What Do These Four Letters Mean To You?

It may have four letters but is not a swear word…. Or is it?

 

Rest.

 

After 4 days of continuous intense yoga practice, I was exhausted. My body was tired. They may seem like simple poses, but it can be taxing on the body.

 

In an attempt to practice one of the yoga principles, Ahimsa (Sanskrit for non-violence), I considered resting.

 

It became an internal war!

 

No blood and guts but rather the harsh self judgement and stories versus the compassionate loving approach of Ahimsa.

 

Being a recovering people pleaser, it was (and still is) a struggle to acknowledge that it is OK to rest.

 

When did the masculine side of me take over and focus purely on becoming a human-doing rather than a human-being?

 

Where was the feminine part of me that was able to just be, to rest, kind and compassionate? Was that only reserved for other people in my life?

 

The fear of the story: “You are lazy if you rest”, combined with being a recovering people pleaser drove me to continue to do, do do, go, go, go.

 

If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete. ~ Buddha

 

How do you find the balance between your masculine and feminine? Are you able to rest in the softness and gentleness of compassion for yourself?

 

What does rest look like to you in this moment? Is it sleeping, or spending time in nature, or cooking a nourishing meal just for yourself?

 

Your definition of rest is not the same moment to moment. It depends on what you are experiencing in your body or your environment? Is there intense noise that you feel you need to escape? Or simply lying on the grass watching the clouds drift by?

 

What is it that you need in this moment? What can you do to support yourself?

 

If you are reading this in the hope that I have the magic formula for you, I don’t, but you do. Only you, your body and your soul know what it needs right now.

 

Surrender to what you need right now.

 

By calming your inner chatter, you can find immense peace and true stillness regardless of what is happening around you. Once you have connected to that peace, you can observe the mental chatter, acknowledge it, disregard it and allow life to flow without judgement.

 

By surrendering you get out of your own way and create an opportunity to flow. 

 

Are you ready to surrender?

I would love to hear your ideas or suggestions regarding rest or surrender. Contact me here.