"When you rest, you catch your breath and it holds you up, like water wings…”
Finding your doorway to deep rest.
Deep rest isn’t elusive. What was thought to be enabled with long meditation sessions, vacations or with extended sleep cycles is entirely false. We all have the capacity to tap into another level of relaxation in our waking hours and step into another level of rest. This type of deep rest is pivotal for activating improvements in your wellbeing and in a sense, creates a vital pause needed for defragging your mind.
So how do you find your own natural doorway to deep rest? And what does that level of rest feel like?
Close your eyes and take in a deep breath. Follow the movement of the breath through your nose and into your lungs. Exhale slowly and visualize mental clutter leaving your body. Imagine all of your cells flooding with light. As you focus on the illumination of cells, notice that you placed your attention on your own light. Here you will feel stillness, peaceful and relaxed. Allow the peace to encircle you and the deep rest connected to that moment, reach you.
Step beyond interference.
Rest can be created in busy environments and under stressful conditions. Interference and constant demand for details and your attention can consume or be managed by a deliberate “interruption” by shifting your focus inward. Just a pause.
Visualize something that makes you laugh, brings happy memories or step into your own mental sanctuary. I have discussed this in other posts, but in a nutshell, we imagine a space that feels peaceful for us. This could be a cabin on the lake, a tropical beach from your favourite vacation spot, a hiking trail, anything that is significant to you. For a brief moment, step into this space and “close” the door of your mind to chaos.
Short retreats in your mind can create deep rest. They activate improved focus and accelerate mastery of relaxation that is beneficial for mindset and mental health.
Personalizing levels of deep rest.
No one can understand You like you do. Intuitively you know what works for you.
Deep rest acknowledges that the body will shift its demand for rest as it heals and restores after injury or illness. When we are under a lot of pressure, we might be inspired to take a nap, go for a walk in nature or just take time off to rest.
Meditation brings you into alignment with your body, mind and spirit. It alerts you to changes in energy and to personalized needs for deep rest. Stay connected to your own wellbeing with meditation and regular sessions of deep rest. No matter how fleeting or small, these rest stops are catalysts for healing.
“Your commitment to your wellness is part of the revolution.”
Deep rest is a crucial part of meditation practice. Learning how to relax and invite different levels of rest is essential for wellbeing and for changing everyday meditation into a restorative and preventative health practice.
“Your calm mind is the ultimate weapon against your challenges.”