Pause with purpose
Learning how to rest and reset with Suzy Reading
Is it just me, or are we all feeling a bit… tired these days?
If your brain is screaming “YES! I need more coffee…” right now, you likely aren’t alone.
Overall, we are more frazzled and overtaxed than ever before. Why? Living through a global pandemic full of constant unknowns and unknown expectations for the future, never-ending political and social unrest, and the rise of technology that provides endless streams of content to consume, are just a few of the reasons our brains have us running on sensory overload – to put it mildly.
We were never meant to consume and carry this much at once constantly, yet, we are. Over, and over again. And that information overload can be deeply fatiguing.
Luckily, there are great tools and techniques we can all use to pause and find more quiet and calm, even in our most chaotic moments and days.
To help expose our teams to these powerful strategies, and continue our mission here at Avison Young of supporting the total well-being of all of our teammates, we recently welcomed psychologist and yoga teacher Suzy Reading to lead us through concepts in a global, company-wide webinar.
Through impactful conversation and demonstrations, Suzy helped us:
- Explore our relationship with rest
- Debunk common myths about rest
- Find a new approach to rest and reset, including her 8 pillars of rest model
- Leave the program with a toolkit of resources to rest and rejuvenate
What did that look like?
- A presentation with no slides. Suzy removed additional stimulus from the equation, allowing us to focus on her and her voice alone. Forced presence helped us truly be there and take the material in. (Especially with the added comfort of knowing a recap resource would be available covering highlights of material shared. There was no need to worry about notes! Instead, the focus was: just be here and go on this journey with us.)
- Deep breaths – and several stretches. Through a series of deep breath work, simple stretches and movements, Suzy helped attendees learn how to connect back to themselves and the present moment.
- Exploring, honestly, our current relationship with rest. With guiding questions, all were called to look at their relationship with rest by considering topics like: “When you hear the word rest, what comes to mind?” and “What kind of messages about rest from society, the media, your career, etc. have you absorbed (and perhaps internalized)?” After all, the path to better sometimes has to begin by confronting our own hurdles and biases.
- Talking through the myths that hold us back from taking the rest we need. You know them. Those messages that make us think rest=laziness, rest=a waste of time, or rest=pointless? We were reminded why those phrases are just not true, and how we should reframe each to transform our mindset around rest. Sometimes we need to know and believe that seeking out rest is worth our time to be able to properly prioritize it.
- Finding a better way forward – to rest and reset. Through Suzy’s 8 pillars of rest framework, we were given a game-changing tool to see what might be missing from our days and prioritize what we might need more of to balance things out and feel fuller and more energized. More movement? Less stillness? More or less mental stimulation? What about more solitude or perhaps more time with others? When aspects of our days find traits out of balance, it only makes sense that we’d feel, well, a bit out of balance too. It was a great call to really see our days for what they are, and more importantly, for what we might be missing out on, to be able to feel more grounded.
Whether it’s unplugging just a bit more, incorporating more mindful movement, or simply using gentler dialogue with ourselves, attendees were left with endless possibilities and inspiration for trying something new, or adding on to existing practices, for calmer minds and hearts.
When doing so could mean every difference between wellness and illness, showing up poorly or as our best selves, why wouldn’t we want to do everything we can to find more “me” time?
We always seem to find time to charge our phones and fuel our cars. What if we gave the same dutiful time and attention to recharging ourselves as well? Could we gain access to more patience? More empathy? The energy to be able to accomplish more than we ever have? Higher spirits and increased positivity? There’s only one way to find out.
Which tips or techniques noted here light up and inspire you? What steps could you take to create more energizing days? What do you need more of to truly rest and reset?
Author: Rachel Kresge, Avison Young Global Content Development Manager