On Rest

This week, I talked to our skaters about rest. We all started school recently, so I wanted to make sure that they know how important it is to me that they care for themselves — especially with their obligations and responsibilities ramping up.

But who would I be if I didn’t live the values I teach? I strive to engage a meaningful praxis through my coaching, informed by an anti-racist, decolonial, and feminist understanding of the world.

When we rest, we demand time and space for ourselves. This can be a powerful form of resistance in a world where we are intimidated, oppressed, and pressured to give our time and space to others.

Athletes are uniquely conditioned to think outside our bodies; ignoring the communication systems of our bodies — our emotions, feelings, sensations — for external rewards is what we are trained to do. But I don’t want that to be the reality for my athletes, it doesn’t have to be the only option. I want my students to learn to know themselves and their bodies, have a relationship with their emotions, and be dedicated to their well-being and health.

For me, rest has become a powerful tool to practice my agency, dedicate time and space to my body, and resist the demands of our hyper-capitalist, individualistic, ‘win-at-all-costs’ society.

My rest looks like taking naps, sending mail to my friends, experimenting with creativity, sitting in silence, therapy, stacking rocks, cooking for myself, visiting museums, playing video games with my partner, getting tattoos, flowing on the ice, reading novels, trying new coffee shops, protesting, watching Ted Lasso or Bluey, stretching, junk journaling, and reading my mirror Post-it notes (every morning when I wake up, and every night before I go to bed).

My rest is inspired by my community, bell hooks, and Tricia Hersey. But instrumentally: Cassandra, Belinda, Ava, and my Resties from Rewriting Our Rest Stories.

And my Mom, who can always be found peacefully napping, with the dog, on a Saturday afternoon.