Brain rest.

I've had this nagging, ill-at-ease feeling for a week, maybe 2. Maybe 3.  A revved-up, discomfort that comes on when I'm busy. Busy busy busy. Too many things. Doing too much. When this feeling comes on, it's not easy to shake. I attempt to breathe it off, yoga it out, walk it through. I even attempted to jump rope it out in all directions. It was still there. It feels like a brain ache. It hurts, it throbs.

I knew what I really needed. Time. Space. Silence. I know that I need this MORE when I'm revved up. I know this about my self - it becomes a craving. My body demand its. My brain yearns for it. But, I couldn't figure out how to fit it in to my To Dos. NEED. MORE. TIME. is what I've been thinking, thinking thinking, trying to figure out, trying to come to a solution that wasn't arising.

And then it came to me, this term: BRAIN REST. I needed BRAIN REST. I recalled this term from a few weeks ago from an acquaintance who incurred a concussion. She was ordered to Brain Rest. This essentially means halting any and all activity that is stimulating to the brain, causing too much brain activity. No TV, social media, screens of any kind. No reading, nothing more than light walking. No exercise. Even thinking could be too much.

THIS what I needed.  Today: I stopped looking and I TOOK IT. I put the kid to sleep, walked directly up to my meditation room, set the timer, and SAT. I sat with my mind, noticing the ache, the activity, the revved-up feeling in the base of my skull. I noticed my breath, my body. I noticed all the thoughts swimming around in my mind. I allowed it all to be there. I watched, and allowed.

Slowly, gradually, I began to notice the slightest release: of tension in my shoulders, my facial muscles, my brain stem. Like a tight fist beginning to soften, the grip loosening itself, all on its own, unwinding. I noticed the teeniest inkling of more space between my thoughts, less racing, dancing, solution-oriented thinking.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh. This is what I needed. In silence and stillness, brain rest is possible. Seeking solutions is not the answer. Seizing the moment, is.

What supports your brain rest?