Truly Restorative Rest

When I lead a client through a meditation, their first reflection is usually: 

“I am exhausted.” 

Almost. Every. Time.

When we slow down and listen, our body tells us the truth. 

And for most of us, the truth is we have been running on fumes. For a while. 

At the end of our long days filled with client-care, child-care, house-care, we hardly feel like there is any energy for self-care. By 9:00pm, all I can do some nights is flop on the couch and melt into another episode of (insert your favorite 90s sitcom here) before I drag myself to bed. 

That sliver of time…the hour right before bed, can be magic if we can open up to it. 

A magic moment of intentional restoration will melt away any tension or stressors that showed up during the day and not only set us up for a restful night of sleep, but prepare us to start the next day fresh and at ease. 

So you might take a look at what you are doing in that hour before bed and ask yourself: Is what you are calling rest, actually restorative?

Is it filling you up or numbing you out? 

If it is numbing you out, perhaps scale it back and add something more nourishing…tea instead of a glass of wine, gentle yoga instead of one more episode, a few deep breaths instead of scrolling. 

Then consider carving out the same magic moments for restoration throughout your day - in between clients, the afternoon downshift around 2:00pm, the transition from work to home.

Check out this 3-minute meditation to help you make the most of those magic moments.

And just like every new shift, be gentle please. 

This is not an all-or-nothing shift. Sometimes we need a gentle onramp to total wind-down… and an episode of a 90’s sitcom might be just what the doctor ordered. 

PS. For more restorative meditations, check out my page on Insight Timer. More meditations coming monthly!