Are you getting enough rest?

Last week, my family and I took some time out of our busy schedule and headed to sunny Florida over Spring Break. We grabbed an Air BnB right next to the beach and my goal for that trip was not to do anything too touristy but to literally spend the majority of our time at the beach resting and taking in all the sights and sounds of the ocean. We would then end the day with a long leisure walk along the boardwalk, ice cream in hand. We rounded up our evening then with some Netflix before bed. It was glorious.

When I ask are you taking time out for rest I don’t just mean just getting enough sleep(although this is also VERY important and probably needs its own post), but also taking time out of our “go go go” routines and just BE.

This also translates to when it comes to moving our body. In diet culture, daily excessive workouts have been pounded in our heads that they are very important to changing our bodies and we shouldn’t be having many rest days, or skip any days really.

This idea of not resting can do more harm and good. Rest in society is being viewed as someone being lazy, or feeling guilty. But this is far from the truth. Rest and recovery is important to be able to do the things we want to do with energy and feeling good. It is also part of a healthy routine.

We should not be pushing through a workout if we let’s say, didn’t get enough sleep, get sick,etc. When our body doesn’t feel good in these ways it is smart enough to send you messages that you need to take it down a notch.

And rest can look different for everyone, maybe it’s a movie night in, a nap during the day, a leisure walk instead, or a quick trip to the beach for example.

There is no timeframe, no deadline, how long rest should be for us. It’s whatever feels right and good for you.

Rest can be one of your ways you can practice joyful movement when creating your body movement menu! Be sure to include this in your list when creating one. If you have not created one yet, I got you! I have a free template you can use to start your body movement menu today. Grab it here: Click for your free Body Movement Menu.