Me time. Quiet time. Rest time. Resting. Deep, soothing rest.
It’s the first to go when life gets crazy. When people need you. When kids need you. When there’s a to-do list of laundry, washing, cleaning, cooking, planning, and folding to do.
But what if I told you… you could handle the craze, the laundry list, the being needed with more patience, peace, and kindness by making 5, 10, 15 minutes of rest a daily habit?
What if I said carving out time, finding time, making time, creating time for you, for quiet, for rest would help you restore, rebalance, and recover from the craze?
As a certified functional nutritionist, who believes lifestyle is just as important as diet, and that life should be lived in and with balance and abundance, I believe rest is an act of pure self-love that impacts and improves our entire being, inside out
It can be easy to look at rest as selfish, taking time to rest in the middle of the day? Taking time to rest with a to do list? Taking time to rest when you could be doing a-literal-hundred other things?
But this is exactly what I mean. Resting during the crazy…resting when you’re able to move…resting in the middle of your to-do list… in fact, adding rest TO your to-do list.
You see, deep meaningful rest is the gift that keeps giving, to our physical health- digestion & immunity, our emotions- hormone regulation & balance, and our mind- recovery & restoration.
To state it simply, our nervous system is the control center for our body and all of our bodily functions- from blinking our eyes, to our heart beating, to digestion, bladder control, hormone levels, and everything in between. In addition, the nervous system is responsible for the delicate balance of our fight-or-flight and rest-and-digest responses, which means how our body copes with AND comes out of stress.
Our body needs to be able to access and operate in both fight-or-flight and rest-and-digest to live harmoniously; both are essential, vital responses for healthy, well living.
Our body automatically goes into fight-or-flight when perceived stress is near- we do not have to think about it, our body instinctively releases all necessary hormones, and pauses all non-essential functions to focus solely on the stress at hand. This release of hormones and pause of non-essential functions (such as digestion & immunity) allows us to be hyper-focused in situations of stress, ensuring our survival; and these stressful situations include every type of stress- physical, mental, or emotional, internal or external, perceived or real.
Unfortunately, the opposite is not true- our bodies do not automatically go into rest-and-digest...this means, we must intentionally move from a stressed state into a rest state.
Crazy, right?
Crazy how easy it is to stress.
Crazy how instinctively our bodies switch into fight-or-flight.
Crazy how our digestion, immunity, gut health, and hormones are all negatively impacted by being in a constant state of stress. (Are you connecting any dots here?)
Crazy how we consciously and actively have to bring our body and mind back into a restful & rested state.
But what’s not crazy?
How many skills, techniques, & habits you can learn and implement to help you rest, activating your rest-and-digest response, helping you cope, improving your focus and clarity, improving your digestion and energy, improving the ability of your immune system, deepening your sleep, and more.
What is the first step to help you shift your mindset to making your rest time non-negotiable? Discovering your why-
Why do you want to rest?
Why do you want to rest now?
Why is rest important to you?
How will improving your patience help with the little ones?
What is pushing you to take this 1st step?
How will you feel after you rest?
Who will be impacted by your improved concentration and thought?
How will you feel with smoother digestion and deep sleep?
When you discover your why, keep it close to you at all times- write it down on a sticky and put it on your fridge, in your bathroom, in your car, in your office- everyday won’t be easy, there will be days that sitting on the couch with a glass of wine and binging the latest Netflix dramedy will sound better, easier, and more “needed”.
But with your why close, you are armed & ready. You have your why and you are unstoppable.
I'll be contributing to the Extra lucky Moms Blog every other week! Next post, I’m excited to speak about tips and frameworks to use to begin creating your toolbox of rest techniques!
Thank you so much for being here!
With Balance & Abundance,
Aubrey
Aubrey was born in New York and grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina with her earliest memories being cheering on her father at triathlons and finishing the last .1 miles of her mom's daily runs. Continuing in their footsteps, Aubrey grew up active and athletic and after graduating from university in Wilmington, NC she spent her 20's and early 30's backpacking the globe. During a few months at home in between travels, Aubrey pursued her love for wellness by becoming a certified yoga instructor and fitness coach which she eagerly took on the road with her and began teaching yoga at hostels, hotels, and festivals.
After spending 9 months in Australia and Bali, Aubrey came home to Charlotte only to be drawn to New Orleans, Louisiana where she has spent the past 3 years. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Aubrey was able to step back into her true passion- wellness, only this time through the nutrition scope. Aubrey is now a certified functional nutritionist, who specializes in 1:1 coaching for women who suffer from gut issues and dis-ease by focusing on diet, nutrition, and lifestyle.
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