Taking Time to Restore, Recover and Heal Isn’t Laziness
It’s Nature’s Built-in Miraculous Power!
During my yoga teacher training, my instructor noticed something and offered some advice. She said she saw me do a fairly hard yoga training session every morning and knew (from what I had told her) that I still went to the gym, took the dog for a long walk, worked in the garden, and/or ran errands in the afternoons. She recognized that I was not giving myself time to rest and restore from all the physical work I was doing in the mornings. And while I was sleeping fairly well, the pace and activities I was tackling every day made me grateful for our weekends off from yoga training! So, she gave me a set of restorative practices to do, mainly breathing in supported supine poses, which you hold for a longer time. Once I experienced the deep, relaxing peace these poses brought me, I began making a point of treating myself to them more regularly, which gives my body the restorative healing it needs.
Truth be told, I have always had a hard time giving myself time for recovery and restoring because I always confused it with laziness. And even though I love “doing nothing” once in a while, I see myself as an active, energetic I person moving through life, and active all the time. Even my “rest” was always active and engaged, because it usually involved a yoga session or other physical activities like long walks. Being seen as lazy has always been a big no-no in my life. My energy levels have mostly supported all this. I was always burning the candle at both ends, with 2 careers at once that supported an image of myself as a high-flying, successful businessman and producer.
Restoring Becomes Even More Essential in Later Life
As we get older, we need more restorative activity in our lives, especially if, like me, you treat your effort and exercise seriously. Our bodies need more time and more support to recover from a workout or other form of physical activity. Hopefully that recovery activity supports your cardio, strength, or flexibility goals. But the magic of recovery and healing, the rebuilding and strengthening of the muscle and tissue that you have exerted, happens after you exert yourself. And as paradoxical as it sounds, it leads to even more energy available for you.
Notice I use the word activity with restoring, as in restorative activity. That activity can be simply resting, but it can also be more engaged practices like gentle yoga poses, stretching, or walking at an easygoing pace or enjoyable pastimes that don’t overexert you, like reading, writing, cooking, gardening, meditation, family time, friend time, or many other activities. And it’s important not to label yourself as lazy for taking time for that restorative activity. Personally, that negative attitude towards myself has often led to days where I’m in a self-critical funk instead of allowing myself to experience the healing that is magically going on inside me. I need to remind myself not to charge around and allow myself time to heal.
When I don’t allow myself enough time and support to recover, it tends to show up as tiredness later, although not always. But I usually get an indication from either low Heart Rate Variability readings or just plain lethargy that something is up.
Old Habits Die Hard
I am much better at it now, but when I used to realize I needed a full recovery day (or more), my “lazy light” would begin to flash. These were very hard days for me to get through, even though they could be pretty productive from an inspiration standpoint: new ideas, insights, and inner revelations. With my new outlook, coupled with restorative yoga practices, I can now take time to actively support the healing that recovery brings. Branding myself with the “lazy label” was much more harshly self-judgmental than I realized. Much of it was subconscious, and I now have my yoga teacher training—and my instructor—to thank for bringing this misconception to the surface. The “lazy label” had echoes of my childhood in it, when I developed many of the judgmental attitudes toward myself that had become a part of my life. These later years have been remarkably fruitful in uncovering and fixing a range of those kinds of attitudes.
After the Workout
I am no stranger to those exuberant feelings you get when you finish a demanding gym workout or a long Zone 2 walk or a productive and challenging yoga class. The exuberance is probably partly due to endorphins, partly the sense of “good job, you did it” congratulations, and partly the “let’s go eat” reward because I’ve worked up an appetite. But as you deservedly pat yourself on the back when you feel this way, take a moment to consider what your body is saying to you.
Your body is saying, “Thank you for putting in the effort you just did. Now, while you go and relax and enjoy yourself in some sensible way, my real work is just beginning.” And that’s when the miracle occurs. Our bodies begin the work of healing, fixing the slight damage we caused our muscles by putting in the effort, and rebuilding those tissues, muscles, lungs, heart, brain, and other organs to be slightly stronger than they were, so the next workout will be a bit easier.
So, now I allow some time after every workout or yoga class to slow down, spend some time in a restorative yoga pose or lightly stretch for 5 to 15 minutes. I breathe into every part of my body to enhance the healing process. And I acknowledge and give thanks to the forces that enable me to move and that also restore me, all of which are the gifts of life, keeping me healthy by doing their tireless work of healing.
Related Articles:
The Recovery Article - Part II
Recovery – The “Bonus” (and Most Important) Element in All Training
