Eddying Out: The importance of rest
About half way through May’s For The Joy Challenge I realized that although I was enjoying the challenge, I also felt like I was running a mile a minute. Up until this point, I had only chosen movement and healthy eating challenge options. I hadn’t yet chosen a single option in the rest category. So that Friday after work I tried something different… I took a bath instead of going for a run. Deciding to take a bubble bath felt like pulling a heavy boat out of a river current and into an eddy. Choosing rest wasn’t exactly the easy choice for me. The momentum of my life has created a VERY strong current pushing me hard towards motion. It was as though all the workouts and adventures and healthy meals that I’d chosen thus far were big rapids—fun, splashy, exciting and powerful enough to shake me out of any funk. But as I slid down in to the warm, bubbly water—pulling out of the rushing current and into the eddy—I could feel my whole spirit exhale.
My mind flopped around for a while, thinking about my day, the month so far, what I was going to do after my bath, etc… but the longer I soaked the deeper my breaths became. Everything relaxed, not just my muscles but also my tired, frayed spirit. Suddenly I had space to think. I realized that moving my body and delighting in the beauty of whole food were both massive catalysts for me in choosing joy, but without rest interspersed they were also exhausting. I needed to pull off in the eddy to let the enjoyment of the rapids fully sink in.
The lie that today’s fast-paced culture tells us is that if we slow down enough to really rest, we are going to miss out on something. I’ve found, however, that the exact opposite is true. If I DON’T slow down, I’ll miss out. When I’m exhausted and my spirit feels frayed around the edges, I am unable to be fully present to the people or the activities in my life that bring me joy so whether I say yes or no to any particular event, I miss out no matter what. To go back to the river metaphor you can only really celebrate the rapids you already ran or prepare for the rapids you are about to run by pulling out to rest in an eddy.
The majority of health and fitness programs do build in rest days of some sort; fitness programs include recovery days and diet programs often include some sort of “cheat day” or “free day.” Most programs, however, still have a body-only focus. If all you’re after is a healthy body, any old program will do the trick. But if you are after a life that is full of joy, hope, fun, play and laughter, those more traditional programs leave a huge gaping hole. To sustain health and joy, my whole self-needs to rest, not just my legs after a gym day.
What’s different about Playful Fitness is that it’s not actually about fitness. It’s about joy! Instead of finding motivation in body image or health, the motivation for Playful Fitness starts with joy! Healthy and fit just naturally follow. Kids do this well. It is joy alone that causes my 4th grade students to spend their whole recess running wind sprints across the blacktop in the pouring rain, taking turns running and cheering on their friends. They aren’t driven by a need to increase their cardio or strength (although they are certainly achieving both). Their movement is inspirited by pure joy and fueled by laughter. Somehow as adults, we loose sight of that. We joy is the best motivator and we forget that rest is just as crucial as moving.
This school year I ran myself so ragged that I ended up in a spot where I didn’t even like myself very much. This has never been something I’ve dealt with before and I was shocked when I recognized what I was feeling. My body was fit and I was eating well but I was far from healthy. It was only when I started to balance movement with rest that my heart started to come back to life. Giving up a workout a couple times a week did not change my overall fitness level one bit, but it did dramatically change my ability to be whole. Resting on purpose gave me the ability to remember how much I enjoyed all the other parts of my life including the ability to enjoy simply being me. I had to pull into an eddy on purpose in order to enjoy the next rapid.
This week try exchanging even just one workout for one REAL restful hour. Do something that feels luxurious to you—read, take a bath, go on a walk simply to enjoy the fresh air, spend 30 minutes in a hammock… Your fitness level will not suffer but I bet your joy will increase!
xo
Hally