4 Tips to Help You Rest and Reset

 Imagine you have a punctured bike tyre... 

Do you keep on riding, or do you stop to repair the puncture?

The truth is, many of us are riding our proverbial bikes with flat tyres.

This leads to you feeling drained, tired and fatigued and leaves no room in your schedule for downtime.

No room for rests for resets.

As a result, you pick up a cold, or other illness, and you struggle to bounce back. This means you spend this Christmas period in bed sick, not able to fully enjoy.

I know this story all too well - last year I spent Christmas in isolation, away from my family.

Here's what I've learnt over the years in medicine and with my clients.

These four tips can reduce your risk of illness and help you develop a rhythm of resting and resetting.

1. Your Body is a Healing Machine

"Belief drives action."

When I was working as a doctor, I noticed something really fascinating - the people who could heal quickly from illness were people who had a zest for life.

If you're struggling to bounce back, and feel replenished, it may be that you have limiting beliefs about what your body can do.

Your body has been healing since the day you were born. 

When you restore your body to its natural state, it heals easily and fast. The challenge is that it's very common, but not 'normal', to expose your body to things that are harmful.

The status quo in today's world is to be inflamed, stressed and have an element of immune dysfunction. 

Next time you become unwell or feel like you need to rest, say the following affirmation - 

"My body is a healing machine."

This belief will drive you to take the actions to rest. It will drive you to engage with those healthy habits you know restore your body to its natural state.

In order for you to heal, you must first believe that you can.

2. Biophilia

As the frost falls on our winter landscapes, take a moment to sit and appreciate the beauty of nature.

We are inherently connected with nature, that is what biophilia means.

Nature has many healing benefits.

Multiple studies have shown that people post-surgery require fewer painkillers when they're exposed to nature.

People who look at photos of nature can see their cortisol levels drop.

"Nature is innately healing because we are nature."

One of the most profound, simple and easy ways to rest is to prioritise being in nature every single day.

If it's not possible for you to see beautiful fractals in nature, as opposed to those in our manmade angular buildings, then expose yourself to the sounds and sights of nature through our digital world.

3. Detach to Rest

If you're riding that proverbial bike with a flat tyre, it's essential you stop.  Unconscious habits like responding to WhatsApp messages and social media engaging put us in a beta brain wave state.

Our most powerful healing state is sleep. 

In sleep, we slow our brainwaves from beta to alpha then theta and delta. For you to rest and reset, it's important you completely detach from screens, stressful activities and meetings so you can feel replenished.

This means setting aside time every day to close your eyes and reduce your visual input.

A 15-minute slot can create hours in the day because you feel replenished and relaxed. 

4. Improve Vagal Tone

The vagus nerve is a healing nerve.

Improving the tone of this nerve has been closely linked with longevity. 

Most of us are walking around in a stressed state. The 'drip' of stress hormones is continuous with every flick of our phone, every bite of processed food and every minute we are under-rested.

Make it a priority to improve the tone of your vagus nerve so you can rest and reset quickly and effectively to focus on the things that really matter. This must happen every day.

"Rest is not a weekend indulgence, it's a daily necessity."

Last year's illness taught me that. 

Ensure you have practices that improve the tone of your vagus nerve so you can feel at your best and give abundantly to those around you. 

This could include breathwork, meditation and yoga. 

Here is a simple 2-minute walking mindfulness practice you can do anywhere:

1. Count down from 120

2. Between 120 and 90 pay attention to the shapes and colours on the horizon

3. Between 90 and 60 pay attention to the sounds around you

4. Between 60 and 30 pay attention to the smells in your environment

5. Between 30 and 1 pick something up, like a leaf, and feel the texture of it

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Enjoy these practices, and let me know how you get on with them. 

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1 Quote

"Rest is not a weekend indulgence, it's a daily necessity."

1 Question

"What restful practice will you prioritise in 2023?"

1 Quality

Zest

A zest for life will heal you from the inside out.