Our daily mosey back to the office after lunch
(Photo courtesy of my coworker Debra)
When you work – no matter what kind of work it is – you need to rest. Sometimes, I am very good at resting. For example, last Friday and Saturday, I did not leave my house at all. Not even to get the mail. I still stretched and yoga-ed and did a few things around the house at a leisurely pace. I relaxed well, and it was restorative.
At other times, though, I am not so great at resting.
Goal-tracking is both my saving grace and my downfall. It absolutely helps me achieve goals. As I am super task-oriented, it is gratifying to count the number of check marks I’m able to make at the end of each day. When it comes to rest, however, sometimes my glee in achieving overshadows the minor detail that I’m exhausted.
This week, we are going to look at rest as part of the goal of running wild. Just like eating well helps you run better, so does resting well. Each day, I will be talking about what I did that day to take a break, because good rest is a daily necessity. Each day, I will also be talking about a different aspect of rest, because rest is also something we can all learn to do better.
The first day will be about enriching your walking/running practice by incorporating days when you don’t run. The second day, we will discuss the importance of getting good sleep (spoiler alert – I am so bad at this. We’ll bring in the experts.). The third day, we will talk about things that calm us down and help us cultivate a practice of rest even as we are going through our day. The fourth day we will explore cautionary tales about the importance of taking it easy after an injury. And on Friday, we will list five small things you can do to incorporate rest into your life.
Sunday (when this overview was originally scheduled to post), was not a restful day overall. I had church and meetings and nine SEO articles to finish. I knew, however, that if I did not take a couple of breaks, I would burn out long before all my tasks were complete. When I ate lunch, I sat down at the table and ate slowly, savoring each bite (this is just a good idea in general – more on this next week), without any distractions like television or checking email. Between each article, I took five minutes to stretch and breathe deeply. This not only saved me from the ache that comes from sitting too long but also gave my mind a few minutes to clear. Resting made the busy day doable.
M. Suzanne Terry 
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