When it's time for a rest.

In this weeks blog I am writing about rest days, a rest from working out and your busy schedules. I think it's important to talk about this because I know many people struggle to embrace a rest day without feeling guilty or bad for it.

About once every week or two weeks I will have days when I wake up and i feel exhausted and fatigued. Sometimes my muscles are sore and tired or my brain is tired. I want to stay in bed on these days but I don't, I make the conscious decision to get out of bed and still do my day but for this day to be my rest day.

On my rest days I will pick some activities to do that don't use too much energy but will benefit me in the long run, today I am blogging and then I'm going to paint and do some housework. I'm going to share some ideas with you on how to spend your rest days or your days off;

- Get creative, maybe paint or draw, write or vision board. Anything that gets your creative juices flowing, that you enjoy and that you feel you have benefited and/or relaxed from.

-Get into that housekeeping! Perhaps your laundry basket is overflowing or your kitchen needs a good clean, maybe you haven't vacuumed in a while or polished the furniture. Put some tunes on and get down and dirty to get your space and your mind clean and clear.

- Self-care and beauty routines. I find on a rest day to put a face mask on and have a long hot bath leaves me feeling relaxed and revitalized, ready to take on the next day. Maybe you want to shape your eyebrows or give yourself a pedicure. How about practicing your make-up and hair skills? anything that puts time and care back into yourself.

- Sometimes on my rest days I will do some light yoga practice, to keep my body stretched and flexible and my blood flowing, yoga or meditation can clear your mind and bring about a euphoric sense of restfulness and mindfulness.

- Maybe baking or cooking is your forte. Maybe a new cheesecake recipe or a dish you've been dying to make but don't give yourself the time or maybe just cant give yourself the time to. Put the apron on and enjoy the kitchen and the flops or the successes. You are benefiting yourself by expanding your skills. Maybe you want to make something you are already so good at and enjoy making, bask in that enjoyment and in the flavours you taste.

-Read, I have a long list of half read books and sometimes I pick one up and go sit in the sun or on a comfy chair and read a couple chapters, I am relaxing and feeding my brain simultaneously.

There are so many things that you can do to give back to yourself on your rest days, these are just a few that I do. Don't forget that it is okay to decide to do none of it and to just watch movies or series on the sofa all day. Whatever feels right for you and whatever you feel you benefit from, do it.

On my rest days I generally watch what I eat more closely to the days that I work out because I know my body won't be using the food for energy as much as it would on an active day. On these days I stick to a much cleaner diet, eating fruits and vegetables (which i do not like by the way) and I stay away from the heavy carbs or red meats. This is just my personal preference to keep my body and my health where I want them to be. On the days when I am not feeling well or its my monthly time I allow myself the full freedom of eating whatever I want, because my body or my health is not at 100% it deserves the gratification of all the yummy foods that might not be healthy or nutritious but damn are they delicious!

I think if you listen to your body and the way you feel and act accordingly you are looking after yourself. If you need a day or even a week off then take it, without any guilt attached because you are looking after yourself and your mind just as much as going to the gym would or sticking to your strict routine would. WE are all human and we all need to rest and rejuvenate, not "once in a while" but a lot and often. Take it easy.

I hope by reading this you gained some ideas on how to spend your rest days or maybe even shaken that 'guilty' feeling. I'm off to do the laundry now.

As always, stay good to yourself.

Thank you for reading.

xxx