A Blissful Life 9/15/2026: Rest is Part of the Work

For most of my life, I thought rest came after the work was done.

I’ve always been a high achiever. I like to do things well, and when I care about something, I can give it everything I have. For many years, though, there was also an underlying stress beneath all of that effort. A feeling that I had to keep moving, keep accomplishing, keep getting somewhere. Almost as though if I slowed down, I might not get there quickly enough.

There were so many times in my life when I overloaded myself and eventually became overwhelmed, stressed, anxious, and burned out. I would push and push, telling myself I could rest once I finished everything I needed to do.

But when is the work ever really done?

There will always be another email, another project, something in the house that needs attention, someone who needs something from us, another goal we want to reach. If rest only happens when everything else is complete, we may never actually get there.

This began to change for me about eight years ago, when I started a twice-daily meditation practice. At the time, I was running on a constant buzz of anxiety. I don’t even think I realized how much of my life was being lived from that place until I regularly began experiencing something different.

Twice a day, I stopped.

Meditation gave me enough time to drop beneath all of that noise and land somewhere quieter inside myself. Somewhere less hurried. Over time, I started to feel safe being exactly where I was. I began accepting and appreciating the present moment instead of constantly trying to get to the next one. I could look at where I was on my path and trust that maybe I wasn’t behind at all. Maybe things were unfolding exactly as they were supposed to, in their own timing. I also began to understand that rest is not simply the absence of work.

Sometimes we confuse pleasure or distraction with rest. A few glasses of wine and a night on the couch watching television might be enjoyable— and there is absolutely a place for enjoyment— but that doesn’t necessarily mean our body and mind are deeply resting. We can stop working without ever really coming out of stimulation.

True rest, to me, is anything that allows the system to soften. Sleep. Meditation. Lying quietly without reaching for the phone. Time in nature. A slow walk without a destination. Restorative yoga. Breathing deeply enough that the body gets the message: you are safe; you do not have to do anything right now.

Yoga gives us the beautiful concept of sthira sukham asanam: steadiness and ease. We often focus on the steadiness— the discipline, strength, consistency and effort required to build something. But ease is part of the practice too.

I’m learning that rest cannot be the reward we receive once we have worked hard enough. It has to be built into the work itself.

Rest is what allows us to return with more creativity, patience, energy and perspective. It makes our effort sustainable. And perhaps the real practice is learning that slowing down does not mean we are falling behind. Sometimes slowing down is exactly what allows us to keep going.

For deep rest built into your week, join me every Tuesday at 4pm at Ocean Bliss for my new class, In Your Body. This therapeutic class is designed to give you deep, healing rest and bring harmony and alignment to your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual self. We offer on-site childcare for this class. Bring your little one and pay at the door. $10/child + $5/sibling.