Sacred Rest

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Recently I suffered from walking pneumonia and a serious case of burnout. You can read more about this in my last post here.

I knew I was not resting enough and this was causing serious burnout. Which, ultimately ended up taking a toll on my body physically. Emotionally and mentally I was also exhausted. I was spending more time in doing mode than in resting mode. Especially sacred rest. Physically I was not sleeping enough. Mentally and emotionally I was pushing myself to the point of burnout.

The premise of the book is that there are seven different types of rest. Some of the self-care and sacred rest practices I already had incorporated into my routine. But, some of them were more eye-opening to me.

Spiritual rest is something I already practiced but in the hustle and bustle of daily life, it was hard for me to maintain. I’ve always been a spiritual person and I recently started going to a bible study group (before I got sick.) Having a spiritual community is so important. As well as taking time out for our own personal spiritual rest. For me, spiritual rest includes taking time to pray and read scripture and do bible study. I always like to meditate for at least a few minutes a day. I love the Insight Timer App and the Chopra App By Deepak Chopra.

Next is physical rest. Of course, getting enough sleep is one of the most important aspects of physical rest and one we often can neglect in the hustle and bustle of daily life. We should try to aim for around 8 hours of sleep. 6 hours at the bare minimum. I was not getting enough sleep and I know this was one of the main issues that caused me to burn out and get sick.

Drinking enough water is the next most important aspect of physical rest. When our bodies get dehydrated we feel tired and cranky, and dehydration can also lead to illness and burnout. I’m not always great about drinking enough water but getting at least 8 glasses of water a day at the bare minimum can really go a long way to prevent burnout and illness.

Practicing gentle exercise is also really important. Like walking and yoga. In the winter it was obviously hard for me to go walking and I ended up really pushing my body with strenuous exercise. Of course, cardio and strength training are important but sometimes our body just needs a rest. I am trying to walk/do yoga now at least a few times a week instead of strenuous exercise.

Mental rest Is also so important for our health and sanity. Journaling is something I’ve been doing for years now. Mostly off and on. I started doing morning pages a few years ago. Which, is writing three pages a day of freeform writing. And I also really enjoy soul writing. Which is another form of freeform writing and journaling.

The Artists way by Julia Cameron Writing Down your Soul by Janet Connor

Emotional rest is also important and one of the seven sacred rests available to us. I love how Saundra Dalton-Smith mentions that we should find time to do the things that bring us joy and do work that brings us satisfaction. So many times we get caught in a rut of the things we feel we have to do that we neglect to do the things that actually bring us true joy and happiness.