Last fall, I made it a priority to meditate in the late afternoons. I found that mindful meditation really helped center me and I felt focused for the rest of the day. My goal was to meditate daily, but sometimes life got in the way. Flash forward to the winter holidays and meditation took a back seat. I realized that in the new year, I needed to get back on track and reading Move, Rest, Recover: A Workbook – Your Practical Guide to Balancing Mind and Body really helped me.
First of all, why do we need to rest and recover? Just like when an athlete needs a rest day, it’s essential that people balance their active lifestyle with rest. As a society, we are so used to being overscheduled that we run the risk of burnout, illness, and even injury. Move, Rest, Recover is a hands-on guide that offers tools for improving mental, physical, and emotional well-being.
You might be thinking, I don’t have 15-30 minutes to meditate today or an hour to take that yoga class. However, you do have two minutes to spare, which is long enough to do a quick reset of simple stretches or to close your eyes.
The book is written by Erin Taylor, founder of Athletes for Yoga, and the creator of Balance Practice, a platform that offers practical tools to inspire and support mental and physical balance in all aspects of life. Recently I had the opportunity to interview Erin and get insights into why we should prioritize recovery and rest.
(Photo courtesy of Erin Taylor)
What inspired you to write the book?
Erin: Recovery is the most readily available yet underutilized tool for well-being, the counterbalance to your active lifestyle that allows you to rise to the ever-increasing pace and demands of life. Supporting and facilitating rest has long felt like some of my most important work, and this book is my response to the most stark imbalance I’ve consistently seen over the last 20 years of teaching yoga to everyone from pro athletes to mothers to office workers, and to everyone living at the intersection of many demanding contexts — the imbalance between working and resting.
Too often, we wait until we’re ill, injured, or fully burned out before considering how rest might serve us. But we don’t have to. I wrote Move, Rest, Recover to help you catch your breath and feel the difference right where you are, in the moments when you need rest the most. It aims to fine tune your awareness of how you are (really) and to equip you with the knowledge, understanding, and skills to respond in the moment with resets that truly work for you.
The book offers suggestions to activate physical relaxation. Do you have a favorite go-to move?
Erin: Legs Up the Wall (pg. 94) is my forever favorite. I call this deeply restorative posture the boss of recovery, for good reason. It recirculates the blood and excess fluid, opens the hamstrings, relaxes the low back and feet, and so much more. I do it every night before bed and often my kids join in, too. It creates a more easeful transition to a better night’s sleep.
(Photo courtesy of Erin Taylor)
For those who are in need of a quick reset while at the office, but are unable to meditate in an open plan environment, what would you suggest?
Erin: There’s a lot of ways to rest throughout the day, even while you’re at work. In an office setting the simple gesture of pausing to look up and out at the horizon — ideally a green space — can help to recharge your attentional capacity anytime, anywhere. Shifting your gaze and attention in this way can relax your mind and ease pent up physical tension, which lends itself to better breathing and a broader perspective. This only takes a few moments and trust me, your coworkers won’t even notice. 🙂
I understand this is your third book. What’s next for you? Any plans for a fourth book?
Erin: I’m always working on creating new entry points to balance in the context of practicality, knowing that if your practice doesn’t fit your real life, it won’t work! You can find new content including writings and classes weekly in my newsletter, Balance Practice, which includes tools, insights, and prompts to inspire and support balance. As for books, absolutely!
Move, Rest, Recover is published by VeloPress, an imprint of Ulysses Press and can be found wherever books are sold. For more information, check out the publisher’s website.
(Photo courtesy of VeloPress, an imprint of Ulysses Press)
Visit erintaylor.substack.com/t/moverestrecover for Move, Rest, Recover audio and video practices, behind the scenes moments, guest interviews, and additional resources for your rest and recovery. Go to https://erintaylor.substack.com/realmom to sign up for a free month of full access to all the exclusive content.
Disclosure: No monetary compensation was received for this post. I received a complimentary book which helped facilitate this review. All images are my own unless otherwise noted. The images shown in this post are used with permission. As always, my opinions are 100% my own.
I like how the author has listed personal insights from her career and the relationships she has formed over time. I wonder if Move, Rest, Recover is avaliable here in the UK too.
This sounds like an awesome workbook. I need to pick it up. I know I need to move around more and this can give me tips.
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I’m kinda thankful that I have a job where I move around frequently. It’s hard on my feet some days but being active is better for my joints. I have RA.
This sounds like a book that I would find very helpful myself. I do tend to end up with too much to do and it can often be quite stressful.
I like how this is a workbook, I know I need to move more. I am using my treadmill more and walking around malls, but I could do much more.
Prioritizing recovery and rest is so important, and I’d love to hear Erin’s perspective on how yoga can help with balance in daily life.
It sounds like this has a lot of good pointers for healthy movement. I am always stressed and it would be nice to have ways to unwind and stay healthier.
This is super interesting and I have to share this with my husband as we could both use meditation and it is something I have been looking to incorporate into our daily routine. I am going to check out this book and appreciate you sharing!