You Have Permission To Rest

​I've just emerged from a long yoga practice and a blissful yoga nidra session and it's left me wanting to float in this sublime state for as long as possible.
The truth is these feeling states are transitory and that's why we do the "practices" on a regular basis for it to become easier to access and deepen these states over time. By doing these practices regularly we create a safe haven that we get to return to over and over again, to have the ability to tap into these states with more ease and for it to have an accumulative affect over time much like with persistent effort and dedication we get stronger muscles when we train our body at the gym we are training our relaxation muscles so to speak.
Working on a daily basis with clients it's clear that there's a huge resistance to doing these simple practices that create powerful changes in the body, mind and nervous system. There's a feeling that it's a waste of time, that you're not doing anything, that it's boring and self indulgent and how can anything change just by doing nothing.
The truth is there is plenty happening underneath the surface by allowing the body/mind to become still and being guided into deep relaxation you are having a profound affect on your nervous system which pretty much governs everything from heart rate to blood pressure, from the tonus of your muscles to your libido to digestion. Not to mention the affect on brain waves which I've discussed in a previous post.
It saddens me that many people haven't experienced deep, radical rest and even more that they won't even attempt to give it a try. We all have these natural states that we can access that are generally free, completely legal with the right tools, techniques and mindset but we either have this pre-occupation with taking the hard road, the path that is difficult, where in order for it be effective it has to be painful or difficult or the path of no effort where you place all of your expectations of health and wellbeing onto another.
It takes a certain amount of effort to set aside time to care deeply for your self, to put aside all other responsibilities, tasks and to do lists but it's so worth it and your body will thank you for it. Taking care of yourself is no longer a luxury it's a necessity.