Rest is something you need to practise, and this 3-step technique should do the trick

Make switching off easy with the help of these three simple steps from meditation teacher, speaker and author of Take It In, Giselle La Pompe-Moore.

When was the last time you felt truly rested? Chances are, it’s been a while.

In our always-on culture, it can be hard to find time to switch off – and even when you do get a moment to unwind, getting the rest you so desperately need isn’t always easy. Out of all the things we do on a day-to-day basis, you’d think rest is something which would come naturally. But that’s simply not the case.

Indeed, as Giselle La Pompe-Moore, a meditation teacher, speaker and author of Take It In, explained at this year’s Stylist Restival, our inability to rest is the product of years of ‘doing’ and, as such, we need to practise rest in order to experience it.

Do less, be present, feel more

Rest is a skill that needs to be practised.

To improve your ability to rest, La Pompe-Moore recommends following her three-step practise: do less, be present and feel more. But before you even get started, you need to remind yourself that it’s OK for things not to be ‘perfect’.

“When it comes to practising rest, let it be messy,” she said. “I get asked a lot why people can’t stop thinking when they start meditating, and I’m like, ‘You’re a human being, we’re thinking all the time – and especially when you stop, you’re going to be thinking 10 times more than you were before.

“So let yourself think it’s a practise – I think all the time during meditation but I keep showing up, because the point of practise is we just show up for it every day for a small amount of time.”

Ready to get started? Keep reading to check out you can use La Pompe-Moore’s ‘do less, be present, feel more’ technique to rest better this year.

Do Less

The idea of doing less may seem pretty self-explanatory, but it’s all about making time in your day to pause and be consciously unproductive.

“To do less, try introducing micro pauses or moments of disruption into your day,” La Pompe-Moore recommended. “We don’t all have the luxury to take a rest break for two hours, but if we can do something that takes a couple of minutes, we’re probably going to do it a bit more.”

Micro pauses can be anything from taking a few deep breaths while you wait for the kettle to boil or giving yourself a moment to close your eyes when you’re on the Tube – anything that helps you feel a little less busy.

“I always say let’s not try and shoot for a 30-minute meditation practice every day – let’s try and find one minute. And one minute can be the greatest thing that we can give to ourselves.”

Be Present

You’ll often find yourself getting caught up in your head when you’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed, so bringing your attention back to the present moment can help you to begin switching off and unwinding.

“There’s a question that I often ask myself when I feel like I’m really in my head and untethered, and that question is, ‘Wait, where am I right now?’” La Pompe-Moore explained.