slept more. Because I’d rested.

It reminded me of something I come back to often: there are many different ways to rest. 

You might remember me writing about the seven different types of rest before. It was a helpful reminder for me, too. 

Especially in at a time where enough sleep is just not realistic, it's helpful to remember that rest is bigger than sleep. We also need mental rest, sensory rest, creative rest, emotional rest, social rest… and different seasons of life might call for different kinds. 

Summer can be a wonderful time to recharge, but that doesn’t have to mean going on vacation or sleeping more. Sometimes it simply means making a little more space for the kind of rest you’ve been missing.

So as we move through summer, I’d love to leave you with one question: What kind of rest do you need right now that would leave you feeling a little more like yourself?

And if you feel like sharing, I’d love to hear your answer. My email ibox and Instagram DMs are open, as always.

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