Strength in Rest
A share from Humble Haven Yoga teacher Emely Taveras
“When I began practicing hot power yoga, I was most impressed by how physically challenging this practice is. I quickly realized, however, as many of us probably have, that it isn’t just a workout for the body, but a workout for the mind as well ─ or as one of my teachers likes to call it, a work-in. It is also both work and rest, effort and ease.
My first 40-day challenge at Humble Haven Yoga is what spurred my daily practice, it was also the first time I felt the need to rest from my practice. I remember the challenge ended right around my birthday and my boyfriend got me a massage as a birthday gift but also as a treat for all the hard work I had just put my body through. I was so sore! I don’t remember if or how many days I took off from practicing after completing the challenge, but what’s more important is that the concept of resting, especially after hard work was planted in my mind. Before then, I very rarely took purposeful rest. I was studying for my architecture licensure exams at the time and my days followed a pretty strict routine. I worked, I went to yoga, and I studied for exams, with the extra necessities of living sprinkled in.
Since then, I have learned that taking intentional rest is the most important thing for my longevity. When my legs are heavy from one too many build and bootcamp classes in a row, I take rest. When there are still things on my to-do list at the end of the day but my brain is no longer as sharp as it was at the beginning of the day, I take rest. When I get home from a fun, but not quite restful vacation, I take rest. Sometimes rest looks like taking a day off from exercising my body. Sometimes it looks like staying home to recharge. And other times it looks like a yoga practice at the end of a busy day. The thing about taking rest is that it gives your body the time it needs to get stronger. I don’t know about you, but I need to take a break from all the things I do and all my commitments, even the ones I love. After the break, I come back and I’m better for it. I’m more present and able to give my full capacity. It’s part of our biology, we sleep every day so that we can function. The same applies to everything else.
“Sometimes rest looks like taking a day off from exercising my body. Sometimes it looks like staying home to recharge. And other times it looks like a yoga practice at the end of a busy day.”
About a year ago I started feeling intense fatigue and occasional light-headedness that loved to show up at exactly the wrong time ─ usually when I was at the front of the room teaching. I could barely get through a 50-minute class without feeling completely exhausted by the time we got to Savasana. At that point, I would quietly plop down at the front of the room when I knew the students could no longer see me and just…breathe. On the mat as a student, I found myself not being able to practice as I usually did. I spent a lot of time in child’s pose and would frequently fall asleep on my mat. My body was asking for rest.
As I began to feel more like myself, I slowly began to push myself again. I came back to the longer practices, postures, and sequences I had placed on a shelf for months and I found that somehow, I felt stronger than I had before. I can’t tell you how long it had been since the last time I attempted a handstand but I tried a few weeks ago and was pleasantly surprised! My body remembered and was still strong enough to do it. It was a much-needed reminder that rest makes me stronger.
.Through the years my life has evolved and with it, my yoga practice. I’ve had seasons of rigid dedication, and seasons of flexible commitment. I’ve completed other 40-day challenges, and I’ve taken time off. If nothing is permanent, then my yoga practice is the one constant. My practice doesn’t always look the same, in fact, it often looks different, but it is something I always come back to and it always provides what I need.”
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