I don’t know about you, but I feel best when I’m being productive. My day is more likely to go well when I start right away with exercise, work, and/or cleaning the house. I thrive on busyness.

However, I’m not very good at intentionally resting to balance out all the busyness.

Sure, I’ll lounge on the couch and mindlessly watch an episode of The Office for the 36th time, but am I actually resting? No. I’m filling my brain with mindless busyness. That’s not to say that being a couch potato is a bad thing! I love some good couch time! But I don’t feel rested after binging the latest Netflix series.

I recently started teaching a CoreRestore class at CorePower and it’s reminded me of the power of intentional rest. For the practice we stay low to the floor, use lots of blocks to prop up the shapes, and wrap up with some breath work and a long Savasana. Selfishly I love teaching this class because I do most of the practice with the students. More importantly, I am so excited that students are showing up for 60 minutes of intentional rest.

No matter your occupation, marital status, or if you care for children or not, we are all busy! We’re constantly bombarded with information from television, social media, podcasts, and those around us. We’re constantly bouncing from one thing to the next. If you’re like me, you feel so fulfilled when your calendar is full. But is that busyness sustainable?

Maybe a good night’s sleep helps you feel refreshed. Maybe a long walk outside helps you regroup. Or perhaps reading a book is what you need to reset. It’s important to find ways to intentionally slow the busyness. For me a 30-60 minute restorative-like yoga practice let’s me get in touch with the sensations in my physical body and slow the mental chatter in a way that other yoga practices don’t always do.

When I take time to intentionally rest I’m generally a more pleasant human! I am more patient. I am less likely to instantly react to a challenging interaction. I even find that I am much kinder to myself.

While you’re scheduling in all of your tasks, assignments, and to-do lists in the coming weeks, consider scheduling in time to intentionally rest. Turn off the phone, set aside the computer, and give yourself space to slow down. And perhaps that means hoping into a restorative class with me soon!