After a long period of intense work, during which I have been away from what I call my home, I arrive in my familiar domestic surroundings.
I am a privileged person who works in a way that allows for practice. And yet after a long period where the transmission aspect has been given full focus, there comes to me a natural movement towards withdrawal and the opportunity to give a little more space to the deeper aspects of resting.
I believe that when people have discovered the importance of having a daily practice, a greater contact with their own body can arise – with the opportunity to give more space to feel themselves and their needs.
I have heard a teacher say several times that there would not be such serious stress states if we humans were able to listen to our bodies. Understood in the sense that the body has tried to make us aware that something is wrong several times before the body ends up in total collapse caused by stress.
When I have returned home and had a good night's sleep and a calm morning with room for practice both sitting and walking, I sit down and eat lunch.
My body feels heavy.
I'm smiling.
It's been a long time since I've had such a good night's sleep and such a calm morning – and the first thing my body tells me is that it wants to rest.
I roll out the hammock, find my favorite blanket, wrap myself in it, and settle into the hammock, which we have given pride of place in the middle of the living room.
I don't lie down for long before I feel my eyelids become very heavy.
My body feels heavy.
Before I look around, three hours have passed.
With pleasure and a smile on my face, I hop out of bed, sit on the terrace with a glass of water, and decide to make room to listen deeply to my body's signals.
The following days I roll out the hammock daily and allow myself to lie down for as long as my body asks for it.
The intervals are getting shorter and shorter – and at the same time I experience a truly beneficial effect of allowing myself to rest.
I am discovering – or perhaps rediscovering – the importance of the rest aspect as part of my practice.
Photo: Kontemplation and Selma Karlshøj
is a Master of Education in Educational Psychology with a specialization in mindfulness from Aarhus University and a psychotherapist MPF from the Vedfelt Institute. She works daily as a private practicing psychotherapist and has a special interest in dream work in the therapeutic process.
Britta has been part of the Kontemplation team since 2019 and is a teacher on the Kontemplation platform. She also contributes with existential conversations, retreat conversations and therapeutic courses. You can find her guides in the practice library and read her written contributions on the blog.
She attends an annual long-term retreat and receives practical guidance from Hanneli Ågotsdatter and Peter Høeg.
Beautiful. I am completely reassured just by reading this text. Think; this is possible. Thank you 🙏❤️
Dear Luck.
It is experienced here as a reverberation that waves back and forth.
A wave of calm.
Thank you for sharing your reading experience with us.
Warm regards
Britta
Thanks to Britta for legalizing that we humans have different needs for rest.
Prioritizing a practice of meditation or immersion in something interesting means everything to my own health.
I find it a bit sad that many people don't even hear what you're wearing 💚 they're not present.
Just 10 minutes of meditation is the best investment of the day – I've learned that.
🌷🌿🌷
Dear Mona Marie.
Thank you for sharing your experiences with the practice with us.
We recognize the joy of finding out what works for the individual.
Warm regards
Britta