05/11/2025
This Sunday 🙌🏼
2 hours
5 postures, with props and blankets,
Breath work to work with parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest)
Deeply relaxing meditation
Sound bath
Booming via gym catch ❤️
Monthly rest practice - 9th November 10:30-12:30
Breath, 5 postures, blankets, pillows, bolsters. Meditation & sound (and a hot cup of something) perhaps a little discussion around why it’s so hard to rest.
The reason… it’s a long one ❤️
The Science of Stress & Why Rest Matters
1. Stress and the Nervous System
* The body’s stress response is controlled by the autonomic nervous system — mainly the sympathetic (“fight, flight, or freeze”) and parasympathetic (“rest and digest”) branches.
* When we experience chronic stress, the sympathetic system stays overactive. Our heart rate, blood pressure, and muscle tension remain high, while digestion, repair, and sleep quality decline.
* Over time, this can rewire the brain’s stress circuits, making it harder to switch off — which is why rest can start to feel uncomfortable or even “unsafe” for some people.
2. The Immune System Connection
* Prolonged stress increases cortisol, the body’s main stress hormone. While helpful in short bursts, high cortisol over time suppresses immune function, making us more prone to infections, inflammation, and slower healing.
* Research shows that people with chronic stress have lower levels of protective antibodies and higher markers of inflammation — both linked to fatigue and burnout.
* Restful states, in contrast, trigger the parasympathetic response, reducing inflammation and boosting immune resilience.
3. Why Rest Feels Hard
* In modern life, our culture often celebrates “doing” over “being.” The nervous system adapts to this constant stimulation — we become addicted to busyness.
* For many, slowing down can initially trigger unease, guilt, or even anxiety, because the body has forgotten how to rest safely.
* Learning to rest isn’t laziness; it’s nervous system re-education. You’re teaching your body how to feel safe again in stillness.
4. The Power or Rest Practices
* Practices like deep breathing, meditation, yoga nidra, gentle movement, or guided rest activate the vagus nerve — a key player in the parasympathetic system — lowering heart rate and calming the mind.
* Regular rest improves focus, mood, digestion, and even cellular repair. Studies show that deep rest states can help the brain clear out toxins (via the glymphatic system) and enhance learning and memory.
* Rest helps you shift from survival mode to thriving mode.
* It’s not indulgent — it’s science-backed self-care for your body and mind.
* You’ll learn to reset your nervous system, reduce inflammation, and improve immune strength.
* It’s a chance to unlearn the rush, reconnect to your body, and create real, sustainable calm.
* Rest isn’t the reward at the end of doing — it’s the foundation that makes everything else possible.
