Recently, I was working out at the gym when I heard a trainer tell her client, "Rest before you're tired." She told her client that was one of her mother's maxims growing up. I thought, "What a lucky woman!" I don't remember any adults mentioning a need for rest as a kid. Rest was a luxury no one in our working class community seemed able to afford.

Now as an adult, yoga teacher, creative business owner, and mother I can't help but wonder how different my life would be if someone had given me permission to rest. Instead, I spent decades living the maxim, "Rest as a last resort, when your body can no longer keep up. Then, berate yourself for being weak." Sigh. Easy lessons learned the hard way, for sure.

It wasn't until I found yoga that I discovered the power of rest. Rest is built into the center time at the beginning of every class and again at the end, in savasana. By that format, maybe the maxim should be, "Rest. Do good work. Then rest some more." I like that.

So in this busy holiday season, this is my gift to you: "May you rest before you are tired, my friend. May you act in flow with your life's purpose and calling. And at the end, may you rest in the knowledge that you are and have done enough."

Enjoy this holiday season!