Come Back to Rest
How to Repair Yourself
When the heart is tired, rest.
When the world is loud, rest.
When the mind is troubled, rest.
Gather the loose ends of your mind. Gather your heart strings and your woes. Rest.
Once society was overtaken with capitalism, once human beings were pulled from peace into the throws of a monetary system, we left behind our knowledge of rest.
Cultivating Clarity
Early humans worked less than eight hours a week. Gathering. Foraging. Repairing.
The hunts were few and far between. We preferred to scavenge... and rest.
The threats were minimal and periodic.
We didn’t pitch campsites in predators’ dens. We didn’t battle bears and lions.
We chose wisely.
Because we had rest.
When the body is in a state of rest, our senses are heightened. Our intuition is sharp. Our capacity to make intelligent and vital decisions, enhanced.
From a state of stress, our decision-making capabilities shut down. We end up with bad leaders, poor political results, cruelty, poverty, pollution. A world run rampant with irrational choices.
Rest is the Repair that we Need
Our original state of being on this planet was rest. Humans evolved to rest.
With rest we operate from the parasympathetic nervous system. We digest our food. We repair our wounds. We process our feelings. We become creative. We live. We love. We laugh.
Expanding. Enjoying.
This is our birthright.
And yet the world has taught us to neglect rest.
It tells us to come to yoga. But still we forget to rest.
The poses get stronger. The sequences get faster. Savasana, we say, is the most important pose of yoga.
And yet we fidget through it.
Or we skip it all together.
When we come to a state of rest, we allow the body to recover and receive that which is unseen. That which makes humanity beautiful.
We must learn once again to rest.
Not to give up or quit.
To rest, so that we can face the world.
From a place of confidence, sovereignty and joy once again.
Words by Marisa Falconi
Writer, Nutritionist, Yoga Teacher