Rest Inventory
Because We Can't Shift Towards Better Without Knowing Where We Are
The Importance of Checking In With Our Rest
In a dominant culture that doesn’t always value rest, nobody else is going to check in on our energy levels for us. Even if we find ourselves at a doctor’s office, it is not very common that physicians have enough time to ask why we’re not getting adequate rest, even if they remember to ask how we’ve been sleeping lately. This isn’t a knock on physicians. More so, this speaks to how nuanced our own sense of rest is and how much time it can take us to find our authentic pulse on what works well for us versus what might throw us even further out of alignment.
When we have regular times to check in with our rest, we are more likely to catch ourselves in patterns we’re happy we’ve been engaging in, or in habits we’d like to shift further away from.
Personally, I think February is a great time to check in with how rest has been going because historically, there’s not a whole lot of other things going on for me in February and I tend to get kind of antsy. Maybe February is your favorite month and chalked full of surprises around each corner. However, for most of the people I know, February is getting to be the tail-end of winter without the ouroboros mouth quite reaching the new head of spring.
In a more practical sense, for many people, this time of year that shows up between seasons is also a very clear and direct time to check in because we’re not clouded by other obligations that might tell us how far on, or far off of our ideal rest-cycles we are. We’re not competing with long summer days, or a bustling holiday season. Middle of February is a fairly mundane look at what we’re doing, how we’re behaving, and how we’re resting, when there is not a whole lot of other external pieces going on.
What Is Important To Check In Around Our Rest?
This is a great question.
Maybe we’re on board with checking in this time of year, but what are we looking for and how do we look for it?
Before we start, maybe grab a quick piece of scrap paper and a pen. If you’ve got more time, I’d highly recommend checking in with these questions using some art supplies and open ended time to see what kind of creative energy might shift around when exploring some of these questions. A brief artistic guide for these questions will be included in the footnotes1.
If you don’t have time for a simple pen and paper, or an abundance of time with some art supplies and a gooey, cozy evening to ponder these things, take a few minutes right now to simply reflect on the following questions:
What is my typical relationship to the month of February?
Is it usually slow for me? Busy for me?
Am I usually happily relaxed into the season? Am I usually antsy and anxiously waiting for better weather?
How does this February 2025 compare to my historical relationship to this month?
How is my body feeling:
in this moment?
overall?
compared to last year?
How is my creative life feeling:
in this moment?
overall?
compared to last year?
How is my mental health feeling:
in this moment?
overall?
compared to last year?
How are my motivation and cognitive functioning functioning:
in this moment?
overall?
compared to last year?
If I could nourish myself in one way better it would be…
What would I tell my past/future self about how to best prepare for the next season ahead?
Using These Check-In Answers Skillfully
Checking in with our sense of rest with these questions is not meant to evoke shame—although shame may be a completely normal emotion that bubbles up when checking in. Remember to be kind to yourself with whatever emerges from these answers and before doing anything else, make some space for whatever emotions might come up from them.
Try your best not to judge the emotional experience, rather, gently make room for it knowing that whatever comes up won’t last forever.
After taking time to be with the emotions that arise from this check in, perhaps get curious about why those emotions came up at all.
From there, maybe ask yourself a few more ‘big picture questions.’
The first being: Do I like where I currently am with my state of rest?
If the answer is yes, the follow up question might be something along the lines of “What can I do to sustain, maintain, or protect this quality of rest in my life as I enter into the next season?”
If the answer is no, the follow up question might look like “What is one small action I can take to move closer to the rest I desire?”
Ultimately, you know yourself best.
It’s likely whatever answers bubble up immediately are the right ones to follow as a place to get started.
Share Your Restful Insights
As y’all know, I absolutely adore hearing how these reflections land on you. Your wisdom often blows me away and helps me connect other to their own innate sense of restful wisdom, too. As you’re moving through these reflection questions (or making some art out of these reflection questions) I would love to hear or see or witness what came up!
At this point, I am about halfway through my first 30-day silent retreat and pre-scheduled this content, so unfortunately I won’t be able to respond to anyone’s insights right away. However, if you’re interested in sharing, I will respond as soon as I am back around.
Looking forward to connecting when I’m back. Hopefully with some insights of my own.
In the meantime,
As per usual,
Thank you for being here.
Mindfully,
Dagny Rose
This sub-section of The Art of Rest, is all about—you guessed it—The Rest.
As a trained sleep scientist and mindfulness teacher & researcher, here we explore the everything related to rest. Whether we are unpacking the newest evidence-based sleep health tips, exploring day-to-day tools for bolstering and protecting rest, or diving into a world of dreams, “The Rest” is going to regularly touch into what a restful life is, and how to move towards one5
Looking For A Personalized Way to Optimize Your Rest?
Exciting announcement! My books are now open again for the hibernation season! I am looking forward to giving winter guidance around sleep health & nervous system regulation around stress. I offer individualized 1:1 guidance for those who want to use rest as a way to expand their creativity, folks who just need a tune up, all the way towards people who might be dealing with chronic rest related issues. Shoot me an email at dagnyrose@theartofrest.me to inquire about getting started. Spring appointment slots begin March 10.
Want to turn this into an artistic prompt? Amazing.
Grab whatever art supplies, medium, and table-space you might need.
Choose one or two of these questions you’d like to sit most deeply with
Before jumping into the art, give yourself 60 - 120 seconds of noticing what’s going on in your body. Maybe this is following the breath, maybe this is intentionally fidgeting with something. Maybe this is softening your gaze out the window as you do an internal scan.
Let yourself create! Don’t put any constraints on anything and really focus in on how it feels to make this art, rather than what this art might look like. Don’t be afraid to make it messy or ugly.
Whenever you feel like the art piece is complete (or you can set a timer for 20 minutes to let yourself play), drop back into the body for 60-120 seconds to see how the body compares.
Take 5ish minutes away from whatever you created to clear out the process a bit
Come back and notice where your eye immediately gets drawn to. Notice if there are any color themes showing up. Perhaps give yourself permission to ask the question “what wants to happen next?” and then give yourself that permission slip to take that next artistic step.
Finally at the end, ask yourself the question “What does this have to do with how I’m feeling about rest right now?” and see what story automatically comes up in your brain and body