A rest rebellion

Malnourished of rest, overstimulated and burnt-out. Conform to productivity culture or rebel? Join me and guest teachers for micro-moments to nourish body, mind and soul.

Photo by Giulia Losa Fiori on Unsplash

Are you feeling the heat? We reach midsummer’s day later this week and we’re most definitely experiencing pitta season (which I talked about in the monthly micro-moment for June). While this fiery time of year is lively and active and abundant and all about the merry-making, it can lead to feelings of burnout. 

Marking the midsummer with a difference, this week you’re invited to Restival - a week-long rest rebellion.

It will be hosted right here, on the In The Quiet space, and will feature a divine group of women who will be showing you different ways to experience rest. (What’s the collective noun for spiritually-led, strong women?) There will be micro-moments of rest offered for you to try - not as another thing to do, or the latest fad, but simply to notice how it feels to experience rest - physical, mental, sensory, emotional, creative, social and spiritual rest. 

We need it. 

I feel that each one of us in this western society needs to re-learn what it is to rest. And especially women. And especially if you’re a woman caring for little people. The capitalist system is not designed for women, never has been. Yet we’re all malnourished in the rest stakes (men and women and, arguably, children too), we’re chronically disconnected from body and spirit.

But we have a choice. This week is about choosing a different way. #RestRebellion.

Connection to the language of our bodies, the wisdom of our intuition, the feminine, has been conditioned out of us. We live in a very yang (masculine) society. This is not about men but more about masculine energy. The balance between the strong masculine (which we need) and the divine feminine energy has been lost. 

Our culture is built around work. Our identity is so tied up with what we do - our output. Our worth is connected to what we’ve achieved and have - keeping the wheels of consumerism spinning. Men and women alike are feeling the brunt of a culture built upon relentless productivity. Even to the point where we can now track how productive our sleep is!

I’ve experienced it in my own home this week and my body hasn’t liked it. We’re told we can have it all but it’s a losing game. Having it all means taking on more, more, more. It’s less about a gender gap and more about a burnout gap. Work like you don’t have children. Parent like you don’t have a job. And without the support structure our ancestors relied on. We’re making up for what entire communities used to provide and running around trying to compensate. 

They say “it takes a village” but the village of old is no longer. The village would have offered support, security, belonging, being seen and known. I know we live in a society that is built upon freedom and choice but it often doesn’t feel like that. A raw truth to admit here but I often feel isolated as a parent, almost solely responsible for my boys’ needs - I yearn for that “village” to hold me up as I navigate being a mother and wanting to fulfil my own needs. We’re wired for that connection.  It feels a lot to be physically, mentally and emotionally avaialble for others 24/7.

Activist and author Eve Rodsky says the “antidote to [this] physical, mental and emotional burnout” is to find your “unicorn space” - a pursuit that makes you you. She asks: “Who are you outside of the role of wife, mother, worker - to exist as an individual?” The ‘unicorn space’ doesn’t exist until we create it and here’s why. The un-paid labour gap. 

Echoes of “the angel of the house” still ring through our modern households. A study (now ten years old) showed that, even though working patterns have changed, division of household tasks doesn’t reflect that. You could argue that times have changed in the decade since but the pandemic went to prove the disparity once again. In her book Fair Play, Eve Rodsky sees each act of unpaid labour as a card. How many are you holding?

Coming back to the ‘always on’ culture, the common perception is that paid labour is more valuable and more important. The message of Fair Play encourages us, men and women, to see all time as equal. If one person in a household is left holding all the cards while the other/s “do what they can”, what message does that send about the value of each person’s time and finite energy. Eve Rodsky says that even the ‘nagging wife’ misnomer is one person holding the responsibility for getting something done. 

So I come back full circle. Why rest?

Rest to know thyself. Rest to exist as an individual. Rest to value your time and finite energy. Rest to identify your needs. Rest to nurture your body, mind and soul. Rest to connect to yourself and your true values.

It isn’t necessarily sat with your feet up and a cuppa. Rest is what brings you into a state of sattva - the ayurvedic guna of contentment, harmony, self-knowledge.

We can choose to conform or we can choose a little rest rebellion. From a place of sattva, we more easily connect with others and find a sense of belonging. The village is possible on the other side of rest.

What started as writing a little overview of what the week of Restival will offer you, dear reader, has become a little like a manifesto. (I was channeling some Jerry Maguire energy there for a moment!)

Rest is Rebellion

Details of the week follow….

Welcome to Restival

Each day, I’ll share an interview with a guest teacher who’ll be showing you a way to rest in short, micro-moments of practice. 

Discover Your Sattva: I’ll be offering a little teaching on the nervous system through the lens of ayurvedic wisdom. There will be a mini-practice to ‘discover your sattva’.

Monday - Physical Rest: Katie Winder will lead us through mindful movement to develop somatic awareness, re-connecting with the language of the body.

Tuesday - Mental Rest: Kat Delaney will help us move out of the busy-ness of the mind and the mental to-do list with her magical, healing sounds.

Wednesday - Sensory Rest: Amy Downham will shift us away from the distraction and noise of the modern world and share how healing and empowering the wisdom of nature can be.

Thursday - Emotional Rest: Helen Bryce will share the benefits of creating an intentional space to authentically express ourselves through creative writing and journaling.

Friday - Social Rest: Emma Jupp holds the most beautiful and healing sister circles. It’s the ‘village’ connection we’re wired for. Emma will be sharing the benefits of authentic connection with people that nourish your soul.

Saturday - Creative Rest: Creative rest is allowing ourselves to revel in beauty in all its forms, and what way is more beautiful than mindfully creating delicious, natural food. Bex Schindler will be sharing with us the healing power of food and how the kitchen can be a place for mindfulness.

Sunday - Spiritual Rest: Spiritual rest is a connection to something more, finding a sense of meaning. Rachel Naylor - aka The Energy Queen - will be sharing her wisdom on the energy body and offering a short reiki practice.

The week will end with a live yoga nidra session with yours truly. Yoga nidra is ‘yogic sleep’ and is a beautiful way to experience deep rest to nourish your body and soothe your nervous system even when time is limited. 

All of this will feature on In The Quiet - bookmark this link. Each morning our guest interview for the day will go live and offer details of how you can experience rest in a micro-moment. Next Sunday I’ll share a round-up of all the practices too. Please invite any friends or sisters that are up for a little rebellious rest.

Emma x

Comment below to let us know which practice of rest you’re looking forward to trying… Or maybe share with a friend who needs a little more ‘rebellious rest’ in her life.