In the book "Meditations from the Mat", Rolf Gates discusses the importance of making rest an active part of our yoga practice.  We need to schedule and plan for rest, not think of rest as something we resort to in moments of weakness. He goes on to say that we need to take rest long before feeling exhausted or frustrated. 

I find it powerful to quote others when teaching, and shared Gates' wisdom for weeks, explaining what rest looks like in a yoga practice. Before we learn to be truly guided by breath, rest frequently means taking child's pose and composing ourselves. After a while, we learn that we don't have to go full-throttle in every pose, and we learn to rest in the pose itself, riding the wave of our breath all along the way.  

As the old saying goes, "Take my advice, 'cuz I'm not using it!" During the weeks I was teaching about rest in class, I found myself not taking any in my own life. Next thing I knew, I hadn't had a day off in two and a half weeks. And my eyelid began to twitch. Again. Damn, I thought. Pushed to the brink of short-circuiting. Again. 

Somewhere along the way, I forgot to pencil me into my own life. Again. It used to be that I'd have to fall seriously ill before I'd pull my head out of the sand and realize it was time for rest. But the signs are always there, well before that, indicating we're headed for a nose dive. If only we listen. 

But listen to what? Things like a twitch or acne or changes in bowels. Other signs and symptoms of stress could be anything from hives to ringworm, from canker sores to sleeplessness, from to sleepiness to irritability. 

Even before all that, our own habits and tendencies are a sign that we're letting go of ourselves. Missing our yoga practice. Failing to eat right. Not making time for fun. Losing patience. Letting the dishes pile up. Falling back into old bad habits. Whatever takes you away from that feeling of steadiness.

As "they" say, it's nobody's fault but mine. I'm a doer. And an achiever. I like goals. And projects. And making people happy. So when I started getting really busy, I thought - GREAT! I'm going with the flow, and manifesting wonderful opportunities. 
 
And those things are great. But the only way they carry on is if we do. And there's a difference between thriving and surviving. The better I am, the better I do. And the better I am and do, the better the opportunities that come my way. 

As in the tradition of Mahayana Buddhism, I seek betterment for myself, for the betterment of all selves. It's not selfish to make yourself a priority in your life. To the contrary, everyone you touch will reap the benefits of your self care.

Take it easy,
Shana