Do you give yourself permission to slow down and rest? I recently did this and I literally felt like a new woman! I should know this, I thought! And yet, it can be so hard to let ourselves take a break. There is always one more email to send, person to call, laundry to do, dishes to clean, story to read, etc etc...the list goes on and on.
I did a bit of research on rest after I felt so good, and I found this awesome quote by Dr. Dalton Smith, author of Sacred Rest. Dr. Smith says,
"You have permission to rest. You are not supposed to be everything to everybody. Stop pouring out into your family, career, and responsibilities without taking time to replenish yourself. You are more valuable than that. You deserve time to experience the things you enjoy simply becuase they make you smile. Live like you know you are loved."
That last part - about deserving time to experience the things you enjoy simply because they make you smile - oh that can be so tough to let ourselves do when there is always one more thing to check off the to-do list. However, when we give ourselves persmission to slow down our body - all parts of our hormones, gut, heart, and brain - they all slow down too. We can catch up and get out of constant stress mode. This is a very good thing!
Realize too that rest can be something different to each of us. It could be extra sleep (like I did), or time to do something creative, move your body, or meditate, or maybe it's hanging out in the hammock and reading a good book. What sounds good to you? It's so important to listen to our bodies and then create the space to make rest happen when we need to.