Constructive Rest (CR) is an indispensable element of my work with teaching and practicing The Art of Freedom and Alexander Technique.

This post is not about teaching you how to do it because there are so many great online resources for that, such as this one: http://www.imogenragone.com/self-help/constructive-rest/

Instead, I’d like to offer you just a few of my thoughts about CR to help you make the best use of your time with CR, whether you’re new to the practice or a seasoned CRester!

CR is a gift to yourself. First and foremost, you are giving yourself the gift of TIME to practice DOING NOTHING, or “Non-Doing”. We are so unaccustomed to allowing ourselves the freedom to stop doing, that we actually need to learn how to “not-do”. It’s a skill which requires practice! Here are some helpful thoughts to think gently while you’re in CR:

• “I HAVE TIME.”
• “I don’t have to do anything.” Notice if anything changes.
• “How do I feel right now? Do I feel free? I wonder…”
• “It is possible that I am free right now. I’m experimenting with this thought: I am free.” Contrast thinking, “I’m not free” with “I am free.” Take your time. Do you notice a difference? Which effect do you prefer? Experiment by thinking, “I am free.”
• “My body is free to be and feel exactly as it is right now. My body is free.”
• “My mind is free; I am free to think or not think whatever I wish right now.”
• “I am free to watch my thoughts come and go; my thoughts are free. I am not attached to them.”
• If you’ve learned about your head-neck joint, remember where it is and imagine a bit of extra space in there between your skull and your spine. Think, “My neck is free.”
• “My joints are free.”
• “My neck is free.”
• “I’m letting gravity do it’s job, allowing it to bring all of my weight closer to the earth. I allow my body to sink and melt into the floor like pancake batter.”
• “I’m receiving support from the ground, with gratitude.”
• “My head is free to be heavy, free from the rest of my body as it rests into the books.” “I know where my ‘personal up’ is, in the direction of the spine towards and beyond my head. I know where my personal down’ is, in the direction of the spine towards my tailbone and feet. My spine is free to let go of the compression that restricts it from lengthening into its natural length in both directions.”
• “My vital energy/life-force is free to move within me in whatever ways are best for my well-being.”
• “My eyes are free to receive the light around me.”
• “My breath is free to be exactly as it is.”
• “I feel the ground supporting me beneath my whole body. My feet feel the ground.”
• “I allow the 9 weight-bearing points to rest into the ground: feet, two sides of the pelvis, shoulder-blades, elbows, head.”
• “I trust my body-mind-self’s inner Wisdom. I am free.”
• “I am free to enjoy myself, here and now.”
• “I HAVE TIME.”

Try out the thoughts from my list that speak to you, and let me know how it goes!

Peace & Joy,
Jennifer

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