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why rest should be your top priority in 2025

modern life has glorified busyness at the expense of health and well-being, so we need to take action to create rest and balance.

by karen hawthorne

published dec 27, 2024

4 minute read

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4 minute read

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erin taylor, pictured, has worked for two decades with elite athletes, including olympic runners, nba players and ironman champions, as well as everyday individuals, to help them create balance through rest and recovery practices. claire pepper

getting through the holidays can feel like a race to make things perfect and celebrate with festive toasts at the family dinner and sharing memories by the fireplace. but the pressure to pull it off can leave us drained and in need of a reset for the new year. expectations are just way too high! the trouble is, our ramped up daily lives can be just as fast-paced and tiring as the holiday season.

“everyone has become acclimatized to go amped up all the time so that we feel like that’s normal. but our body is not able to cope with this level of stimulation all the time,” says erin taylor, yoga teacher, author and recovery expert based in london. “then when we get to the weekend or time off, we don’t completely feel relieved and it’s because we’re so used to going from zero to 60, but we can’t go back in the other direction. it doesn’t work that way.”

taylor has worked for two decades with elite athletes, including olympic runners, nba players and ironman champions, as well as everyday individuals, to help them create balance through rest and recovery practices. the athletes she’s coached perform better, recover faster and develop resilience, which is something everyone can benefit from.

her mindful approach to wellness isn’t about getting nine hours of sleep a night or taking afternoon naps—or making time for a spa day (although it’s nice if you can do it once in a while).

she has two young kids and a busy schedule and knows that these are not realistic solutions. and at this time of year when we’re looking for a fresh start and a way to feel energized for the year ahead, her latest book move, rest, recover: your practical guide to balancing mind and body is coming out in january with do-able tips to build into your everyday routine. steps can be as simple as pausing to soften your eyes as you look out your window or stepping back from whatever you’re doing to take a few deep breaths.

“when i first started teaching yoga over 20 years ago, i realized what people need more than anything is rest,” she explains. “we are tired and rest is the most readily available tool for balance and well-being. and yet it’s such a missed opportunity and highly underutilized.” without rest and recovery, you’re more vulnerable to illness, injury and burnout. people often come to that realization when they take vacation time. they let go of stress and worry and end up getting sick.

unfortunately, modern life has glorified busyness at the expense of health and well-being, so we need to take action to create rest and balance.

a number of studies in recent years show that burnout is a reality for many people, which has made it a workplace concern. a report released in june 2024 by the boston consulting group found that an average of 48 per cent of employees (nearly half of the overall workforce) are experiencing burnout. this finding was based on a survey of 11,000 workers in eight countries (australia, canada, france, germany, india, japan, the u.k., and the u.s.). an even larger proportion of canadian respondents at 52 per cent said they were burnt out.

there’s also mounting research on the link between burnout and illness. a 2021 review of the literature published in the world journal of biological psychiatry describe burnout as rooted in the sustained activation of the autonomic nervous system and alterations in cortisol levels. this leads to consequences like structural and functional brain changes, systemic inflammation, immunosuppression, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease and premature death. there’s good reason that we need to chill.

taylor first started yoga as way to increase her flexibility and improve her recovery for competitive basketball she played in university. she grew up in california and moved with her british husband to london in 2014, creating a virtual platform and app for athletes. now she has a weekly newsletter for everyone called balance practice and video demos that aim to support balance and debunk the notion that balance is perfection, a fixed point or end goal. basically, rest is something you make a habit of, like taking a moment to relax while you work by closing your eyes for a minute or lying on the floor and putting your feet up the wall (super-calming!). building these strategies into your day with consistency has a lot more impact than a weekly yoga class. these little rest points add up to create balance in your life.

the benefits are many—decreased stress, improved sleep, greater capacity for attention, improved immune function and joy.

“i want to make yoga practical and accessible for as many people as possible and create an entry point for rest,” she says, adding her new book is her response to the “starkest imbalance that i see every day which is the lack of rest.”

while you don’t have to be a bendy person or athletic in any way, simple yoga stretches are a “likeable tool” that helps harness your attention in all the chaos of life. while you may be familiar with a group of yoga postures called warrior pose, taylor really wants to promote rest as the ultimate goal to achieve balance. whether that’s resting on your back with eyes closed in shavasana (corpse pose) or taking a moment to sip your tea and do a few shoulder rolls.

“this sounds radical, but i call rest a power stance,” she says. “and it’s time to start acting like it and using it to full advantage. you don’t need any fancy gizmos or gadgets, it’s just learning to pay attention to how we are and respond in the moment with the reset that works for us.”

karen hawthorne

karen hawthorne worked for six years as a digital editor for the national post, contributing articles on health, business, culture and travel for affiliated newspapers across canada. she now writes from her home office in toronto and takes breaks to bounce with her son on the backyard trampoline and walk bingo, her bull terrier.

why rest should be your top priority in 2025

modern life has glorified busyness at the expense of health and well-being, so we need to take action to create rest and balance.

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why rest should be your top priority in 2025

modern life has glorified busyness at the expense of health and well-being, so we need to take action to create rest and balance.

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