Renew Your Spirit: Rest One Day Each Week

As our busy lifestyles continue to grow by leaps and bounds, so does our need for rest and rejuvenation. It is, however, a mystery why we, as humans, cannot recognize our body’s distress signals. These signals, which may come in the form of  headaches, nausea, heart palpitations, numbness in the fingers and hands, fatique and depression, all provide us with warnings of a body in severe distress. Where did the practice of “Resting One Day a Week” go?

Any physician will tell you rest and relaxation is key for sustaining good physical health. It doesn’t matter if you are an accountant who crunches numbers every day, a Wall Street stock broker or a college student with too many credit hours for the term; the bottom line is – if your are deprived of sleep, your body can’t recharge adequately and eventually it will give out.

If you ask an athlete, they will tell you rest is imperative for muscles to repair themselves and rejuvenate. This process prevents injury. Muscles must rest.

Rest is also essential for the mind. Leonardo daVinci said, “Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgement will be surer.”  Not a truer word could be spoken! Even taking several small breaks during the course of your work day will clear your mind and help you to concentrate.

Most religious leaders will tell you rest is essential for the soul.  Your soul also requires rest.
Corporate leaders, if asked, will tell you rest is necessary for productivity. All in all, rest is important and essential for a healthy, human life.

If you ask most people in today’s frenzied society if they consistently take time time for rest, they will ultimately tell you they don’t because there are just too many demands to get things done and with too much urgency. Unfortunately, this is not only causing damage to our bodies, souls and minds; but we continue to fall further and further out of balance and harmony within our lives. We must reclaim the right to take a day off, a day to rest, a day to rejuvenate, a day to be creative, a day to love ourselves and be loved by others.

For more information on relaxation, visit ZenHabits.org.

Photo by Flickr.com