7 Types of Sacred Rest You Need For Optimal Health

The 7 Types of Sacred Rest is developed by Dr. Saundra Dalton- Smith and this list goes beyond just resting the body itself. It’s important to share because many of us don’t realize the need of several types of rest, until we suffer from health issues. And in this current western life style, it’s essential to implement sacred rest. It’s no longer optional to not implement these strategies if we want to stay healthy. If you practice the following types of rest throughout your life it will help you maintain optimal health.

Physical Rest

We all know the importance of sleep. Sleep is necessary for the body to rejuvenate itself and it’s necessary for our higher self to gather spiritual life force energy in order to maintain the body. This is part of the reason why physical rest is so important.

But physical rest is also important after exercise, in this way the body can restore itself after physical stress from exercise. If we exercise too much it can actually deteriorate the body, which is another reason why taking breaks from exercise is important to implement. You may even want to give your body a massage to give it physical relaxation. And we can also help the body rest to a lesser degree by doing a yin yoga or restorative yoga practice.

And simply resting your body by laying down somewhere comfortable, is another way that we can rest the physical body. The body doesn’t only rest during sleep, we can be awake while resting the body.

Another way the implement physical rest in our daily lives is slowing down and taking breaks. This can literally look like doing thing slowly and not worry about time. It’s the opposite of going about your day in a stressful manner.

Sensory Rest

Sensory rest is about anything that you can think of to calm down your senses. Things like avoiding bright lights, reducing screen time, limiting loud noise etc. Which may also include closing your eyes for some time with or without the use of an eye pillow.

Another great way to calm down our senses is by doing a yoga nidra practice. Yoga nidra is known for calming down the senses. It’s not about falling asleep, because if you do fall asleep you won’t be aware of your senses during sleep. That means you are not actively calming down your senses during sleep. Yoga nidra is used to stay awake during the guided audio and calming down your senses, which is why we feel rested after a yoga nidra session.

Emotional Rest

Sometimes it’s hard to take breaks from stressful situations but it’s important for our health to gives ourselves an emotional break. When things get overwhelming we have to withdraw from stressful situations and conflicts in order to come back to homeostasis. But there are exceptions. For example, when there is a stressful situation that needs your full attention in a period of time. It may not be possible to withdraw in those cases. But it’s equally important to find some form of rest when you can. You can for example take breaks throughout the day to reduce your level of stress. You can also journal what’s on your mind to release stress. And have some time for some self-reflection without judgement. And then there are also times we need to not be so aware of our emotions and just let them be.

Creative Rest

Creative rest is a type of rest where you can express yourself creatively. This is a state of flow, joy and ease which in return brings a state of relaxation. This should not be a creative expression that gives you stress. It’s about pursuing a hobby or creative outlet like art, music, dance etc. Or anything else that feels like a creative expression to you and is easy for you to do so.

Mental Rest

Another very important type of sacred rest is taking breaks from processing information. Which is essential in these times where we have access to so much information. Not reading that next book or not investing your time and energy in an online or offline course for some time is necessary for our health. For mental rest it’s also important to limit social media exposure which is another platform where our mind is processing a lot of information. Instead give yourself some time (a few hours even) to daydream and let your mind rest or drift.

Social Rest

Social interactions can help us relax and can help us with co-regulation. But too much social interactions can throw us out of our center. Therefore, it’s important to take breaks from social interactions and instead spend time alone and be in your own energy. This is going to help you recharge and be at your best for new social interactions. Social rest also means not connecting on social media with people, nor does it mean to watch others online. Social rest is about reconnecting with yourself.

Spiritual Rest

Spiritual rest is about connecting with nature so as to find relaxation and a peace of mind. It’s about doing things that help you ground, be in your body instead of in your head. It’s a type of rest where we need to not be so busy trying to improve ourselves and figure things out.

Feeling ‘rested’ is a result of multiple ways of taking breaks throughout our day or week. When we apply these strategies, we will find more productivity, energy and capacity to actually do life to the best of our ability, while maintaining optimal health. When we become aware of the unique ways of rest that work for our specific body, we can reduce stress and prevent burnout, chronic stress and even chronic illness. This is the art of resting.

Which of the 7 types of sacred rest do you need right now? What is your body asking for?

Until next time.

With Love, Naomi

P.s. you may also like to read ‘3 Healthy Reasons Why It Is OK To Take Your Time’ and ‘Why Relaxation is a VERY important activity to incorporate every day!’

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