Saving Sunday

"The Navajo teach their children that every morning when the sun comes up, it's a brand new sun. It's born each morning, it lives for the duration of one day, and in the evening it passes on, never to return again. As soon as the children are old enough to understand, the adults take them out at dawn and they say, 'The sun has only one day. You must live this day in a good way, so that the sun won't have wasted precious time.' Acknowledging the preciousness of each day is a good way to live, a good way to reconnect with our basic joy."
-The Wisdom of No Escape by Pema Chodron

Although I know how hard it is hard for the modern individual to relax, I truly believe in making Sunday a day of relaxation--a slower, more contemplative day, a day where we stop to truly experience living. And lately, I've been wanting Sunday to remain a sacred day more than ever. After a couple months of struggling to pare down my teaching schedule, I now have Sunday completely off, and I'm finding so much joy in a day where I'm allowed to just be. Granted, I still schedule things on Sundays, and Ben and I go to CrossFit, or brunch, or out with friends, but I'm also making time to do nothing--which is in fact, something.

In college, I would usually have my nervous breakdown of the week on Sundays. I would wake up exhausted from a late Saturday night out, only to be confronted with all of the work that I didn't do over the weekend (which was usually spent partying, instead). I would have a weekly freak out, make a list of everything that I had to get done in one day, and begin the Sunday grind. Then, once I entered the normal, 9-5 working world, Sunday became the day that I did all of my chores, errands, phone calls, and cleaning, all the while dreading the next day and the long week ahead.

This is not the way Sunday is supposed to be treated. Sunday is the sabbath--and without going into the religious implications of this day and this word, the sabbath is supposed to be a day of rest, worship, relaxation, or celebration. It's a day to spend time with those that you love, sleep in, take a walk through town, or relax on the front porch. When did we as a culture lose this? Some parts of the country still observe Sundays--stores and restaurants close, liquor and wine isn't sold--and although I've always thought that this was an annoying inconvenience, I also love this idea. Why not take one day out of the week to slow down? Why not "close down" your "business" to enjoy the present moment or take some time for self care? I know it isn't possible or feasible for a number of businesses (yoga studios, for example), but I think that it is possible for the individual. Even if your "sabbath" isn't an entire day--maybe it's just a couple of hours, maybe it's just the morning, or the evening, or a carved out, scheduled time (doesn't even have to be on Sunday!)--but no matter when it takes place, I am continuing to learning of the importance of having a sabbath.

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Do you have a day of rest in your life? Or a chunk of time that you set aside for rest? If not, here are a few suggestions for how to "schedule" your own sabbath (I'm using Sunday as an example, but if Sunday is not the right day for you, this can apply to any day):

-Unplug for 3-4 hours on Sunday. This means no TV, no computer, no phone, no music. Enjoy the silence....read, draw, journal, meditate, etc. Enjoy being or doing this activity.
-Do a restorative yoga practice or go to a restorative yoga class.
-Schedule a massage and then save time for a 1 hour nap afterward. Bask in treating your body in the middle of the day.
-Pick a "chore" that you usually do on Sundays and do it on Saturday. Use the time that you would have spent on that chore (say, grocery shopping) to visit with a friend or loved one, go on a bike ride, write a letter (snail mail! so fun!).
-Take a long, hot bath, but do it right. Light candles, use bubble bath, "draw" the water before you get in, so that you step into a full tub. Just lay in the bathtub and breathe deeply. Enjoy how the hot water feels.
-Partner massages! Take turns giving massages with a significant other or loved one.
-Picnic in a park. Pack up a meal, a blanket, and some reading material. Take a walk to a local park and lay on your blanket, snacking, watching people or wildlife, and enjoying the sunlight.

Share: How have you infused a day or time period of rest into your life? Suggestions for ways to learn to slow down on Sundays?

Enjoy your Sunday! And if you haven't already, spend some time just basking in being.

Namaste!
Mary Catherine

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