Greetings Wow-of-the-Weeker’s,

It’s lovely to be back in touch.

As some of you may remember, I made the decision at the end of September to take a month away from the Wow of the Week in order to allow myself to exhale and broaden the focus of my work.

Between you and me, it was a terrific choice. I’m refreshed. I’m motivated. I’m relaxed and focused…a priceless combination.

How can you find yourself feeling the same, should you not have the luxury of stepping away from your day-to-day?

I offer you “constructive rest”.

What is constructive rest? It’s a simple, practical technique for releasing tension from the body, used in the Alexander Technique.

What does it look like? It looks a lot like you lying on the floor with your knees bent and leaning in toward each other and your head on a low object. (Or me lying on the beach with my dogs, as above—hence the photo.)

Should you wish to know the particulars I refer you to this one-page PDF (It’s excellent and it’s only one page—including the pictures!)

What does it do? Well, lying in this way frees the spine—and in my experience, when you free your spine your mind follows.

How is constructive rest different from procrastination and/or avoidance? Well, in both of those cases you are usually doing something else instead. (For more on the nuances of procrastination, see my 2013 post, “Procrastination: A Love Story”) 

With constructive rest, you are consciously not doing. In fact, you are undoing.

And—as is so often the case—sometimes the less you do the more you get done. 

As noted, for more on the 3 distinctive kinds of procrastination I’ve identified see, “Procrastination: a Love Story”.