The body’s need to rest, restore and rejuvenate during our waking hours is too often forgotten.

We expect our bodies and minds to go-go-go, and oftentimes on insufficient fuel with poor nutritional value.

We can push ourselves to ‘get it done’ and go beyond our own edge to do so, even when we know how far is too far.

Then there are those of us who don’t yet have an awareness of how far is too far, and sadly end up burnt out or worse (with a stress related illness). 

Fortunately, we can learn where our edge is and how far we can push ourselves without over doing it.

Furthermore, during the day our energies are too often traveling in one direction – outward – without enough fresh energy being generated from the inside out to sufficiently re-charge.

One  central reason to take the time to re-charge is in order to keep going with our active lives.

It’s almost as if we need to die to the world around us, or withdraw our senses from it, in order to rest deeply and rejuvenate. 

But even in death, there is potential for new life.  New life that comes from resting deeply and and doing what appears to be nothing.

Productive doesn’t always have to mean visibly active to have an impact.

This is one of the societal myths we live with, and for some of us, it takes us to our actual death.  Death by the hyper-stress from hyper-productivity, that is.

Now don’t get me wrong.  I’m not opposed to being active and productive.  Quite the contrary.  I enjoy spending energy to get things done.  But I’ve learned where my edge is now, and how much is too much when it comes to energy output.  I’ve learned too how to rest deeply and rejuvenate my bodymind whenever its needed.

As I mentioned earlier, productive doesn’t always mean visibly active.

It can also mean quiet and still, nurturing and soothing.  It can mean feeding the bodymind with love.  A love that restores our vital energies before being born anew to the day, now brimming with enlivened energy for the tasks ahead.

While it all sounds good, how do we achieve this desirable state of renewal?

One way is through a restorative style of hatha Yoga.  Where the body is held in a posture in a supported way so it can do what it’s designed to do naturally, rest and restore.

Take the Supported Child’s Pose, for example.  Simple to set up and execute, yet so very beneficial.  It restores depleted energy and quiets the mind in the process.  It can also gently release tension in the lower back and may relieve shoulder tension as well.

What you’ll need for this posture is a mat if you have one, a bolster if you have one, and a blanket.  If you don’t have a mat or a bolster, then a blanket to go on the floor, and a blanket, or two, rolled up into a sausage (a vegie sausage that is 🙂 ) will work just fine. 

Here’s how we set up the Supported Child’s Pose:

  • We place the bolster or rolled up blanket(s) into the center of the mat, lengthwise.
  • We sit down onto the bolster at one end, with our chest facing in the direction of the top of the bolster and mat.
  • Then we carefully lie down onto the bolster, paying attention to creating comfort for our body in this position.  We’re straddling the bolster now with our belly and chest resting against it.  One facial cheek comes to rest against the rolled blankets.  Hands and arms can come to rest comfortably on the mat on either side of the body, either alongside the shoulders or ears.
  • We can rest here for up to 10 minutes, doing nothing in particular.  We allow our breath to rise and fall in the body in its own natural way, as we hold this soothing position.

Even when we’re feeling completely spent, we can rejuvenate our energy by taking the time to rest and renew with a restorative style of hatha Yoga.  Try it for yourself and see how this simple posture makes your bodymind feel.