30 days of self love – rest

Posted: September 24, 2010 at 9:17 am

I’ve mentioned before on this blog the difficulty I face with resting. Doing nothing. Letting things go and taking a break. The need to rest can be hard to accept because we want to believe we can do it all. We want to have control and make certain that our actions achieve the results we desire. We want to feel proud for our achievements.

I know I have tried getting up early to cram more into my day. I eventually felt so exhausted all the time that I accomplished less overall. I had no energy! I have avoided taking rest days from workouts to fit in all the things I “should” to lose weight. I ended up taking a couple weeks off from an extremely achy body and lacked motivation to return. Even now, I fill my schedule and don’t get enough genuine rest from doing and going in my everyday life. I take time each day for things I enjoy, but rarely does that include a moment of nothing.

Our minds and bodies need rest. They need moments of peace regularly. It helps rejuvenate us so we can feel strong and capable of facing life. It gives us time to decompress and appreciate our lives. Rest enables us to continue growing into the people we aim to be. Without rest, we turn into empty vessels, drained of life and the energy to live it. I know those days when I find a time to relax and calm myself, I can handle so much more. I continue to learn the lesson of needing rest. I forget so easily, but always seek it out with time.

How will you rest today? I have a very busy weekend ahead with my friend’s wedding. I will begin by taking 10 minutes this morning to just sit quietly with no distractions. Then, during yoga, I will love every moment of savasana. 😉

Check out these bloggers who shared their personal 30 DSLR reflections:

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41 Comments to “30 days of self love – rest”
  1. Weekends are my ultimate rest time, starting with FRIDAYS! After I go hard at the gym, I come home and shower before eating a lazy dinner and lounging in bed to watch my all-time favorite guilty pleasure show, Jersey Shore. I read, I write, I take leisurely walks, I yoga (verbage) and I spend time with my boyfriend. Sweet weekend, what would I do without you?!?!?! (Spoiler alert: I’d probably be bald from tearing all of my hair out.)

    • Tina says:

      Sounds like a perfect Friday night and weekend! I would say our Friday nights are usually the most chill time we get in our house. I’m going to miss it tonight.

  2. I’ll fit in some rest tonight… I’ve been going nonstop all week, but it’s working for me 🙂

  3. Lisa says:

    Relaxing is a big problem for me! I always feel like I need to go go go. If I’m not I dont feel productive, which makes me feel bad for some reason. I am trying very hard lately, especially with school, to have a cut off time to not do any more work and have some me time! Its helping so far! =)
    Love this post again Tina! I look foward to reading your blog every day!

  4. Jess says:

    I am right there with you, Tina. I have a hard time slowing down and not always go, go, GOING all the time. That also translates to a hatred of rest days regarding my workout schedule. I used to skip them routinely and it totally caught up to me in a big way. Now I look forward to that once per week rest day and do NOT feel guilty about it. Because I value my body and know it needs rest too. And I’ve even gotten better at more than one rest day in a week – in fact, today is rest day #2 for me so I’ll be strong and rejuvinated for the half marathon tomorrow. THAT is my rest for today. Aren’t you proud? 😉

  5. I love this… because we need to remind ourselves to rest and take time for ourselves!!

    Have a great weekend Tina!

  6. I’ve been resting it up this week since I have an injury on both feet. At first I was upset, but I am proud of myself for taking it easy and letting my body heal. I am also happy that if I have to take a week off of running it is during this heatwave. This week has been in the 90’s..next week back to the 70’s! Hope you have a great weekend!

    • Tina says:

      Oh my goodness. I must go check weather.com now to see if we have cooler temps coming our way.

      Sorry for the sidenote – but I’m glad that you took the time needed to heal. 🙂

  7. Emily says:

    Hi Tina! I have such a hard time with relaxing, too. Lately, though, I’ve been cherishing it. I think its because the past months have been so crazy. This morning, I set my alarm to get up early and go for a walk, but when my alarm went off, I just wasn’t feeling it at all. I gave myself an extra half hour of sleep and decided to save the walk for another time. It was SO worth it. 🙂

  8. ashleigh says:

    Rest is very important! I am pretty good at getting enough of it too. I took yesterday as a rest from the gym and rest from life. I came home from work, did a few chores and then just vegged out for the night, it felt so good! I have a very busy weekend but plan on going to bed early tonight so that I can enjoy every minute of the weekend and not be too sleepy!

  9. oh boy do I need to hear this. I am just so worn out from my busy week. I plan on doing absolutelynothing tonight to regenerate and get myself together.

  10. Ahhh…rest…

    How will I rest today? Guess I already did – lying in bed an extra hour this morning, praying, thinking (but no worrying!) and enjoying the warmth of my bed mingling with the coolness of the Pacific NW fall air outside, listening to the birds, and simply breathing.

    Now onto work, workout, and movie after work!

  11. Carolyn says:

    I love to rest…It’s my fave 🙂

  12. on my lunch break i’m going to go lay in the sunshine and just BREATHE. and i can’t wait 🙂

  13. I love this post. I am really bad at just unplugging and sitting still myself. I have an extremely busy four days ahead because I am traveling for work tomorrow through Tuesday to my biggest conference of the year. Tonight, I plan to not turn on the TV at all and relax with a book after I’m done packing for the trip. Can’t wait. 🙂

  14. I will rest today by doing some sun salutations and deep breathing 🙂

  15. Nichole says:

    Frankie says, Relax! Sometimes we have to slow down and take it all in, the traffic the crazies – just go with it. Yoga and pilates have helped me breathe SO much better. It’s a mind game for sure.

  16. Does zoning out in my car count as resting? How about a trip to Trader Joe’s? Haha.

    I love my rest days from exercising. I really can tell the difference in my body, and my outlook towards working out. If I don’t take that rest day, feelings of hatred towards it start to build. I also allow a half hour every night before I go to bed to rest my thoughts. I read a book and this helps calm my brain down 🙂

  17. Shayna says:

    Friday Night Pizza and Stand-up is my favorite way to relax after a long week! And I could sure use a good laugh; this week has been so overwhelming that it made me cry! And I’m no weenie 🙂 I’ll also zone out on the beach (if it’s not raining) – the ocean sounds make me so calm (minus the one time I went and the old man behind me was whittling a log with a small ax. Loud wood chopping = opposite of relaxation).

  18. […] in to read my Bible and pray. 6:15 am – Catch up on emails, let my mind start turning for the 30 Days post of the morning. 6:50 am – Crank out 30 Days post. Thank goodness I decided to do things my style. Sooo much […]

  19. I love yoga for relaxing, I try to stay as present as I can to fully enjoy the moment.
    I also took today off to relax and do whatever I want!

  20. This is one area that I either do too much of or not enough. Lately it has been not enough 🙁

    I have a hard time relaxing sometimes because there is so much I want to do or work on that I feel somewhat guilty when I do take time to do nothing. Tonight my plan is getting to bed before 10. What a treat for a Friday night, huh?

  21. i have yoga class tonight and im going to enjoy savasana so much more now that ive read this. i’ll be thinking of you saying “enjoy the relaxation” hehe <3

  22. Holly says:

    I am not very good at ALL at resting. I just get really, really anxious when I don’t have something to do. I think that’s because a lot of the time in the past, this is when I’d binge. I even have a hard time watching TV (without folding laundry, playing on the computer, or cleaning)! However, I’ve gotten into the habit of hanging out with my sister and BIL most Friday nights….it’s such a great way to unwind, we usually watch a movie, and I don’t get that anxious feeling because we’ll have great conversation. Rest is SO very important, both for our mind and bodies!

  23. […] Tina’s post really him home today. I have a big problem resting. Rest is a four letter word to me, I am bad at it. Rarely will you see me doing nothing, I multi task at work all day, barely have time to pee let alone take a lunch and at night we usually have some fun activity going on. But this past week, I did actually rest a bit. Last week was the first week in a long time, if not ever, that I had no plans during the week. Now I did make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins, Paradise Macaroons for Tina’s Blog Bake Sale and Panko Crusted Chicken but I did actually manage to sit my buns on the couch for a bit and completely veg. […]

  24. I always take time for my rest. I usually never skip a nap if I feel like and I have some “me”-time every week when I do nothing at all. I couldn’t go on in the hectic world without some rest!

  25. Erin says:

    I have similar issues relaxing. What I believe relaxing is probably would be considered busy to others. Great post and a reminder to take some me time tonight. 🙂

  26. I, too, am terrible at resting. Every waking moment, I have to be doing something. Thinking … walking … listening to TV while I type up a blog post or work on my novel … eating …

    I never just sit quietly and do nothing. (Even with these 30 Days reflections, I usually reflect while doing something else.)

    At the end of the day today, I’m going to take five quiet minutes to myself … no TV, no radio — just me and my thoughts. We’ll see what happens.

  27. homecookedem says:

    Today is a perfect example of me not resting like I should. I woke up extra early to be at school for a 6:50am meeting, stayed until 5 to get work done, got home cleaned the house, and now I am sitting down, but I don’t count it as true rest because I’m checking emails, etc. I need to make a promise to myself that I will slow down and call it a day by 8:00 and just enjoy the rest of my Friday evening relaxing. Thanks for this important reminder!

  28. Ela says:

    Oh, good for you! I love what you say about savoring the savasana – I’ve had too much of a tendency to leap up from that, and it really is key.

    Here is my post – without photos, because I’m on the road – will add later.
    http://ulteriorharmony.blogspot.com/2010/09/fall-coming-reflections-on-self-love.html

    Thanks so much again
    love
    Ela

  29. […] Posted on September 24, 2010 by tarynehanson Today’s reflection for 30 Days of Self Love (only six more days, people!) is on rest. I have kind of a problem with […]

  30. Leah says:

    Rest is very important… Sometimes its easier to rest than others… today the kids were home from school – I took a rest day from exercise… spent time with my kids and had a great visit at my mom’s.

    After a number of days of not posting I posted today!
    http://l3designs-runs.blogspot.com

  31. […] today’s ’30 days of self-love’ topic, Rest, falls on my normal rest day. Is that kismet or what?! (The fact that I went to pilates this […]

  32. […] on Self-Love – ah, rest – so important! Tina reminds us that both our minds and bodies need rest – that in order to have the well full, we need to have […]

  33. Xandria says:

    I will rest tonight by curling up in my pjs with a book. 🙂 Maybe play some Sims. Haha.

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