Here's the Thing About Rest...

Here’s the thing about rest: you can’t see how much unrest someone is experiencing.

I love looking through Husband’s photos and seeing the random pics he has -- me sleeping on his shoulder, laughing hysterically, being at rest. Those are images we can’t capture for our self.

What the photos don’t capture, nor does being next to someone, is how busy, stressed, overwhelmed, terrified, grieved they are in their head.

Rest doesn’t come easy these days worrying that my Mom’s next set of tests will show that damn C-word lurking again; that my Dad is losing his mind in the process; that my mother in law will never walk again; that my father in law is weary from carrying the weight of the world for the last 4 years. And then circling back through all of that and replacing it with positive visions and prayers. I’m really busy!

I don’t say this for sympathy. That can come if I finally do fall apart and can’t pick myself up off the floor. I say this because I’m quite sure we all have someone in our life who is going through a stressful time. That stress can perseverate in the mind far more than you can see or know.

If they snap when you ask them a simple question, it’s because they’re busy. If they seem utterly exhausted, they’re working really hard in that head of theirs. If they’re frustrated, it’s because they’re desperately worried they’re missing a solution to the uncontrollable, inevitable things.

I grew up with the super hero tenacity to separate the needs of my body like sleep, regular meals, tending to pain, etc. I did it because I’m a Helper. It fuels me. I did it by building a fortress between my body and mind. Even my faith, my prayer, my spirit could be contained to my mind.

It wasn’t until I found yoga that I realized feelings live in the body. Our body is more than an vessel or a vehicle. It’s the culmination of our human existence. Our body and mind are home to our spirit which can’t be fully realized until the three are in unison. Our spirit can and will transcend body and mind. But if you’ve been taught you have an unbreakable spirit, be careful that you’re not mistaking that for a strong, determined mind that ignores the body.

I first enjoyed yoga as an incredible gift of quieting my mind and separating from my body. It might sound ridiculous to practiced yogis, but I could actually tune so deep into my breath that I didn’t have to feel anything else. That was like a beautiful, therapeutic sedative.

Now my yoga brings me fully into my body. It teaches me where I’m holding onto what isn’t mine to carry. It reminds me every thought has a resulting feeling that gets stored if not tended to. It soothes me, energizes me, finds comfort in discomfort. It brings my mind back to my body where it belongs in this human experience, and let’s my spirit permeate my being.

Yoga makes me more me. I like yoga Me a lot more than that uptight version of me up in my head all the time. Yoga Me will get through it all somehow. Yoga Me is learning that my mind can be at rest and my body can feel peace even when my world is utter chaos. Because our Spirit encompass and transcends all of that.

I teach Yoga because I want you to find this part of yourself; Or simply to feel better in your aging, achey body; To nurture acceptance when the body tries to get your attention; to bring rest to your overworked mind. Let’s journey through this human experience together!

Find a class and a teacher for you via our website at Zen House.

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