“Just for today… I will stop and rest constructively”
Say this thought to yourself little and often throughout the day. Write it, draw it, meditate on it. Stick a Post It on a mirror. Set yourself a reminder on your phone.
Practicing this thought throughout the day will help you notice this sequence and support you to navigate daily life in many ways.
As many of you know, one of Alexander’s major discoveries about us mammals, is that the relationship of the head and spine govern the coordination of the rest of us. Yes – all of us! Physical, mental, emotional, spiritual – we don’t separate – its all one thing – our Self.
Today I am going to share with you something about the benefits of rest, sharing a poem I love and an audio guide which I recorded – timed at 20 minutes for the best rest you can get (other than sleep). £10 for an MP3 file to listen to again and again, please click this link to get your copy straight into your email box so you can have my voice guide your thoughts and movements.
https://lucyascham.com/?sd_product=semi-supine-constructive-rest-mp3-audio-recording
Do you sometimes get to the end of a day and collapse into an asymmetrical shape on a sofa with remote control in hand and a glass of something in the other? I have been known to enjoy this form of relaxation…
I’ll tell you what I love, what it really really love
I love and thrive on constructive conscious rest. Lying down on my back, knees bent, feet about hip-width apart on the carpet, hands somewhere on my abdomen, elbows resting on the ground, head resting on a small pile of soft-backed books to support the natural curve on my ‘neck’.
This is one of my favourites. And there are many other moments when we can rest even whilst ‘climbing the highest mountain or sitting at home surrounded by the chaos of a loving family’ as David Whyte says:
“REST is the conversation between what we love to do and how we love to be…” is the poem by David Whyte from Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words. I adore his poetry and how it speaks so deeply about Life.
https://www.facebook.com/PoetDavidWhyte/posts/2327410937284896
Please give yourself the gift, to take time throughout the day to stop and rest constructively – either by spending 20 glorious minutes in the position of maximum rest for your spine or whilst you are doing what you are doing… that natural exchange of being “nourished by the gift of breath itself”.
How did you get on with this? I’d love to know if you are enjoying these daily thoughts and explorations. Please email me on lucyascham@hotmail.com
Have fun with this. Take yourself out of automatic, and get thinking consciously and constructively.
“Just for today, I will stop and rest constructively.”