On Rest

For a long time, I've been obsessed with waking up early. Every article you read about "successful people" says they they're up reading the paper, drinking coffee or working out by dawn. Even with a late start to my work day (9am), I have trouble waking up before 7:30am. And to be honest, sometimes the harder I try to start the habit of waking up early, the more I find myself dragging out of bed at 8:20am.

On weekends, I'm usually up between 6-8am. Granted, it's up for coffee and Girl Meets World and then back to bed for a nap, but still, I feel pressure to get up and seize the day. My ex-boyfriend would sleep until 11 or 12 most weekends, and I was always so mad that he was wasting our day sleeping in bed. (At least it gave me a chance to catch up on girly TV shows...?)

I'll admit that yes, getting up early on Saturdays and doing yoga and the farmers' market and being home before 11am feeling like I accomplished so much is awesome. I love that feeling. In fact, I've found myself wishing that yoga was an hour earlier so I could get even more of a jump start on my day.

But last week, my yoga teacher was talking about how she had just spent her day off sleeping in til after 11am, and never felt so good. She, like me, had always put pressure on herself to get up early. But sometimes, it is okay to sleep in.

"Slow down when you need it. Rest when you need it," she said. 

She was talking about life, and talking about yoga too, of course. Because sometimes seizing the day means seizing it from bed.