7 Types of Rest

These days I was thinking of how important it is to rest on all levels during our vacations, but also on a regular basis. David Whyte, one of my favorite poets, wrote this wonderful passage about rest:

”To rest is to give up on the already exhausted will as the prime motivator of endeavor, with its endless outward need to reward itself through established goals. To rest is to give up on worrying and fretting and the sense that there is something wrong with the world unless we are there to put it right; to rest is to fall back literally or figuratively from outer targets and shift the goal not to an inner static bull’s eye, an imagined state of perfect stillness, but to an inner state of natural exchange.”

So what types of rest do we need?

Physical rest
Relaxing the physical body with sleep, naps, taking breaks from strenuous physical activity, engaging in active recovery practices (yoga, stretching, non sleep deep rest practices etc).

Mental rest
Helping the mind slow down, taking a break from processing any kind of information, not reading news or using social media, focusing on the present moment and letting thoughts slide by, practicing mindfulness.

Sensory rest
Alleviating our nervous system from having to process information (it processes 11 million bits of information per second) by remaining in silence, removing visual stimuli, turning off devices, wearing a sleep mask, noise cancelling headphones, earplugs, avoiding screens etc.

Creative rest
Removing the stress around needing to be creative, allowing our mind to wander, exposing ourselves to new stimuli without the pressure performing, listening to music or viewing inspiring art.

Emotional rest
Expressing emotions and being true to ourselves, keeping a journal, taking a break from having to hold or process strong emotions inside us, going to therapy.

Social rest
Taking a break from difficult relationships, saying no to social engagements and activities that weigh us down, only engaging with people who nourish us or enjoying solitude and time just with ourselves.

Spiritual rest
Doing things that provide meaning, connecting to what is greater than all of us in any way that feels true to us, being in community or being of service to others, observing our faith if we have one.